The Unemployment Grind
Time flies when you’re having fun, huh? We’ve officially passed the two month mark since my layoff and every day I cringe a little less when I think about the day they walked me out. I thought that I would be down in the dumps when it happened and that I would be stuck there for a while, but things have been surprisingly positive. I think that after giving myself some time to sulk and be sad, I’ve done a really good job to take this opportunity and run with it. Now that you all know about my travels from other blog posts and millions of stories on Instagram, I wanted to talk to you about the actual interviews and application processes I’ve gone through. Let’s just say they haven’t all been butterflies and rainbows, but one thing’s for sure — I have learned a lot.
First things first, my resume. I actually always have my resume updated because a former mentor of mine recommended to keep adding to it each quarter, if possible. So, the good news was that the content was there but I had been applying to other roles for some time and I had not gotten a single bite. Not one email requesting to talk to me and I was really confused because I know that my skills are needed and quite easily transferable. This made me think that I needed to revamp the way I outlined my resume and that’s exactly what I did. I went to my two most trusted advisors: Tiktok and ChatGPT. Is that too Gen-Z of me? I’m actually a Millennial but I identify as an old soul.
Anyway, I wanted to look at what resumes looked like nowadays and what recruiters were looking for. For the most part, the content was there but the order or verbiage needed some tweaking. Overall, I found that a lot of people were listing their top skills at the top before their experience and those buzzwords could help with the software that HR and recruiters run the resumes through, to see if the candidates are good fits quickly. I also made my bullets more “punchy”? I wanted the bullets to get to the point quickly and make sure that they were easily understood by a variety of audiences while still maintaining a level of detail specific to the roles or companies I worked for. I found that I had several bullets were saying sort of the same thing and there was a lot of cutting out from the original version. I’m sure it could still use some work, but once I started using this resume, I started hearing back from recruiters and hiring managers.
Next, the search process. I primarily use LinkedIn because I have built a strong network/community there. I regularly posted while I was in my previous roles and my coworkers would jokingly say I was the resident LinkedIn influencer of the team. Personally, my favorite title was the Chief Party Officer title, which I will work to earn again at whichever company I end up at. When I was laid off, I posted about the layoff and I did this for very specific reasons.
For my former coworkers to know that it was okay to reach out to me about it
For my network to help me
For myself to sort of close a chapter
I have seen many layoffs in my short career and somehow I’ve always managed to be on the right side of things until this time. I remember how hard it is for some managers to deliver the news and how somber the environment feels when the people are gone. I also remember the stiff tension and chaotic energy in the office when layoffs are happening. We would always stalk the directory and look to see who had disappeared from reporting lines. It was like waiting to hear the cannons at the end of the day in the Hunger Games. You never knew how many were coming or if there were more ahead. Nothing I say can truly describes how awful the feeling is to see your colleagues go because at the end of the day, we spend a large chunk of time working and getting to know our coworkers. I cried the whole way home from Wall Street to Queens and my mind was racing with a million thoughts. I decided to post on social media about the layoff because I remembered when it happened before, I wasn’t sure if I should reach out to those that were affected and it was kind of awkward because I didn’t know if they wanted me to or if they would think I didn’t care about them if I didn’t. I wanted people to know that I was okay (not really) and that it was okay to talk to me about it. A lot of my close colleagues had already reached out, of course, but it just felt like the right thing to do. In a way, I also wanted to show that I was thankful for my time with them and with the company and that was the best way I knew how to.
One thing that I included in the post which, to quote DJ Khaled, a major key, was a call to action for my connections. I asked them to keep an eye out for me regarding any roles that would fit my skills and send them my way. This post got a lot of traction compared to some of my other posts, and it kept getting likes and comments for weeks after the layoff. It got over 18K impressions, which is the most that any of my posts had received. It was nice to hear from people from the various roles in my career and connect with people I hadn’t heard from in ages. So many people reached out privately to chat and a lot of them offered to open up their networks to me to make introductions and referrals for other roles. Referrals have been critical for increasing the likelihood of hearing back on applications and two of the most promising roles I have interviewed for, came through a referral.
