How to survive twists and unexpected turns in the job market....
I have been home about 3 months since I had my last
temporary assignment in January. As some of my readers know I went through one of the most toughest and enriching experiences anyone can go through when you’re young, trying to be
professional, and find the best job /career for yourself. I left one of my
temporary assignments because I was not satisfied with that job I had gone from
filet mignon to rump roast in a matter of less than 10 months. I didn’t want to settle I had worked for a
company for nine years for one of my staffing agencies Kelly Services and I had a
variety of many different assignments and jobs all over New York City. In no way am not grateful for those jobs but I realized after my last permanent job and that experience I wanted way more for myself. I learned about the true word of wealth and worth. So let me tell you a little about being a temp and working around New York City
I was
grateful for those opportunities I had a chance to work in the Wall
Street/Financial District right on Broadway where my initial temporary
assignment started and I had a chance to work my last job there as well. It was
a full circle moment I didn’t realize it until just now but looking back it was
actually. I signed with Kelly on 61 Broadway Street in New York. I can say this
now because they relocated so it’s ok. When I was a temp I was only 21 years
old when I signed I just graduated with my associates degree in Journalism from
Bergen Community College and that summer I needed to look for work right away.
I did after persistence and calling them every single day to
find a job it worked and I was able to find something that was close to home it
was the summer of 2008 and I got my first real temporary job with FINRA working
across the street from Century 21 Department Stores an experience I will never
forget. I remember walking in my brown strappy kitten sandals, I had on brown
plaid Capri pants, and a brown top short sleeve fitted top, smiling and
thinking “Girl, you did it! You have a job you have a way to support yourself
now and earn money”. Now although I had a summer job and I was working. I still
was not quite done with college yet. That experience is a whole different
chapter of my life I will tell you all about later it’s a lot I can share. Now
having your first real corporate job it transforms you. I remember an old
family friend saying to me “Wow Chloe, you look very corporate today” in my
pinstripe black suit. Yes I used to be more business like I wanted to make sure
I followed the book and rules to the t when it came to me transferring from the
college world over into the corporate world.
I did and it nailed me into many different opportunities
over the city and I was able to sign with different staffing agencies between
2008-2017.
Also working for advertising companies: Place IQ, Food
companies, Banza, LLC, Construction companies Omnibuild, Empire Core
Construction, all of these companies allowed me to step inside and provide
administrative support, retail support, human resources support, and more to
them. I cannot forget the odd jobs I had too I worked as a phone interviewer
for about five months, office assistant for Bob’s Discount Furniture, and sales
associate at Macy’s Department Stores. All of these jobs have taken me to
places I never even imagined and have provided me with knowledge, great work
ethic, and even more interests in all of their companies.
So when you lose a job especially one you have worked hard
for and have traveled all over New York City for. You’re pretty devastated when
you lose your job. I don’t care what anyone says when you’ve worked as a temp
for a really long time. There’s something very rewarding when you get to a
level that you never saw coming and worked really hard for too. Going from
picking up dirt and garbage one temp assignment and then having the opportunity
to work in a corporate environment in front of the tallest building in New York
City the Freedom Tower in front of the World Trade Center and 9/11 Memorial on
the 22nd floor, in a beautiful office, how do you top something like
that? Especially when I earned the largest salary of my life I went from $10/hr
to making 4x time that in my salary.
That’s why my pride was hurt because of
losing that job. It made me dig deeper on a spiritual level, it made me fight
harder physically I got back into the gym, it mentally made me into a warrior
and a soldier. Some days you don’t even get out of bed. Yet you have to keep
pushing and fighting to find the right job for yourself. You have to find
everything that motivates you to keep going every single day. I love photos
especially photos of when I was a kid, I am very sentimental and I love to keep things from when I was a little girl. Those things remind me of who I am and
where I am going. They keep me pushing so I remember not lose my dreams, my
goals, and what I really want for myself as woman, as an African American
woman, a person, as someone who believes that all of your dreams can really
happen with persistence, time, little bit of luck, and connections you can see
things blossom and thrive. So for me losing the job yes I did lose a small
piece of myself I think I gained more at the same time and I learned how to
rely on myself, those who want to support me, and realized that you have to
keep going every single minute no matter what. I learned how to build better
relationships professionally and personally at the same time.
After you are laid off the best thing to do is to take a
deep breath, relax, take a walk outside, call someone right away, and remember one very important thing
“IT IS ONLY A JOB!” and YOU will LIVE! You will survive this situation and you
will bounce back even better. Reevaluate your priorities, concentrate on what
makes you happy. Develop a strong
support system you need people around you to keep you going, even if you may
not have them there physically with you, calling people up, watching YouTube
videos helped me throughout this time, reading on how to be a better
professional reading different from The Washington Post, New York Times, and
other online articles really helped me a lot, focusing on the positive things
that you brought to your jobs, what made you happy, and what kept your previous
supervisors and bosses satisfied with your job performance. Also have a plan B
always for me I had time to prepare for my exit and leaving. I knew if anything
were to come up to be ready because of the lay offs and budget cuts. So I know
now always have a back up plan and be ready in case things do not work out.
It’s called preparation. Always be ready that’s the key to making sure things
will be secure for you, your well being, and life too. So the aftermath does
not have to always be so bad you just have to know what you want most and it
comes naturally too. I hope all of you no matter which career path you all take
in life have a plan and a back up plan too. My back up plan actually really
helped me survive and it was to my benefit and helped my family too. So for all of you have a plan B always be ready to survive and handle the experience always with a smile. You may feel indifferent but remember there is a bigger and better opportunity just around the corner I promise you that.
No comments:
Post a Comment