I set a goal of finding a local job where I could spend time with my youngest two children when my consulting work dried up as the economy took a nose-dive in the winter of 2008. While I enjoyed traveling, I missed my family and feeling I was part of a community. As the recession deepened I grew more and more concerned that our community was not doing enough to help those struggling with being out of work, and began looking for ways I could contribute. I knew one way I could combine my growing passion for the Michiana Community, concern for those out of work, and my need to market myself was through volunteering. My previous travels left me with few local connections and I knew that a job search might be a long haul. So, I set out looking for community volunteer activities where I could make a difference. My search for volunteer opportunities and word of mouth about my job search eventually introduced me to Pam and Andy at Elkhart's People Between Jobs. It was there I found Larry, Carolyn, Rachelle, Don, Lou, Dave and the many other friends I developed at MCNA.

My road to re-employment is an excellent example of the varied ways of successfully looking for work. Not everyone is cut out to be a salesman focused on building a pipleline of interviews, or is comfortable cold-calling area businesses passing out business cards and resumes. Combining passions, free-time, and skills with volunteering can be an equally valid method of searching for work. The key to my successful search lay in aligning goals to priorities, re-thinking who I am, and most importantly - getting out of the house and getting involved.

My best to you all,

Eric Huggins, CISA

IT Practice Manager

Pinnacle