In my world, renovating houses and Web work have a lot in common.

It stems from a simple rule.

Do the kind of work you enjoy doing.

It really can be that simple.

***

In a job interview once at a Fortune 200 establishment, and the HR guy just couldn't figure out what to make of all the stops on my resume. "It's not a history of career move to career move," I tried to explain. "It's all about moving project-to-project," He couldn't quite grasp how much of the movement was by choice and how much by necessity. I think the choice bothered him most; people are more prone to admire free thinkers than to hire them.

***

One move of necessity was getting into search engine optimization work because that's where so much of the Web money was going. My results in that field are nothing short of great, but time in that industry led to another move -- geting the hell out.

I guess to the Corporate HR fellow, that would be another choice. Considering what SEO work did to my frame of mind, I considered it a necessity.

***

After nearly 10 years in the IT world, it was time for a break, and living three blocks from the beach only made my decision easier. And I'm here to report for six months I scarcely turned a computer on, let alone work on it.

The world survived.

***

Last time I took a sabbatical, I wound up with my name in the credits of a major motion picture. Not as a writer or anything -- as a carpenter for "Major Payne."

Maybe this time around will be more distinguised.

This time around I did my usual stress relief via hammers and chopsaws and paint brush spinners, but I had an additional goal this time. I'd spent far too long inside and essentially alone, one drone connected to another via Ethernet port. So I got outside and with people. A job with lots of travel, a job one-third reporter, one-third social worker and one-third cop.

Just what I needed.

For as long as I needed it.

***

At IXL, a big-time dot bomb Web company, the Chief People Officer (really, that was his title) used to stress passion. The managers stressed passion. This Internet stuff was changing the world, so don't be blase about it.

Here's the funny thing.

I believed it. Still do today.

***

I spent a lot of time, while scrubbing away the stains and bad taste of doing grey-hat search engine recognition work, thinking about what I wanted to do next. Not like dropping out and becoming an Ayuvedic healer or anything, but in my field. Web-based instruction? Always thought I'd be a teacher someday. Pure technical writing? Print sure can be more precise than Web work. Ad agency work? Ghost writer? On and on it went.

As time went on, certain themes kept surfacing:
• working in a team versus working solo
• incorporating search engine recognition into my work, but not doing the kind of SEO work that kills readership.
• taking a look at news Web sites, but not at the exclusion of other interesting subject matter.
• finding places that need a Web doctor.

I have this pesky notion that there are a lot of Web sites out there that I can improve by applying a mix of skill, experience and diplomacy.

I'll let you know how it turns out.

G.L. Marshall Work-Related Home