Only got about 9 more emails into 2009 but I found the email where I offered to work for my old boss. I know I offered but I forgot the context of it and my “pitch”. It was partly in response to a need that was shared in our “training” or volunteer group, and all because I had learned about what the organization had needed during our conference calls.

So if I hadn’t been involved in those conversations with the volunteer group (I think I was about six months in at that point), I wouldn’t have known there was any interest in more manpower. So by that point, I was really coming from almost an insider’s perspective. Another reason why volunteering – doing the work already or getting involved with an organization without getting paid for it – is so important.