Six weeks ago, I packed up an office I sat in for six years & walked into a new building with marble floors.  I left a nonprofit environment for the wild, expensive world of pharmaceuticals.  I left a small family-owned business for a global company.  I left high-pressure sales to sit at a desk & offer support.

In short, I changed everything about my career.

Without going into the messy, gossipy, bridge-burning details that probably don’t interest anyone, I realized in mid-2010 that it was time for me to leave my job.  Unfortunately, we needed my income & benefits so I stayed with a job that drained my soul & every night, I sent a minimum dozen of resumes.  I went on a slew of interviews, wrote more cover letters than I care to admit, & sobbed misery every night. 

It took over a year of applying & interviewing.  Thousands of resumes.  Four-hour interviews with projects for companies, only to find out that I was “second choice.”  Rejection letters pouring in.  I was terrified that at 28 years old, I hit my career peak.  Then one afternoon over lunch with a friend, she mentioned an opening in her company & like any job lead that came before, I jumped on it quickly.  Two weeks later, my phone rang with an offer & I burst into tears of gratitude.

Yep, I cried on the phone with the recruiter.

I tell you that so a) you won’t take this as job-hunting law because obviously, I have a lot to work on in regards to professionalism.  & b) to warn you that job hunting can be the most emotionally draining time of life.  It’s kind of like dating, but for money.  errm…but not prostitution, I promise.

I’m not a guru or an expert, but I have been in that wretched place of career self-hatred & despair.  & I lived to tell the tale with a bright, shiny new professional future.  & not to get all motivational-speaker on you, but if I can do it?  You can do it.

1)  Perk up your resume.
After seeing something similar on Pinterest, I created a graphic resume to help show how my traditional sales experience with “old folks” coincided with knowledge of that crazy newfangled social media.  Employers went nuts over this because it showed that I could think outside the box & I was creative.

 (p.s. click on the picture to the right & you can see the huge version)

2)  Be fast like a cheetah.
Keep your eye on job listing sites & when you see one you like, pounce!  In the beginning of my job hunt, I’d “save” something for later only to find it pulled three days later.  & I also found a pattern that company’s call the first folks that submit (not always, but most often).  If I got my resume in the day the job posted, I had a higher chance of being called back – I think it’s because I got my name in before they became overwhelmed with an influx of resumes. 

3) Look for a common thread in every job not offered.
They all pointed to me not having a desired set of skills.  This made sense – after five years in sales, I decided to pursue marketing & public relations outside of sales.  Which lead to…

4)  Go back to school. 
I signed up for a class at the local community college to get my certificate in project managment.  I just needed SOMETHING to “push me over the edge” of the competition.  I registered for it months in advance, slapped it up on my resume with a projected graduation date, & employers loved seeing that I was motivated to learn more.  I ended up dropping the class before it even started when I got my job offfer because it was too much to learn a new job & take classes.  (I plan on taking it this spring with my company’s tuition reimbursement plan.)

5) Network.  But be sneaky about it.
Like 90% of the people that have jobs, I had a personal employee referral for my new company.  It was so hard not to announce to the world I AM LOOKING FOR A NEW JOB! when I felt like my blog friends were the best networking possible. Instead, I dropped hints in emails to readers & told my close friends.  I spoke about it in person at local blogging events & even BlogHer.  But I kept it off Facebook, Twitter, the blog, & LinkedIn because I didn’t want my current employer to find out.  It’s a tough balance.

6)  Be a little bonkers.
When I interviewed for the job I am at now, I was reaching the end of sanity.  So I decided to push the limits a little – for my first interview, I wore a sequined top under a traditional blazer & pencil skirt.  The girls are still talking about it to this day – which means I was memorable.  For the follow-up interview, my boss was unable to make the meeting & I suggested a Skype interview.  Within an hour, I was computer-to-computer with the big guy.  Guess what?  They’re still talking about that, too.  I do not intend to sound snobbish or pat myself on the back so much, but find a way to stick out that is still true to yourself.

7)  Lower any inflated sense of entitlement or pride.
This one is the hardest & the realityI did not want to face.  Step back in order to move forward.  I was in sales & marketing for six years, quite successfully selling quarter-million dollar contracts.  I run my own “business” where I create advertising partnerships with big companies.  When I started looking, I went after marketing jobs because I wanted to move away from sales.  But they were all looking for someone with more “practical experience” & saw my sales as a soft skill.  So I scaled back – the job I have now is the Executive Assistant to the Vice President.  When I was hired, we discussed that this was a stepping stone & he already has me working on some projects outside of my job.  So I’ll learn the company as the assistant, know the execs, get my hands dirty with some projects, & hopefully be a project manager in just a few years.  It is worth it.

The biggest lesson I learned was that the wrong job can suck the joy straight from life.  & I deserved better.  So if you’re feeling heart-dry & wasted in your career, put yourself out there.  Don’t be afraid to be rejected & to learn & to be patient.  It will be worth it – I promise.

love,
The Girl With The Most Baller Job & Coolest Boss Ever

p.s.  yep, my new boss & company sure do know about my blog.

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