I didn’t expect to be conducting a job search during a pandemic. In addition, I didn’t expect to actually land a new job in the midst of such turmoil. The job search can be a daunting task, full of rejection and disappointment, even in the best of times. Never have I had the pleasure of going through a realistic job preview, as part of the application and interview process, before my most recent position. It changed everything!
Making a Change
Several months ago, the COVID-19 pandemic hit. It affected every aspect of my life. Prior to that, I had advanced rapidly within the Marketing department of a SoCal casino and had my sights set on reaching a Director level role in the near future. I can’t say that a casino was my dream workplace but I’d grown within the company and learned quite a bit in the process. It had become my home away from home and I enjoyed the company of my peers. I also thrived in my role as a leader to my team.
When it became clear that the casino could no longer accommodate my need for flexibility (due to school closures) if I wished to continue advancing within the company, I considered my options. Change is hard for me. I’m so resilient that I can keep plugging away doing something that isn’t good for me, just for the sake of not making a difficult change or decision. It’s not good. I’m working on it.
The 2020 Job Search
Endless hours were spent over the course of six months applying to jobs online via Indeed and The Mom Project. I narrowed my job search down to remote work in the marketing or writing fields. It was a pretty small amount of jobs to choose from on a daily basis, but I pushed on and submitted over 400 online job applications. In the meantime, I took on freelance writing work as it came to me.
Often, what started as a simple application on Indeed led to a redirection to another site for testing purposes. I spent way too much time filling out personality tests, career assessments, and lengthy essay answers online for Copywriter and Marketing Director positions. By November, it was a blur. But then, when I least expected it, something different happened.
A Modern Application Process
For this job application, one of my additional tasks was to explain what was happening in the image above (in under 100 words) and to answer a multiple choice question about how many hipsters it took to change a light bulb. It was refreshing and made me laugh.
I stared at that graphic stick figure representation of a story I was determined to tell. There had been other times when the mental exhaustion of performing one more test-style task got me to drop out from finishing an application. Not this time. I pulled together the best 100 words I could to build the story of Data and IT and Excel and Profitability. The answer was sent and I forced myself not to overthink it – which is HILARIOUS if you know me because I overthink EVERYTHING.
Another, more difficult question to answer was what my expected compensation was. I bit the bullet and asked for 50% more than what the job advertised it paid on Indeed because that’s the amount of money I valued my role in the position was worth. Yes, I was worried that would disqualify me, but I did it anyway.
Creative Interviewing
Imagine my surprise when I received a follow up email two days later inviting me to the next steps in the hiring process. Stunned, I read on, more impressed with each paragraph. I was given the opportunity to simulate the actual job by rewriting something that had previously been written by their PR firm. And get this – it was PAID! Yes, I was treated respectfully as the professional I am and was compensated before I even delivered my piece 24 hours later.
The Job Offer
“I’m not going to bury the lead,” the owner of the company said when he called me to offer me the job. I appreciated his no-nonsense approach and I was shocked, after a seemingly endless series of rejection, that I had passed the test and was now being offered a job that afforded me everything I wanted without compromising anything.
There’s something about my experience and skill being recognized throughout this process that empowered me to believe I was good enough for a better opportunity, career, life in general. Much like you don’t compliment Martha Stewart’s cooking because of the oven she uses, I’ve been a big believer in teaching myself how to become better at my craft, whether it was photography or cooking or writing. For me, it’s been less about the formal education or fancy tools used and more about the hands-on practice and willingness to fail, laugh about it, and try again. It feels amazing to have someone else see in me the value I only recently realized I possess. It took me YEARS to get here, and now that I have a seat at the table, I’m staying!
2 thoughts on “A Uniquely Refreshing Approach to the Job Search”