I am looking for a job.

This is a feeling that makes my stomach sink because the task is not the lighthearted hunt I enjoyed in my 20’s. In my youth, my family called me the “Queen of Jobs”. I would fall ass backwards into jobs that paid well and required little effort. In university, I announced to my friends I was off to get a job, and a few hours later I came back as the head of the fundraising department of the Business school with a key and a steady paycheque; they were astounded. Later on I used to play a game: Name a job and Stephanie either had it or something similar. People would say “Stripper” and I would tell them the story of how I was a Go-Go dancer in a downtown club until a shooting happened and the club closed down. People would say “Nanny” and I would tell stories of the dog sitting business I had on the side where I had some pretty cool clients like Ted Roger’s dog “Nelly” living at my place on occasion.

I was good at finding jobs and kept them until I got bored. Well, now, after years of running my own business, I am faced with my youngest entering the full time school system and mommy now has her days free….for what? I figured I’d dust off the old resume and throw it out there. The biggest problem: this old resume is OLD! Running my Improv school since 2005 has been my main focus. My business experience is now running back almost 14 years; references have moved on or retired. Now, I’m not just going after the usual bartending or receptionist job I used to grab in the years past, I’m looking for something that pays well (I have to say, the hourly rate of a part time college professor is hard to give up), something that is flexible if one of my kids gets sick or if I have an audition, and something that works around my schedule so I can see the school busses off and return when they’re back at 3pm.

This has become the search for the “job that doesn’t exist!” I then remembered the wise words of my mother: Do what you love and the money will come. What do I love to do in my spare time? What is that one thing that I was itching to do when I had down time…well, it’s writing. Articles, Newsfeeds, scripts, editorials, essays, short stories. All of it brings me such joy. How many times have people told you to find the positive in a challenging situation? I think I found my silver lining. This is the time to get off my ass and finish the two books on improvising I’ve been working on. Hey, how about the web series I’ve been meaning to shoot? The resume may need to be retired indefinitely as this artist needs to focus on a career rather than a job.

A good friend of mine is now working in Los Angeles at Will Ferrell’s company Funny or Die. I have a goal, a goal that is not going to be diverted by a handsome paycheque. Instead, doing what I love will have to pay off. Maybe I’ll be writing for Tina Fey one of these days and you can say, “I knew her when she was looking for a job”. Do what you love and the money will come.

About the Author

Stephanie Herrera is a comedian, writer, producer, teacher, singer, actor, mother of 4, and shallow philosopher. She runs the Durham Improv & Acting Studio in Oshawa, Canada, is a professor at Durham and Fleming Colleges, and is an award winning performer.  www.durhamimprov.com / www.stephanieherrera.com / info@durhamimprov.com / (647) 899-3342  Durham Improv Group and Business pages can be found on Facebook and follow @durhamimprov & @antimommy