Fame and Forture Await- Become a Work Wrangler!

Welcome all Wranglers!

2010-11-29T23:33:00.000-08:00

Hi, Ola, Hello and Welcome!

This past summer after a number of fruit-less gainful employment searches, endless cups of coffee and networking meetings, the idea for Work Wrangler Challenge was born.

The intent was threefold: find a fresh and fun way to involve my networks in my search for employment, create a stronger sense of control and proactive-ness for myself and others in my search, and of course the ultimate end goal of finding work.

The website has information about the path that lead me to this idea, the rules and results, the type of employment I am looking for and information about my background and experience.
You can also learn more about my consulting work here www.4wordconsulting.com

The desired final result of finding work was not obtained. However many other lessons were learned and great people were met along the way.

Currently I am on my way to Australia. I will be starting an MBA program at the end of February, and hope to use the lessons learned from the challenge to find work down under.

Any leads or opportunities in Brisbane Australia ,or comments and suggestions are encouraged and welcome!

Go out wrangle and have fun!

Like the idea and want to adapt or adopt it to your own search?
I am more then happy to share my lessons learned and brainstorm with you. Contact me for more information.
My cat george is looking for a new home
please visit her page for more information:
http://tiahsstuff.blogspot.com/p/george-wonder-fighter-cat.html

Work Wrangler Results August

2010-09-09T21:34:00.000-07:00

Tactics used: Facebook, emailing contacts, press releases.
Tracking tools: Word Document, Google Analytics

Google Analytics:

Total vistors to site: 128
Referring Sites (67.97%)
Direct Traffic (32.03%)

Number of meetings: 10

Number of leads* received: approx 8

Number of emails sent: approx 100

Number of emails received directly relating to challenge: Approx 70

Job postings receivied: 6

Jobs applied to: 15

Summary:

Both email and facebook have proven to be effective tactics at drawing visits to the site and providing leads. However, the network has reached a point of saturation of information.

Tapping into more creative methods of reaching a wider audience is required.
In addition, as fun as this has been, it still has yet to produce the final ultimate goal, which is of course WORK!

Suggestions? Comments?

* Lead- A wrangler who directly connects me with someone I meet.

Coming to you live in colour- my video

2010-09-01T09:57:00.000-07:00

A couple of weeks ago I was approached by these two very dynamic women from a company called What Works Media, with an interesting proposition of creating a video for the Work Wrangler Challenge. I was a tad skeptical and unsure, as I am pretty shy and cautious of sharing to much personal information online, but I was willing to try it out.

The experience proved to be better then I expected. Aside from immediately understanding the effective impact audio visual video has, it also gently forced me to focus my thoughts, and be short and be precise.
Both Michele and Karen from What Works Media, were great.
Please visit their website www.whatworksmedia.ca

I hope you like the video.
Remember Sharing is Caring!

Welcome September

2010-08-22T22:48:00.000-07:00

The last couple of weeks of August have been a whirl wind of comings and goings of friends and family. Although I feel as if I have not dedicated the same amount of uninterrupted time to my search and the Work Wrangler Challenge, things seem to be moving forward. I am still getting leads and introductions to various contacts that may have other contract opportunities. This week thanks to two of the top Work Wrangler's connections, I have two meetings. One with a potential for work, and the other networking.

When I first came up with this idea of the challenge, the only goal I really had was to find work. I did not think about other side effects which included a way for me to take charge and feel more effective and focused on my search, nor did I expect the support and great feedback I have received from my friends, family and networks.

The Work Wrangler Challenge is not over yet!
I still have yet to secure a contract, and am still searching.
Tomorrow I am going to up the bounty and set new goals.
I am also going to publish the results, to recognize those who have been scouring their networks and connections, as well as to hopefully inspire some new Work Wranglers to join.

Have fun!

Day 3 Results

2010-08-17T11:13:00.000-07:00

Status Report:

Time: 11:00 am Tues
Location: A coffee shop
Music: Wu Tang Clan
Number of emails received yesterday: 4
Number of emails sent yesterday: over 20
Facebook Activity: 1 comment
Requests for CV: 0
Mood: Slightly grumpy, I realised it is almost the end of the month. But I have coffee all will be well momentarily.
Tasks accomplished on Monday: Follow up on leads from previous week, sending emails to new contacts regarding the challenge
Tasks for today: Update information about company, create press release.

