I’ve been debating on whether or not to write the following, and after careful consideration I’ve decided to go ahead with my first thought, which is to reintroduce former colleagues and potential employers to me, and let all know I am seriously looking to reenter the workforce after a three-year absence.
My goals are simple, to let you know who I am, where I’ve been, what I’ve been doing and what I am looking to do now and in the future. I hope you see a strong and confident candidate who brings with him a diverse background and an eagerness to work. I am confident in my skills, organization and creativity, and I am hopeful I can share all of this with my next employer, and I am hoping that will be you. Thank you for taking the time to read the following. - Paul Eric Kilmon (paerki)
I am one of the many people looking for employment. There are some who are just graduating from school and looking for their first professional job. Others have lost a job due to a troubled economy.
My situation is a bit different. I am someone who is looking to reenter the workforce after three years out of the daily grind. I resigned from a project management position in clinical research in October of 2007. The position I left was one I loved and thrived in.
Prior to this position I was living in Phoenix, Arizona, when I received a call from, Dr. Yataco, who was my coworker at Innovative Medical Research (IMR). He had opened his own clinical research firm, International Research Center (IRC) in early 2000, and was looking for me to come on board as a Senior Clinical Research Coordinator, a position I held at IMR prior to my moving to Phoenix.
Regardless of Dr. Yataco knowing and understanding my work ethic (which by the way, centers around organization and knowing that every employee has value and something positive to offer), I had to interview, and he soon discovered nothing had changed in my outlook or how I approached work. Just like my life, I look at work as something I just don’t have to do to survive, but something I want to do. It’s another way for me to connect with people, be creative, learn and more importantly, grow.
My time at IRC came to an end as a result of illness. I have always been a healthy person (a responsible eater and a promoter of exercise). Months prior to leaving IRC I had some serious health challenges that left me exhausted and, sadly, seriously ill. I had been under a doctor's care prior to leaving, but there was little assurance that what I was dealing with would be resolved in the near future.
The position I held at IRC was demanding, intense and required long hours and much travel. I was devoted to my job, giving much more than was needed, and I realized with the health challenges there was no way for me to continue without subjecting my body to even more despair. It was time for me to recover and that, my friends, was a sad day, but nevertheless the right thing to do for both parties involved.
It would take close to two years for me to figure out just what was wrong. After numerous misdiagnoses, inconclusive tests and an often insensitive medical system that I’m convinced doesn’t always favor the patient, I discovered I have celiac disease.
After discovering that gluten was my nemesis, my life changed. By simply avoiding gluten, my horrific symptoms became less and less and eventually disappeared. As the symptoms left, I became stronger. I finally found the way back to me, healthy Paul. I wish this journey on no one, not even my worst enemy (Actually, I have none). Through it all, I learned more than I thought I ever could. I learned about friendship, grace, resilience, the real reason why we need to be organized, and why we need to tap into our creativity from time to time if we want to survive in a world where anything is possible and nothing is guaranteed.
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