Stepping Back Into A Different World…The Working World

Hello and thank you, as always, for joining us again on my journey from SSDI, back into the working world.

If you’ve been with me since the first blog, then you have many of the puzzle pieces to my journey…from being diagnosed with an invisible (dis)ability, to stepping back into the workspace after almost 4 years. I had to educate myself about my (dis)ability…what it does to me and what I can do to and about it, which has enabled me to work again and participate in life, instead of simply existing in it. Sometimes our existence is far below what we are capable of, and we need some help to look up. That’s the role the MEO Ticket to Work Program played in my life…they helped me look up and see what was possible.

In a previous blog, I mentioned that my first job back into the working world was as a customer service representative. It was pre-Covid, so the money wasn’t great at all. But I am so grateful for that job, for countless reasons. I learned a lot about myself and how I had put limitations on myself, long before my (dis)ability found me. For example, all of my life I told myself that I wasn’t technical, so when my Employment Counselor presented some options that would give me Work From Home (WFH) experience, technical advisor was one of them. My response was, “Oh no, I’m not technical.” She didn’t give up; she kept encouraging me to try because it paid more. I gave in and tried. Eventually, and I say eventually, because it was after many applications and “Dear Verona, …thank you for applying, but” emails, that I would see some forward movement. Those emails can hurt your feelings and even discourage you from trying, if you let them. I kept pressing through them and would eventually get 3 or 4 offers at the same time, all technical! It is what I always want for my clients, a choice. In every interview, I was honest about not considering myself technical, but very much experienced in multiple aspects of customer service. What I heard from the recruiters was that they couldn’t teach customer service, but they could teach the technical stuff. 

What I found was that I was technically inclined and had always been, but didn’t notice it because it wasn’t my primary career. I was always able to figure things out, having to do with computer software and even hardware, when it came to setting up computers. It took someone who had observed what I couldn’t see, to say to me, stop saying that you aren’t technical. This person, who is technical, proceeded to remind me of some things that I had done, and continued to do and figure out on my own, which took some technical skill and ability to do. Once I got I can’t out of my head, I moved up very quickly to become a Senior Technical Advisor, much to my own surprise/shock. I want this to be encouragement to you…that some of the everyday things that we do, and think nothing of, are transferrable skills that we can use when we are trying to get back into the workspace.

A lot had changed in the almost 4 years I was out of the workspace…with me and in the industries that I previously worked in. I often equated it to trying to merge into traffic on Interstate 95. Everything was moving faster than I remembered and felt and looked different. The computer had been my friend for years in all of my previous jobs…but stepping back into the workspace, it wasn’t as familiar. The basics were there, but there were a lot more applications that were required in order to complete work tasks, effectively and efficiently. It was like trying to hop onto a Merry-Go-Round or waiting for the right timing and rhythm in Double Dutch Jump Rope. In both of these scenarios, we don’t control how fast or slow things are moving, so we have to adjust in order to hop on or hop in.

There are some things we decide we can’t do before we attempt them, or we have so many things going on in our lives that we aren’t sure if we can add this one more thing. It can seem that just getting up in the mornings is about all we can do. I will tell you that there is no feeling like getting up in the morning with a purpose…whether it’s being in the midst of figuring out what that is or actually living it out. Getting back to work helped me with that. It has boosted my self-confidence and self-esteem. Getting back to making a living wage is, of course, positive in an external kind of way. But the feeling you get, internally, when you accomplish something you weren’t so sure you’d be able to do, is a pretty good feeling. It’s the start of a journey of exploration…if I did that…what else can I do.

I was very scared…I tried to think of another word, but if I’m honest…I was very scared about losing my SSDI Cash Benefits, after all, it was my only source of income and livelihood. As those of us who’ve been through the process know, SSA Benefits aren’t easy to get. But my desire to Live and not just Exist, became stronger and stronger as I began to work. I became even more serious about the things that were in my power to help me manage my (dis)ability and stay as healthy as possible so that I could work. It was my comeback…not to the same thing…not done the same way…not easy, but doable. I came back to a workspace that was a different world. The initial stepping-stones were rocky, and I felt at times as if I would fall, but I kept going until I developed a new rhythm. Transitioning from one stepping-stone to another began to become less rocky and a much smoother process, with MEO as a balancing resource.

Another positive that I didn’t realize at the time, was that my return to the workspace, meant that my SSDI benefit amount began to increase again, because of working and paying into it. This will work in my favor when I become of retirement age or if I ever needed to return to SSDI. If you’ve been following me on these blogs, then you already know that I’m going to do everything in my power to not go back…but won’t hesitate to, if I ever needed to. We don’t allow pride to keep us from making life adjustments, if we need to!!

As always, it is a pleasure to share with you my journey back into the workspace, as a client and now as an Employment Counselor, helping others walk a similar path as they discover their own path of what’s next for them. I look forward to continuing our journey in the next blog! Until next time…as always, take good care of yourselves…

**If this is your first visit to our blog site, please feel free to visit previous blogs. If you’re interested in more information regarding applying for the MEO Ticket to Work Program…click here: https://myemploymentoptions.com/apply-now/