You Are Your Agent: Turning Frustration Into Fuel [Part 2 – The Unfiltered Truth About Rejection + Redirection]

In Part Two of this honest, heartfelt series, Lesley D. Nurse goes deeper into what it feels like to show up polished, prepared—and still walk away with silence or redirection. This is the real talk most people skip: how to spot red flags in job interviews, pivot with grace, and remember—your optimism is your agent.

This episode is for the dreamer who’s done waiting, and the doer who’s been discouraged. If you’ve ever felt overlooked, this is your reminder to stay focused, stay ready, and lead with intention.

Want a tangible reminder of today’s message?

Grab the limited edition “You Are Your Agent” mug— a limited release from GreenLightbyLDN. 

Transcript

Communicate, what have you, stuff like that. You, if you're working, you know, at McDonald's, you're a team player, you're a great listener, you can work, you can multitask, you can work in high pressure environments.

So it's all about adapting to the job. You know, if I throw a ball at you right now, your reflex is to catch it. Right? So you have to be like that with your answers. You have to be able to think quick. And if you don't know what to say, that's a great question. That's a great question. I love it. You know, um, I would have to say, right, and then you just go into it, you know.

I'm a team player. I'm great at communicating. I love to get along with people. I love people. So there you go. Something like that. Because what I've learned, when they're not interested, they're not gonna take forever to talk to you During that conversation. They're going to find out if you would be interested, possibly in more than one physician.

So if you are, this is the time to be very strategic. If they see you as a leader and you're not going for a leadership role and you wanna go for it, this is the time to go for it. If they offer you options, wow, you're doing great. You want to take it and you need a job, you take it, period. You take it. If you're like, well, Leslie, yeah, I go to school in the evening time.

I have a family and kids. I can't really do that. I get it. But at the moment, you think about that when you get home. Right now it's about getting your foot in the door and deciding after, guess what? You can take it and if it's too much for you after two weeks, do what you have to do. But it's about getting the offer, especially where you are right now.

If you can wait. You can space it out financially, that's fine. But if you want the job and you see that you're doing great in the interview and they're like, you know, looking at your resume, like, I could definitely see you, you know, working in the kitchen or working in sales, would that be something you'd be interested in?

Absolutely. What did you have in mind? And I personally am never afraid to show that yes, it is a balance. I do have a life because. You don't wanna give the impression? I just wanna say yes to everything. I, I just wanna work, work, work, and not have a life depending on the position. If it's management, clearly, you know, you have to tell yourself this could be nine hours, it could be 10 hours, it could be 11 hours.

It depends. Can you do the commute? Can you do it? Can you commit to three months with this title? You know, what are the, the logistics with your family or where you're living, you know, so this is an ideal setup. You would know these things before you interview, but sometimes things happen, sometimes in an interview.

They're so impressed with you that you get an opportunity you had no idea would be on the table. Now, what do you do when things are not going like this? Oh, you'll be able to tell. They'll be short with their answers. Um, sometimes I've had someone play the weight game, like not even, uh, show up on time.

They'll have you waiting and hoping you leave. Um, if that doesn't work, you get an employee involved. I'm telling you true story. I had that happen to me. I had someone make me wait like 40 minutes and I didn't go anywhere. You were gonna come down and it was an HR person. Uh, she said she would come down and I waited, waited, waited, and people were like, you're still waiting.

And, um, eventually when she came down, and by around 20 minutes I was definitely getting antsy, but I, I said to myself, Nope, keep your interview face on. And when she did come down. She was like, sorry about that. I was interviewing, I'm thinking to myself, these employees already said that you tend to keep the door closed, but you're saying you were interviewing, so there's no like admin up there to answer the phones.

You couldn't just say one moment and say something. I let her lie to me and I kid you not, this is what she said to me. Looked at my resume, said, okay, well you have x, y experience and stuff like that. So you know what to do. So what I'm going to do, this is your email address. Yes. I'm going to send you the link of the job, and you know how this works.

She used an HR term as if I worked in HR before. She's like, you don't know this term. I'm like, no. And I'm thinking to myself, okay, just stay cool. She said, well, expect the link. I'm gonna send it to you. You fill it out and you know the background check goes good then. I will, we will email you a welcome offer, but first you have to speak to the director of so-and-so and stuff.

