I can understand the "lack of motivation." Years ago I lost my job at the bank where I worked, basically my whole team got downsized, but of course they wouldn't call it that (we were all just fired, a few at a time). The bank was being scrutized by regulators, we couldn't book new accounts, etc. The place was a real bottom feeder, one of the most predatory credit card companies out there. I was miserable every day I went there, and was somewhat relieved to get out. Having had it up to my eyeballs with collections, I decided to take some time and just chill out, decompress. I had an annuity that was worth enough to live on for a year or so, so I just dropped out. It was a great most-of-a-year; I slept in, then went to the mall to watch the girls in minskirts!
Almost every day I caught a matinee, then read, listened to music, etc etc.
Of course, eventually the money started to run out and I was forced to contemplate returning to work. Needless to say, after most of a year living the life of leisure I didn't relish getting back to the ol' grind again. So naturally, I displayed little or no enthusiasm in my first half dozen interviews.
Ah, I'll wait until something more interesting comes along, I figured. But the bills didn't stop. And as I got closer to broke you'd think I'd have tried harder, but it's hard to sell yourself after being oow that long. I probably started to look a bit desperate after awhile, and that's not appealing to an employer (I know- I've spend years doing the hiring for various restaurants).
Eventually I found something that didn't totally suck, and once I got my groove back I made the leap back into management. It took some time, but you just gotta be determined and
realize it's a process!
Start out by picking one likely candidate, and make a completely honest effort to do well in the interview. Don't sabotage it, really put yourself out there, even if you have to fake it at first.
It gets easier, Seth.
