Some of you may remember a tweet that I sent out in October that mentioned company downsizing and being laid off.   I was inundated with well wishes, leads, words of encouragement, and positivity that absolutely floored me.  For anyone who says that Twitter is just a place where people talk about what they had for lunch that day, they could NOT be more wrong, and that day in October solidified that for me.  I would probably even go so far as to say that I kind of retreated a bit the past few months trying to figure out what the next step would be.  I realized how powerful one tweet could be (in the right circumstances, of course) .    

I was quietly talking with people, and researching opportunities that were quite literally being thrown at me.  Everyday someone tweeted a job lead and CC'ed me, or put something on the #CmgrChat hashtag looking for Community Managers.   When Kelly Lux and I talked in August about starting a chat for community managers I think we did it so we could learn more about our own positions, and it's grown into such a vibrant chat each week with some of the greatest and most influential people that operate in their businesses using social media.  I'm very thankful for all those that participate and bring their smarts to the table each week.  Definitely looking forward to what comes out of this group in 2011.

So just like they say - the best way to get a job is to network.  I reached out to a few people and asked if they knew about any leads.  I hadn't even updated my resume yet and had already had 2 phone interviews with one company the day following my twitter announcement of being laid off by the end of the year.  Fortunately I had been given two months' notice and planned to take my time and find the right fit. Leaving Syracuse wasn't my first choice because it's an incredible community, but professionally a major move was needed.  Now was the time to really step up my game and work for a company that is forward thinking and aligns with my ideals - and ya know, would give me health insurance since that was something I've gone without the whole of 2010.   Risky business if you ask me.

As fate (or luck, or coincidence, or happenstance) would have it, that company that I had talked with not even 15 hours after being laid off was just that company.  That first conversation just felt so natural.

**.....Drumroll Please.....**

I am extremely excited to announce that I will be working back in the city that started it all for me a few years ago -  New York City, working for a start up in the realm of education at a company called 2tor.

I will be a Community Manager for the University of Southern California's School of Social Work Master's program.   You can read all about 2tor in their about us section on their site, but it was founded in 2008 by some education industry heavy hitters.  The whole concept of 2tor, is that the company partners with the top higher education systems to get their degree programs online for students to participate in from anywhere.  2tor provides the school with the resources, tools, experience, technology, and creates a community around the programs to help them grow and succeed on line.

I am beyond excited to dive into this new endeavor and I'm not wasting any time.  My last day at Alliance Relocation Services is tomorrow, Thursday December 23rd, and I will be starting at the 2tor offices in New York the day after I return from my vacation to India in the middle of January.  Hitting the ground running in 2011, that's for sure. And for all those in New York...  a move back to the big apple will be following closely behind that start date - can't wait to see you.


*Special thanks to @DavidSpinks for making the introduction to @Alexa!  Ya know, speaking of that whole networking thing.