I'm like, okay. And I'm thinking to myself, this is interesting. Is this a guilt hire? Um, what is this? I know for me, I have gotten, you know, hired, um, very quickly before, but this one you didn't even ask me anything about the job. I said, okay, well, so do I have the job? You have to wait for them to call you.

You know, he's gonna call you tomorrow. He's not here today. And I knew that wasn't true because, uh, one of the employees, when I told them who I was here to see, they were like, some people said he was there. One person said he was in the cafeteria. Uh, two other, the people said he wast there. Someone didn't even know his name.

It was just a whole weird situation. And, um, she said, he's not here today, but he will call you. I'm thinking to myself, okay, and over the phone we're gonna do an interview. And then she was like, yeah, he'll call you and talk. And I'm like, okay. And I knew that was a lie, and I went along with that. I said, okay, well thank you.

And as I got home and I saw the time go by, add this to the list. And people need to know this. People need to know this because not everyone can deal with that type of rejection. Not everyone can just say. You told me, you looked me in the eye and said, you damn near said I had the job. You said they were gonna call me and nothing happened.

I wanted to tell my family, I wanna tell my friends and I can't even tell anyone because I don't even know what's going on. And because I had so much experience, I knew. Um, she was one covering her ass. She, uh, made sure, uh, especially like union, they have to take like this blue card from you. Um, she made sure that she took the resume, the blue card, and that was it.

She was covered. But I was just thinking to myself, you didn't have to go through all of that. You know, you could have faced me, you could have just gave me the BS interview, but instead you bought a lot of time. Uh, you made it up to me to decide if I wanted to walk out. Then when you saw that I didn't give up because so many people called her.

She finally came downstairs after 40 minutes and looked me in the eye and said she was interviewing people and I just let it be. But I wanted to, to share this because sometimes they, yeah, they're going to lie to you out there. They, they're, they have this new thing out there where, um, they're telling you.

That another person is going to call you. Why would another person call me? You are hr. If you want me and I pass the test with you, there should be something telling me about the next step. You should be telling me the next step. If anything you could say, um, thank you, we'll be in touch or something like that.

Um, you know, we are still interviewing whatever, and that's true. One time I, I got a call and when they told me they were still interviewing, I was like, yeah, they're not gonna call me. Because usually in, especially in hospitality, I'm not sure about the other industries. Like, um, when they say they're gonna call you, that it, it can go either way, but I, I have gotten called back.

But when they interview you on the spot and then they say the next step manager will call you, it's a lie. It's a, it's a, it's a lie. HR is supposed to call you and they're supposed to tell you, um, ask you, can you come in for another interview and, um, or do you have time to speak with someone else today?

It should not be disorganized or chaotic. You are hr. You should know the next steps. So the only person you're lying to is yourself. So I say all of this to say is sometimes it's not gonna go the way you planned you hoped for. Don't get psyched out when you see other candidates maybe look sharper. Maybe you overhear them laughing, talking a flow.

You see the way they shake their hand when they walk out with them. And sometimes, yeah, it could be referral. They could look younger, better, more organized, more sharp. Like if it was up to you, you would hire that person. Don't get in your head. If it's for you, you are going to get that job. And if it's not for you, I don't want you to take what happened that day and, and just let it stay on you.

Let it flow. There's things that you, you learn no one's going to agree with. Well, what did you learn by being 40 minutes late? Why did you end up going? Because it builds tenacity. It builds resilience. You know, it didn't work out in the job in that sense, but guess what they might say, wow, that girl really still showed up and she was polished.

She, um, just went in for the interview. She had a positive attitude. And not even for that, for them, you know, the potential of them circling again, it just does something for you. The, the way you show up, the way you work, your work ethic, you know, it's, it's going to pay off. And the quality that you give back out.

So don't get caught up in the outcome. The good, the bad. You got hired, you did it, get hired, they didn't like you. Forget all of that because at the end of the day, there's a certain profile, and I'm not talking about looks, you know, anything illegal, but there's a profile and that is what they need to fit.

