A Journey to Find the Moon

Remember when the world was safe?

Back when the world was a safe place (ie Nov 2019) I had finally reached the end. I had supported my team through redundancy helping them to think about what they wanted to do and their next steps - but to be honest, I wasn't sure about my own next steps. I took a nice long holiday because when else do you get the opportunity to have six weeks off with a redundancy package?

While on holiday in Australia, I received the news that my organisation was filing for administration which meant that my anticipated redundancy was now an unsecured debt. The first lesson in resilience was born - Don't let fear of the future steal the now. I made a decision to continue with my holiday and enjoy the opportunity to spend time with my family.

New beginnings and finding the moon

I returned to the UK in mid January via Hong Kong right when things were getting a little interesting for travel. Usually I'm excited to land at Heathrow; this time I cried, I don't know why. I was ready to start the job hunt, and excited about what my next role might be.

Initially, I had a flurry of interviews for Business Analyst roles - a few good, one horrific. After a few weeks of limited progress, I began to engage with LinkedIn a little more. Traditionally I had been a 'LinkedIn lurker' - you may be one yourself? One of the posts that I came across was by Martin Fitzpatrick (CIIC) about a role within his team, and I clicked on the link, more out of curiosity than anything else.

Big doors swing on small hinges.

They say that big doors swing on small hinges. Following that link led me to a whole new world of possibility. It was a role for an Internal Comms Manager and for me it was like looking in the mirror. It was everything I've done and enjoyed doing - I had found my moon.

I got in touch with Martin and had a conversation about the role. He was pragmatic about the market but encouraged me to apply. Stepping out of my comfort zone, and making that connection was the beginning of a new approach to jobhunting - connect, connect, connect.

Baby steps

And so the first steps were taken...

• I began consuming knowledge through reading, researching, webinars, podcasts, LinkedIn lives.

• I began connecting with people, with other internal communicators.

• I began having conversations with people and learning from them.

• I discovered Andrew MacAskill's LinkedIn live job search hack sessions and connecting with other job hunters, learning about ATS, SSI, personal branding, blowing up the bomb in interviews...

• I had zoomoffees where I've made new friends, met great people, had interesting discussions, been encouraged and challenged, received amazing generosity.

My faith in humanity has been restored, my faith in myself has been restored, I've put the imposter syndrome in the box.

Job Search Learnings:

• Self-care is important - Exercise, eating, sleeping, finances. All need attention.

• Conversation is energising, the application treadmill isn't - GET OFF IT! Manage the amount of time you allocate to job boards. Your job hunt needs to be wider than just these.

• Build your network - you never know who you may meet.

• Be open to new ideas, new ways of thinking, doing, being.

• Learn! If you don't know what ATS is, find out. Find out how to improve your appearance on video interviews, find out what to include in your CV, how to answer tough interview questions...

• Talk to others, laugh with friends, don't do it alone and don't just talk about job hunting - life is about more than just that. Dick King Smith has a wonderful twitter account full of animals doing stupid things

• Post on LinkedIn, like, comment, share. It's how you get to know others and they get to know you.

• The biggest battle is in your head. The 'worries' can attack at any time. Keep going!

• Limit the amount of media coverage that you consume

• Disappointments will come but get your #failureNinja out and learn from the bad interviews as well as the good ones

So go forth and find your moon out of the rubble of your barn. #Itsajourney #keepgoing