Embracing your Calling
Gina Henrickson reflects on embracing her destiny and owning her career in Events even when the odds are stacked against her
1000hires Candidate Spotlight is a series chronicling the experiences of unemployed job seekers during the COVID-1 9pandemic and beyond.
I did something scary today. I updated my LinkedIn to reflect that I am an Events professional, first and foremost.
I have worked in events for the last six years, and in hospitality for ten years, so in any other circumstance, it would be silly to be afraid of this, but the truth is that I am really, really good at a job that is also really, really hard to find right now. It is an industry that is among the absolute hardest hit by COVID, and trying to find a job in my field seemed unrealistic at best when my position was eliminated in June.
That said, I spent the entire summer trying to bill myself as a project manager or operations manager, and reaching out to small companies, start-ups and non-profits where I hoped my “jack of all trades!” skills would be appealing. And I failed miserably. In a world where so many people are unemployed, recruiters have the ability to find the perfect candidate on paper, not needing to take chances. And maybe my heart wasn’t entirely in some of those roles, no matter how hard I tried to convince myself otherwise.
Then within the last month, something happened. Events roles began to creep back up — some of them truly managing events (yes, mostly virtual) but others that are “events-adjacent,” such as in communications around events, and another working with volunteers for an Association, and those are actually the two that I am the most excited about. It isn’t that I don’t love managing events, but the opportunity to shift my focus a bit, grow my skill set, and learn new industries is incredibly exciting.
I took the “gray” out of my LinkedIn profile because I truly believe that this is the field I am supposed to be in and I have a newfound confidence that my next home will be in a place that welcomes me just as I am. I was with Hyatt for a long time, and I still love the family I have left there (and my fellow alumni), but a wise woman said to me when I lost my job “This may be a good thing. You never would have left otherwise.”
So I am taking a leap of faith, because I think she is right — sometimes you need to be pushed out of the nest, but that does not mean that you need to leave that tree entirely. My degree and background is in theater directing, producing and stage managing, and I always say that working in Events is the same exact job, it’s just that in Events I got a paycheck that was the same, on the same date, every month. I know that I belong in a job where I can work with a lot of different people and bring them together, where I can make all of the spreadsheets and lists that warm my heart, and where I have purpose in what I do each and every day because there is a clear goal. And I truly love nothing more than opening night or the end of an event, knowing that me and a bunch of my closest friends of the last six months just made something awesome happen.
This is just my story — if you are a recruiter interviewing an events professional for any kind of role that involves customer service, thinking quickly on their feet, managing 100 priorities at the same time, organizing, anticipating issues before they arise, creating loyalty, and doing it all with a sincere smile on their face, I encourage you to take that chance on them. They won’t know every facet of the job on day one, but I do promise you that they will want to and try to, and that they will help you throw an absolutely awesome holiday party (probably not until 2021, but hey, we are all going to need a big party at the end of this!).
About the Author
Gina Henrickson is a native Chicagoan who most recently served as Events Manager with Hyatt Hotels corporate office, where she planned both internal and customer events, mostly in the Entertainment, Luxury and Third Party markets, and worked closely with the field on communications, staffing and training. Gina holds a BA in Theater Directing, and continues to use those skills in collaboration, leadership and creating experiences on a daily basis. She lives in a 99 year-old bungalow with her husband and son. You can reach Gina on LinkedIn at: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ginahenrickson/
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
