193 days.
That’s how long I have been actively looking for a new job. Since February of this year, I have spent hours every single day looking for a new role.
I exhausted LinkedIn and Indeed. When I finally joined a Reddit community to commiserate with other job seekers on the struggles of job searching, I realized that a lot of the jobs posted on LinkedIn and even Indeed are scams- just companies phishing for info to add people to mailing lists or get them to follow their company page.
I began to use old school methods of finding a job- going in person to ask for openings, reaching out personally to my connections to ask if they might know of anything I would be a good fit for, and using good ole Google to find other job sites that may not be as mainstream, such as sites meant for startups to find employees.
After 193 days of searching, I finally landed a new role I found through a site called Hiring Cafe. I can’t explain the relief I feel in my soul today, y’all. It does not pay as well as my previous role, but if I have learned anything this year, it’s these nuggets of wisdom:
💡 Be grateful for what you have in your life. You may not live in the fanciest house, or drive the fanciest car, but if you have people in your life who love and care for you and you have a roof over your head and food to eat, you’re blessed. Right now, I’m simply grateful and relieved that the job search is over for me.
💡 Walk away from something or someone when respect is no longer being served. I put up with disrespect in the workplace for far too long, and I refuse to do it anymore. I’m a good person who always treats others with kindness, and I don’t deserve anyone, regardless of title, to treat me like crap.
💡 Trust your intuition and believe in yourself. God gives us intuition as a form of divine guidance; if you feel strongly about something, listen to your gut and go with that feeling. God will NEVER steer us wrong.
💡 Be patient and trust the process. I gave in to fear and doubt a lot during my job search because I’m human. Now I realize if I had just trusted God a little more and listened to my intuition more instead of overthinking, I probably would have found a new role much sooner.
These are just a few of the lessons I’ve learned along this journey. I could write a novel on this entire process and what I’ve been through during the last 6 months, but I won’t- I’ll save that for Oprah. 🤣
I’m praying for all of you out there desperately looking for a new job. I know the job market is BRUTAL, and it can be so discouraging and depressing. I pray you all find an amazing new role very soon.
And remember- don’t be afraid to step out of your comfort zone and apply for things outside your normal industry. If you know you have the skills and talents to do something and you’re willing to learn, it’s NEVER too late to start a new career path.
God bless. 💛
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