Photo: Gregg Obst
I am always asking people about their jobs and job searches. Most of the time it’s out of general curiosity, other times it’s market research for my site and this blog. I’ve heard some good job search advice, some horror stories , and a lot in between. Here’s another good one, the story of Natasha (It’s an alias, but the name Natasha sounds so mysterious and cool to me, I had to pick that as the made-up name. NATASHA!).
Anyway, Natasha has a contracting role doing marketing work in San Diego. She’s been looking for full time work for a while, and has shared a few stories with me along the way.
She was downtown for an interview that went well enough, but ended up being for a job that was 100% commission based – something she wasn’t interested in taking. So she left the interview feeling disappointed. On the way back to her car, she remembered a staffing agency nearby that had hooked her up with a good job a few years back. She figured, “What the heck, I was all dressed up and gas prices are through the roof. I had my resume and my letters of recommendation with me so I figured I would just show up in person.”
Luckily she got to talk with someone at the agency, and the recruiter she met with provided a great lead on a corporate communications manager position. The recruiter called her client immediately and scheduled an interview for 3:00 the next day. There were two other people in the running for this job but the recruiter told her client that Natasha was now her favorite for the job and bumped her ahead of the other two people.
That’s how you do it, folks.
The reason I love Natasha’s story is threefold.
– Interviews suck and they’re exhausting. You practice and prepare, you get all amped up and put on your best face, and during the interview you are trying to be as sharp as possible. Interviews are like a 2-5 hour balancing act, trying to keep as many things up and look good doing it. After her interview was finished, it would have been so easy for Natasha to just head home. I honestly think I would have. But instead, she kept herself up, and marched into a staffing agency without an appointment or contact.
– It was opportunistic (in a very good way). Carpe Diem, people. She was there, was dressed to kill, and knew to seize the moment. She didn’t let her past interview be an excuse to ignore the next opportunity. This might seem like a little thing, but it shows toughness, eagerness, and commitment. Anyone who thinks those characteristics are “little” or insignificant doesn’t know their ass from their elbow.
– Natasha is the real deal. She is going to get a job if she has to run one down, tackle it by the horns, hog tie it, and stand triumphantly before a throng of screaming, rabid, Texas rodeo fans. She’s trying to convince people she’s a marketing pro, all while enthusiastically and professionally marketing herself.
I wish Natasha the best, but I smile when thinking that because she’s the LAST person who needs my well wishes. She’s out there doing everything right, everything that’s easy to skip or ignore. She’s chasing leads, working her network, and putting herself out there all the time. She’s overcome lots of adversity, stuff that you can’t even imagine, and is a great example of that no-excuses, super tough, go-getter attitude we love here at ApplyMate. It’s only a matter of time before someone in San Diego scoops her up.
Know someone with a great job search or employment story? Have one of your own? I’d love to hear it and possibly feature it in a post. I can even give you a cool, mysterious, spy-like name if you want :).
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