Well, it’s time for to write again.  My job hunt is done for at least the foreseeable future and I’m actually remaining with my consulting company, just in a different role. It’s what I would call a transitional role - I’m going to be the Marketing and Operations Manager for the company, so I’ll have a wide range of tasks, and a lot of latitude to do some really cool stuff with my media background.  So that starts in February, a few months away yet because I have to finish out my current contract, but I’m very excited about it.  

The other piece of this was an insanely stressful few weeks in terms of jobs.  I’m going to relate some of these things in hopes that someone else doesn’t have to have a similar experience.  First and foremost, I interviewed with 4 places within 1-week, 3 of which were on a single day.  If you were curious, this is really not the best idea from an applicant perspective.  While I feel I successfully navigate all the interviews well, I had a few close calls of ‘Hrm, did I talk about this yet?  I’m not sure … hrm … uhhh’ not really the best experience for me.  

While 3 out of the 4 fell through for some reason, luckily one came through and my existing company counter-offered, which was pretty great to feel that valued in an organization.  Here’s a few notes from 1yr+ job search: 

1. Culture of the company is the most important aspect of the job; I ask about the company culture on every interview.  If you don’t jive with the culture, you are going to hate your job 
2. While interviewing, be sure to ask the questions you really want to know about (as long as its not “when I take a vacation”).  The interview is as much for you determine your fit within the company as the company determining that fit as well.  It’s like the nuclear missile - you both have to turn the key, and you should both be sure you want it. 
3. If you’ve left a company in the past, chances are it was for a pretty good reason.  Keep that in mind if tempted to go back. 
4. Even while there are some companies that want to hire you, sometimes the stars just don’t align to make that happen.  You just need to accept this and move on, no matter how great of a fit it might be.  You can’t stake your future and your career on hopes.  If it’s meant to be, the situation will present itself again, hopefully in more favorable terms. 
5. Don’t give up.  Even if you can’t find the exact perfect fit, take something that at least relates, or is a step in the right direction.  In this economy making a job change is hard enough, let alone finding exactly what you want.  

I’m sure I have thousand other little gems from my experience, but that’s what I came up with off the top of my head.