Lastly, I wanted to trick myself into thinking that I was okay. I remember trying to keep my shit together that day so that my friends and family wouldn’t feel the panic that had taken over me. You really never think something like this is going to happen to you but since it’s so widespread, I haven’t really felt alone in this. I wrote that post to remember the good over the past five years at the company that helped launch my career. I had no trouble thinking about all of the bad things that happened so I wanted to try to shift my mindset a little bit because that’s something I’ve always struggled with. Now, two months later, I do not regret posting that. If I had to go through it again, I would certainly post it again but let’s hope I never have to go through this again. Huge thanks to everyone that reached out during that time, it meant a lot more than you will ever know.
Anyway, this post was critical for the job search because of the referral aspect. I did get some referrals and that has been fantastic because searching for jobs and applying organically is painful. The algorithms are definitely getting better as I apply to more things and I am finding more relevant positions. That could also be because of the time of year, there are probably more jobs posted than between Thanksgiving and Christmas. Each night, I go on the jobs tab of the LinkedIn app and save any jobs I think I could be interested in. Usually, it’s right before I go to bed and I’m half asleep anyway but I review them in the coming days and unsave the ones that I am not qualified or interested in. I’m trying to focus on jobs that I can truly see myself doing because I want to be passionate about what I’m doing. I typically apply to jobs at companies that I know or am a customer of, but if it’s a company I’m not familiar with, I spend time asking my pal ChatGPT to tell me a little bit about them.
Actually applying has got to be the worst part. Every company uses a different system and you have to make an account for almost every single company that you apply for. In the beginning it was a numbers game for me, meaning that I was applying to basically anything that had the word data in it. I figured that if I wanted to increase my chances of hearing back, then I had to increase the volume of applications. Someone was bound to reach out hahaha but it was exhausting. I have so many cover letters for the various positions all similar but a little different. I definitely used ChatGPT for this as well, but I spend quite a bit of time modifying it to make it more “me” because it can sound really formal or cookie cutter at times. Also, these cover letters are for me to help the hiring team get a sense of who I am. I mean, I’m not an idiot. I know most of the time they probably don’t even read them but in the off chance that they do, I want them to want to talk to me after reading that cover letter. It also gives me a bit more room to talk about the most relevant experience for that specific role without having to change my resume. Work smarter, not harder people!
With a lot of applications come a lot of rejections. I think of myself and my experience as one circle and the job description as another circle and I bring them together in my mind. The more overlap between the circles, the better I feel about applying to the role, but there is this study that says that men are more likely to apply to positions than women when they don’t meet all of the requirements or qualifications. During this process, I have made it my goal to apply to things that make me a little bit scared and uncomfortable because they have things listed that I don’t have mastered but I’m not even 30 years old yet. I still have so much to learn and I want a job that truly challenges me and pushes me. That’s what drives me. Maybe it’s just because I grew up as a tennis player and I’m competitive as hell, but I love it. Job postings have their “unicorn” candidate described, and they also know that they’re not going to find those people all the time and that has encouraged me to go through with the application. Don’t get me wrong, I’ve definitely applied to things that I have no business applying for, but what the hell?
Every rejection fucking sucks. I have no other way to explain it. Reading the subject line on the emails, knowing what’s to come in the body of the email. Sometimes I hold my breath. Other times I clear the notification right away and pretend I never got it or read it later when I’m in a better headspace. When I finally read the messages, it hurts. Whether I want the job or not, it hurts really bad. Rejection is awful and I avoid it at all costs but in this situation, it’s part of the process. You have to put yourself out there and hope for the best. Each time I receive one of those emails, it feels like someone is stabbing me with a knife in my stomach. “While your skills and background are impressive, we’ve decided to move forward with other candidates that align better with the role.” Blah, blah, blah… I bet they also used ChatGPT to write them hahaha. Can’t blame them.
As we know, for every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction. There have certainly been more rejections than not, but getting those emails that want to have a call with you, it feels amazing. I feel such a high when I read their request for a video or phone call. It’s euphoric. If it’s a job that I really want, I get really excited and call or text my mom immediately. She has been my rock through this whole thing.
