30 days to the job you love - Day 2

With 200,000+ tech layoffs in 2023 and more being let go in early 2024, it is easy to get discouraged. Personally, I have many friends who were and are affected. For those whom I worked with, I am grateful that our paths crossed.

For 30 days, I will post a tip each day to encourage you and give you some suggestions on how to stay motivated during your job search.

Day 2

Being let go from a job is a form of rejection. While you are working to get over that first rejection, you may encounter many other rejections during your job search, everything from not having a response to your application, not going to the next round of the selection process, to being ghosted after having a good interview. When we are rejected, it’s easy to go down the spiral path of thinking that we are not worthy or that we are a failure. Everybody has rejections in their life. I do. You do. And many other famous people do. Abraham Lincoln failed in business 3 times and failed campaigning 7 times prior to becoming President of the United States. Oprah Winfrey was fired from her job as a reporter because she was “unfit” for TV. Walt Disney was fired from a newspaper for “lacking imagination” and “having no original ideas.” Marilyn Monroe was dropped by 20th Century-Fox after one year because her producer said that she was not pretty or talented enough to be an actress. J.K. Rowling's “Harry Porter” manuscript was rejected by 12 publishing houses.

Learning how to deal with rejections is important to your mental health in the long run. First, let’s not take rejections personally but use them as a motivation to grow. Instead of asking, “what have I done to be rejected?” Let's ask: “what can I do next?”

Step 1: Watch this video “Minutes with Maxwell, ‘I Failed’ Vs ‘I’m a Failure’ https://lnkd.in/gkuKKFgt

Step 2: Take a blank page of paper and write down all accomplishments that you are proud of. Go back as far as you can remember. Often, the things that we did as kids say the most about our potential. Early in my career, I never saw myself as a leader. But as I reflected on my childhood time, I noticed that I always volunteered to take on extracurricular group projects while others hesitated, even when I had no idea how to do it at first. Then, I rallied my classmates; and we figured out how to do it together.

Step 3: Phone a close friend and ask them to tell you the things that they like or admire most about you. You will be surprised to learn attributes about yourself that others see in you, but you didn’t before.  My friend, Monika, told me that she admired my courage. That came as a surprise because courageous figures in my mind are loud, physically strong, and big. But she said, “you stood up to the bullies while others turned away.” And she was right. I was soft-spoken and shaking inside, but I never backed down.

Rejection is temporary. Don’t let these temporary events derail you on your path to new possibilities. 

“Success is not final; failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts.” – Winston Churchill