Unemployment: A Story of Hope and Public Relations
Posted on Tue, Apr 20, 2010
by Kristen
Well, here I am. After eight and a half LONG months of unemployment, I am back in the workforce.
And the biggest lesson I learned from this experience? Never, ever settle.
I’ve always been one of those obnoxious over-achievers: six internships in college, hugely involved in PRSSA and all-around driven. Because of that, I was hired right out of college and loved my job.
Skip to two years of hard work later, the economy took a dive and I was laid off. ::Cue violins::
I was used to being hired on the spot, so I thought it would take me no time at all to find a new job. Thankfully, my dad had been in my head enough all those years, so I had a nice cushion of cash to keep me safe for several months. (Note: No matter how young or old you are, 10 percent of your check needs to be put in a savings account that you DO NOT TOUCH. Life happens and it will save you.)
At first, I was very picky about where I went to interview, because I only wanted to apply to companies where I saw a long-term future. I searched on Monster.com, Craigslist, Hound.com and every other job Web site there is, plus I had my own Web site created to present my résumé in a way that would set me apart from everyone else who was searching for a job. I was starting to feel the pressure.
About six months in, a company found me on Monster.com and invited me to an interview. For some reason, it made the voice inside my head scream “NO, NO, NO!” But I thought, “hey, a job is a job and I just need to suck it up.”
I was about five minutes early and was asked to sit in the front room to wait for my interviewer. An hour and 25 minutes later, someone finally came to interview me. It was absolutely robotic. No niceties, no personality, no questions to get to know more than will I make this company money, or not? I felt like I had a huge number stamped on my forehead.
However, yes it was in PR, yes it was a job and yes I got an offer.
But I couldn’t bring myself to accept it.
I’m not a person who can be in a job I hate or even take a “just-for-now” job while looking for something I actually want. I put 100 percent of myself into the work I do and there was no way that I was going to do that for something I only cared about 2 percent. I declined and went back to the warm embrace of my online applications, though I was starting to feel like I’d be doing this forever.
Two months later, I applied to Metis through Craigslist and was called in for an interview. It was one of those moments in which your friend sets you up on another blind date and you’re apprehensive, but when you meet them, they’re of Brad-Pitt caliber. I was thrilled.
Metis felt like me. It isn’t a time clock, punch-in, punch-out company. There are REAL people working here who care about me and my success. They understand their clients and know the industry really well, but still manage to maintain a comfortable atmosphere that allows employees to do their jobs better.
It just felt right. I was offered the job and couldn’t say “yes” fast enough.
So here I am, starting over. My nice little cushion is now more of a thin, worn sheet, but I am doing what I love at a company that feels like home and I have never been happier (Really.).
If you’re job hunting, you know it’s a tough market out there, but stay hopeful and wait for something that makes you happy. No matter what anyone says, that’s what matters most.