Maybe they need someone more cooperative. Maybe they need someone with a little bit more personality. Let's face it, you can get 10 people who know how to make a margarita or they know how to budget or do payroll or something like that, but they have the worst attitude. So the point of these interviews, you know right away, all you have to do is just be optimistic, smile, have a good attitude, good hygiene.

Make eye contact, firm handshake. Listen to what they say. Have very good questions available to ask them to show that you are interested and not that you just want a job. Ask them about. So let's say that you think that I make the cut and you know, I'm the person that you would like to offer. When can I expect a response?

And now, you know, if they say, oh, we're looking to make a decision, uh, by Tuesday next week you don't hear from Tuesday, you know it's not you. For me, I'll ask them, have I provided enough, um, information for you to make a decision, you know, or something like that. Like, have I, I basically asked for a review of how, how I was, you know, as far as giving them enough information to assess if this is a match or what have you.

And yeah, and I asked that and, uh, I didn't get the job. But I did get the job other times. So there's no locked in way. It can depend on the person. It could. It can depend on that day. It can depend on their energy. It could just depend on, maybe they're saving the job for someone else. You just do your thing, you know?

And if you have an option with a time slot, try to go for the earliest one. Be prepared energetically that day. Have extra resumes. Have your breath meds. You're deodorant, everything good to go. And try not to walk with ex excess things that you don't need that day, you know? And just do your thing. Be sharp and please dress with your confidence, not arrogance your confidence.

And you got this. Don't be attached to the outcome. Yes, you want a job, but everything is a learning lesson. Get the business card. Thank them for the opportunity. Say something memorable. So you can stand out, you know, and don't be afraid to follow up. Don't be afraid to reach out. Is it okay if I reach out?

You know, but feel the vibe first. You know, you'll, you'll know, you'll know. So I hope this helps you because I was thinking about this and, you know, there's people out there. You're, you're grinding, you're doing your thing, you're working hard, you're showing up, you're going out there for those interviews, and it's frustrating.

It's frustrating because everyone's going to work and you are still showing up and trying to be selected, you know, and just pace yourself. Nothing's going to be perfect. The hours are are not gonna be perfect. Maybe the pace is not gonna be perfect. Maybe the environment, maybe a little bit of everything.

Have a plan. Tell yourself, no matter how terrible it is, I get this job. I'm doing it two weeks and I'm gonna look for another job. No matter how bad it is. I'm going to do this with that, and then this is my next step. I'm gonna do real estate. Whatever it is, just have a plan and keep that plan close to your chest and execute.

You got this. So here's to your new job. The new opportunity, the new offer. And as a working entrepreneur, you know, it's a little bit different. You're always living kind of like a dual kind of life, right? Until you get that big break. Don't give up, keep going. You know? And when you feel that angst, and I wanna talk to someone who feels that angst and frustration, don't stay in the angst, activate it.

Do you know like if you have tomatoes or. Leftover foods, you know how to repurpose it, right? That's the same thing that you have to apply with the angst, with the frustration, with the worry, with the fear. What else are you good at? Usually working entrepreneurs are super talented. They have a talent and they're just waiting for that big break, or they have a business and they're just waiting for that one big client.

Something to get them over the hill. Something to just get them On the next page, I want you to go in that treasure chest of your talents and your skills and diversify it. Yes, it's good for you to focus on one thing so you don't get confused and frustrated, but it's good to know what your talents are and to give your talents attention.

So if you have, like if you're a singer, great. Do your demo. Put something out on SoundCloud. If you are a writer, great. Do a blog, write an ebook or something like that. If you wanna open a beauty salon, great. Open a beauty salon. But maybe you have to get the capital, so you have to work at Starbucks, or you do housekeeping or your manager, you know, at night, you know, at a hotel or at a restaurant or something.

Tap into your talents. You might be surprised how one thing can help something else that you're good at and compliment it. So, you know, it's like a little mixture, you know, like you, you have to do a little bit of this and a little bit of that to get that, and then you might be surprised what you find.

Stay open. I know you went to school for a certain degree, or you have a lot of experience in a certain area, but these skills can be transferable. To something else. You are your agent. Your optimism is your agent. How you see yourself is your agent. So let your agent do the work, and I promise you, you will get the offer sooner than you think.