Summary for Monday:
I created a document to track the emails and various leads I have been receiving. As soon as I started writing things down, I felt better. Keeping a record of this is going to help me with determining my next steps, my rate of return, and potentially who is in the running for winning the challenge.

A close friend of mine sent me a link to an interesting video I thought I would share. The video explains in a very visual method, what motivates people. It promoted me to think of what else and how else I can make this challenge even better.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u6XAPnuFjJc

Enjoy your day!!

Short update on weekend

2010-08-16T12:06:00.000-07:00

Status Report:

Time: 12:00 noon
Location: My living room ( why is it called a living room? if I move into the kitchen am I kitchen rooming?)
Music: The shudder of the fridge reminding me it is still there
Number of emails received: 3
Facebook Activity: 1 email
Requests for CV: 0
Mood: Its Monday and I have coffee. Need I say more?
Tasks accomplished over weekend: Mountain biking, filming of video, spending time with small children

Tasks for today: Remembering to breathe and keeping focused.

Summary:

The weekend was filled with a healthy balance of playing outside, thinking about and working on the Work Wranglers Challange.
I also got to spend some quality time with my friend's children. Kids are so amazing, especially from the age of 2 when they are able to communicate. I find the way they see the world fascinating and enlighting. Almost everything is exciting, new and fun. Its a good reminder of the important things in life, such as food, play, cuddles and exploring.

Working hard today on updating the website, the video, and many other things

Keep checking back for more updates!!

Day 2 Results

2010-08-13T23:29:00.000-07:00

Status Report:

Time: 7:30 pm

Location: My dining room table, on a slightly more comfortable chair

Music: Damian Rice

Number of emails received: 6

Facebook Activity: 1 link

Requests for CV: 0

Mood: Tired but energetic

Tasks accomplished: Updated Linkedin profile, 2 meetings, many emails.

Tasks for Sunday: Create intro video, learn how to and write press release, learn about and join Twitter.

Summary:

Today was a very disjointed, discombobulating yet effective and great day.

The day started off with some emails from some Work Wranglers with potential leads on some contracts in September. It continued with a phone call from a third degree Work Wrangler (someone who is a connection of a connection), who provided me with contact name and number for someone who might have some interesting work.

In the afternoon I met with two dynamic women who own their own business offering video for online companies. They had heard about the Work Wrangler challenge from a common friend. They liked the idea, and were interested in helping me out by creating a video about me as well as guiding me through the process of recording video blogs. We are going to spend some time together on Sunday to create the video.
I am excited to share the results.
http://www.whatworksmedia.ca/What.html

My day ended by spending some quality time with a good friend of mine who is very generous with his time and expertise in web design and computer issues.

I have also discovered stories of other people who got very creative when they lost their jobs. It excites me to think that there are other people out there that I can learn from, who have been through similar experiences.

The two people I learned about today are:

Eric Proulx - Worked in the advertising business for many years, got laid off, and created a documentry called Lemonade. He also has many other projects on the go.
http://www.pleasefeedtheanimals.com

Geoff Vreeken- Also worked in the advertising business, was let go, and decided to create a pro bono advertising campaign for the Covenent House in Vancouver.
www.homelesscopywriter.com

Tomorrow my plan is to disconnect for the day and go mountain biking with some friends.

I love to hear your comments and suggestions

Have a great weekend!!

Day 1 Results

2010-08-13T00:12:00.000-07:00

Status Report:

Time: 10:00 pm

Location: My house on an uncomfortable chair

Music: Meatloaf

Number of emails received: 10

Facebook activity: 4 comments, 7 “likes”

Requests for CV: 2

Mood: Entertained and uplifted

Goal for tomorrow: Learn how to and write press release, update Linkedin profile, learn about and join Twitter.

So far I have had positive feedback to my little challenge.
People seem to think it is an innovative way to generate work, have made suggestions on how to improve it, and have forwarded the link to their friends and networks.

The question now have is How do I increase the circle of influence??

Comments are welcome and encouraged!

( so is a tutorial on how to use this site)