Control your Reactions, Conquer your World
Scott Berko reflects on how controlling your reactions is the best way to move forward and find alignment in your job search.
1000hires Candidate Spotlight is a series chronicling the experiences of unemployed job seekers during the COVID-1 9pandemic and beyond.
Looking for a job because an invisible, tumultuous, life-changing virus swept the world is hard. Having interviews and not being a finalist is hard. Changing career paths during a pandemic is hard. I can go on and on (and it would take me a lot longer than this blog post to cover every individual situation during COVID-19) but what I would rather talk about is how we choose to react to the ups and downs of this insane, terrible, adventurous time known as job hunting in 2020.
“Never allow a person to tell you no who doesn’t have the power to say yes.” -Eleanor Roosevelt
I want to tell a story that happened to me recently. I will forewarn you, this doesn’t have the ending you think it will, but it was a moment that in the midst of this period of rejection, felt like a moral and professional win for me.
I was contacted about a position that was part recruiting, part social media, part marketing (an experimental hybrid role if you will). The initial conversation was perfect. As we continued speaking about my recruiting experience, the role seemed like a perfect fit. She asked if I had any other experience besides my recruiting / HR roles. I went on to say “before that I was in marketing.” To which she responded, “Oh, well this role will include some marketing strategies”. I then shared that I was a social media strategist right out of college. And she eagerly replied that this role will figure out how to attract the best talent, and market the company through social media.
Ding ding! I had found the role I was going to nail the interview process for. This job was mine to win in my mind.
Fast forward to two follow ups, two separate weeks later (after thinking I was being ghosted), when I finally heard from the recruiter that they were changing the responsibilities of the role and I wasn’t moving forward. Meanwhile, I saw the same exact role posted online, with the same job description and content. I was frustrated and disappointed (among many other choice adjectives I won’t use here). So I decided this could be another role where “it’s a no” and I move on, or I can state my case. I decided to reach out to a higher-up who not only asked me to call him directly but proceeded to personally move me forward again in the interview process after our conversation.
If you think it’s weird so far, it gets weirder…
This higher-up called the recruiter I spoke with originally who had not moved me forward and told her to schedule me for a next round. She reached out and told me I would receive a confirmation and calendar invite for another round. Four days later (the day before my interview) no invite had arrived.
I decided then that I had enough.
I again reached out to the higher-up and told him the whole story from beginning to end — how this process looked from the candidate perspective, while also being clear that this wasn’t personal. I then took the initiative to remove myself from candidacy. This was a job that I was a literal shoe-in for. One that would’ve paid quite well and advanced my career. But because the process of getting there was so painful, I questioned how I would be treated once I signed on the dotted line. If this process was so broken already, what environment would I be stepping into here? It wasn’t worth it for me to keep pursuing the role.
Eleanor Roosevelt’s words rang true. Regardless of the situation you’re in, you will always run into people who know both more and less than you about different parts of life. The most important thing is that you remember how you should be treated along the way.
My hope is that this post inspires you to attack the good days with your best shot and accept the bad ones as just that: a bad day, not a bad life. You will come out the other side with more passion and a better sense of clarity for who you are and what you want. I’m right here with you and will continue to search for my dream role, while never forgetting my own worth.
“Today if you come up against rejection, remember: This does not mean ‘no.’ It just means ‘not this way.’” — Lori Deschene
About the author:
Scott Berko is an Emmy Award Winning theatre actor turned Psychology student turned HR Professional. During his unemployment, he has networked with hundreds of people, attended webinars, and completed LinkedIn learning content to enhance his knowledge- base. Scott wants all the jobseekers out there to know that he is sending all of his love to everyone struggling during this time and if there’s something he can do to help you, please message him on LinkedIn. If you’re a recruiter looking for HR generalist or specialists candidates and believe Scott may be a good fit for your team, he is ready and willing to chat (and relocate). You can reach Scott via LinkedIn at: https://www.linkedin.com/in/scottberko/
About 1000hires
1000hires aims to get at least 1000 people impacted by COVID-19 layoffs back on their feet, using bite-sized interviews for recruiters and prospective employers to get a glimpse of their story. Check us out at 1000hires.com and follow us on LinkedIn for more information on how we’re helping jobseekers: Linkedin