The actual interviews are interesting. I’ve actually really enjoyed learning about different companies because for the majority of my career, MS is all I’ve ever known. I don’t have much to compare my experiences to so it’s really cool to hear about what other companies are doing and how they leverage technology to achieve their goals. Most of the time, I have a screening call with a recruiter first. They ask me to walk them through my resume, ask me why I’m interested in the role, all that good stuff. We often talk about compensation, even though it’s the first conversation. I kind of like it because that way neither one of us has to waste our time if there is no flexibility with the posted range. I have never really negotiated in any of my previous roles so I have certainly missed out on some opportunities and left some money on the table. If everything checks out, the recruiter will usually ask me if I still want to proceed with the role and if I do, they’ll let me know what’s next. There have been times when I have agreed to move forward but there have also been occasions when I’ve asked to withdraw.
While my background has been in the financial services industry, I’ve always had a huge interest in sports, particularly sports analytics. I had signed up for this site that specifically posts only sports roles and I found a great role for one of the big leagues here in the States. I was beyond excited and thought “this is it!” The recruiter scheduled a call for me to meet with the director of HR two weeks out and I put it in my calendar. I actually missed the interview because I got my interview times mixed up (LOL) but they let me reschedule. In the rescheduled interview, we talked a lot about the league and the role and the team overall, but eventually, it all boiled down to comp. The role was more junior that I was looking for but I applied anyway, in hopes that I could meet people in the interview and connect that way. The recruiter told me that the amount I had listed in the application was already outside the range for the position and that number I gave was way lower than what I wanted or even needed to survive in New York. I knew that if I wanted to switch industries and go into sports, I would have to likely take a step back and work my way up and also take a pay cut, but this was too much. I asked for a few days to think it over, but I knew in my gut already that I was not going to be able to make it work. It kind of felt wrong asking to withdraw from the process because I didn’t have another job lined up but I was very deep in interviews for other roles at companies that could pay much more and knew I had to pursue those instead. Ultimately, those didn’t work out either for a variety of reasons but I don’t regret my decision. I did think about accepting that sports job until I could find a different job but I didn’t want to burn any bridges by quitting a few months into the gig and I knew I had my big Australia trip coming up.
Other interviews have had me meet with the hiring manager first and then the rest of the team or vice versa. I think I prefer to meet the hiring manager first because I want to get a sense of the role directly from the person that’s going to be evaluating my performance in it and I also want to see if we make a good fit because I like to be really close with my managers. For example, in one interview the hiring manager told me that the team was extremely busy and that she didn’t want to have to “hold my hand” because I wasn’t an expert in the platform the role was for. I’ve also had situations where I’ve been given assessments and assignments to take and do offline and return. While some of my friends call it “working for free,” I really enjoyed working on the assignments. I truly miss working hahaha I know I won’t be saying that in a few months but I miss having that sense of purpose and using my brain to solve problems. One of the assignments I even had to present to a panel and the role was a global position so I had to present it in English but also answer questions in Spanish. Funny story about this one actually — the assessment came the week before I went to Australia and then they sent me the assignment the day before I left. I did the assignment all jetlagged in the middle of the night in Australia, only to have them tell me that they sent me the assignment prompt for the WRONG role. They asked me to redo it and I said I needed more time because I was not about to take more time out of my vacation across the planet for this assignment. They were, of course, very understanding but they only gave me a couple of days after I got back to do it and if you follow me on Instagram, you know I was STRUGGLING with the jetlag for over a week! When I presented the assignment to the panel, it was nerve wrecking but it felt so good to be back in my element.
I was hoping to hold this post off until I secured my next role but I haven’t yet. I always bring you along with me in everything that I do — probably too much but whatever — and I wanted to share this. I have a couple of things in the works and one that I’m particularly excited about, so fingers crossed that the next post will be about getting the job! Regardless, I have grown so much in these past two months and I am so proud of how I’ve dealt with this situation. You never truly know how you’re going to react when something like this happens and I can’t say I was very prepared for it but I’m happy with how things have shaken out. Here’s to finding a new job that fuels me and excites me! Please feel free to comment any tips or share any funny interview stories — I’d love to hear them. And don’t forget to follow my blog instagram and connect with me on LinkedIn.
xx marn
