Page 20 - Free Yourself From

Know Yourself—Be Yourself 3

I could have stayed on and advanced to be a head of plant produc-
tion or even head of headquarters for human resources in Detroit,
but in the long term, I didn’t want to stay in manufacturing and
production.
Fortunately I had a new opportunity presented to me. I was
offered a job more aligned with my long-term goals at Amax Inc., a
billion-dollar energy company, where I worked for its coal mining
division located in Indianapolis. It provided me with broader human
resources responsibilities, more opportunities to work with senior
executives, and the chance to rotate through jobs that taught me
about business activities company-wide. I had a supportive and expe-
rienced group of colleagues, mostly men, who served as helpful men-
tors along the way. I was fortunate to have a boss who was receptive
to my ideas and willing to put me in a variety of diverse projects—
all leading me to a promotion in my first year.
Then—4 years later, to my great surprise—I got a pink slip. I
was shocked and in denial. Despite watching layoffs happen to oth-
ers, I never thought I would be one of the victims.
How could this happen? Everything had gone so well. Like so
many others in this situation, I was struck with self-doubt. I won-
dered about my abilities and my skills. And the problem was worse
than it seemed. It was a bad economy, with a local unemployment
rate of 15 percent—and Indianapolis wasn’t exactly a booming
metropolis in good times. What would I do?
Standing in the unemployment line with 50 folks who had many
more years of experience than me, who were looking for the same
type of jobs I was seeking, an important realization struck me. Job
opportunities in that town were slim, and no one was going to sin-
gle me out from that long line of talented and credentialed executives
to hand me a golden opportunity. I needed to create change for
myself and take responsibility for my future. I could use this as an
opportunity to pursue my dream job. This was a chance to push out