Beyond the Job Title | Discovering Myself in Unemployment

This week, I'm getting super real about my recent unemployment journey. It's been a ride of ups, downs, and unexpected lessons. Join me as I share my unfiltered experiences, what I'm learning, and how I'm navigating this chapter. You're not alone!

Transcript

SPEAKER_01 0:00

Hi everybody and welcome to my coffee lovers. It's been a while since we last spoke and a lot of things have transpired since then. So let's hop right in, shall we? Yeah, so in March, I was laid off from my job of three years as an SEO analyst, which means search engine optimization. I helped companies in tourism rank higher on Google and other search engines and things like that with reporting, strategy, research, and all the fun things. Everyone has a different experience when they are laid off and how they handle it. I was crying off and on for about two days. And it was surreal that I wouldn't see my clients anymore, but most importantly, that I wouldn't have the structure of my day that I'd grown the cuffs into. And I don't think I thought about that, right? I don't think a lot of people think about that. Maybe some do when they're laid off or found unemployed and without a job that they are used to doing day in and day out. And three years for me is a really long time to be employed somewhere, especially in the field that I'm in. You're supposed to be able to move around. In order to get a raise, you need to move around at least two to three years. So I knew this wasn't forever, but still, I wasn't ready. And the job market, even before I got laid off, was just so tough. Not how it was like in 2022, where you can have one interview, and a half and get hired it's so different now and it's just so tough out there and a lot of companies are laying off and with this whole diversity equity inclusion thing and the world crumbling as we know it things are just changing in the market and it's just not as easy as it once was and so my journey with being unemployed is still being written as we speak but yeah that's You guys haven't heard from me since, I think, December when I was talking about Dan Campbell and my Lions, Detroit Lions. Go Lions. One pride. Dan, if you ever hear this, you're the best coach in the world, man. But anyhow, I digress. So yeah, I got laid off in March and dealing with the little bit of, what's a little bit? Like the bout of depression that comes with that or sadness and grief. Because in a way that is grief, you're losing something that you were used to for a few years. And along with that comes health benefits, dental benefits, and things of that nature, which are so vastly important to me. And not having those things, which means I can't see my therapist. I can't go to my regular dentist, which can send me down a tangent of other things that we need to discuss. But I shan't because it's not that type of podcast. But yes. So dealing with those things on top of having a mammogram scare where I thought it was cancer, but they found the cyst. I'm all good. Praise God. But still terrified nonetheless. And all these things happened within the same month of March. So I've just been surviving and I wouldn't say thriving some days. Some days it is just surviving and trying to get through. Most importantly, putting myself out there on LinkedIn. Indeed, built in and other little platforms that help employers and employees look for jobs and find people to work for them. So that's been a new learning curve in this market. Like I said, things are changing. People aren't getting hired like they used to as quickly as they used to. So far, I've had a lot of interviews, obviously no job offer yet. But when that happens, you shall know. But It just seems that no one wants to like, back in 2018, when I first got into the field of SEO, people literally trained you without any experience. I had never done it before. And they were like, that's fine. We'll train you. Don't worry. Just show up, work hard, do your best. Now, even for just a basic salary of maybe between 60 and 80, they want you to come in and be pretty much better than the CEO or the head person, but not getting paid for a management role. without any training. They just want people to hit the ground running. And some fields, I get that. If the pay was in match, what do you want? Prefer a junior role or a basic SEO specialist role. They're interviewing two to three times and you got to meet the board. It's just like, oh my gosh, people, come on. Let's hire someone that's a good fit for the environment. For the company who might need training on one or two software items that we use, because not every company uses the same software. So let's do that. Invest in that person for just training. There used to be like onboarding and proper training when you start a company. My last job that I was just at and just got laid off at like three years when I started, I had good training. Like they took you in. I had two interviews, mind you, too, with the department head and then three other people on the SEO team, some of the leaders. And that was it. Get an offer like the same day or the next day, actually on my birthday, February 2nd of 2022, I remember. So, yeah, like that's not even seeming like that's possible anymore. People can just make a decision like they don't want to do that. They want to string you along for like three or four interviews. Take up your time and get your feelings all into it. Get you all hyped about it and then say, you know what? We were just playing. We're going to go with somebody else. That's the vibe out there. It's so like, I guess it's a seller's market in that sense. And like it's a player's market. And that's not fair because a lot of people are getting laid off. It's just so much drama in this world. And it's like, oh, my gosh. It kind of reminds you of like dating. Like you just want to like just pick me. Like I had time. Just pick me. I want to stop dating. I'm tired. What did Charlotte say in Sex and the City? I've been dating since I was 15 year old. Where is he? That's the vibe right there, literally. So that's what I've been up to. But besides that, I've been still writing on my blog on coffeeanddreams.com. I think it's coffee and a dash, dash dreams and all the things. You'll find it. Subscribe to this podcast, follow it, and you'll see links for all these things. Follow me on IG. I think it's at coffeeprincess83. So go ahead and follow me there. And yeah, that's pretty much been my life is just trying to write, stay positive, stay creative because at heart, I am a creative soul. So I feel like the universe is forcing my hand or forced my hand, I should say, into the unknown waters where I have to have an ego. My ego has to pass and get through this where I didn't know my ego was tied into my job, which I had prided myself, and the bad word there is pride, on not having my ego be tied to my career. Right? But I found out, oh God, it was because that was structure for me. In America, when people say, what do you do? They don't ask, how are you? Sometimes they do. Right after that question, it's, so what do you do? What do you do for a living? And you're used to saying your title.

UNKNOWN 7:59

Right?

SPEAKER_01 7:59

And I would say it proudly. And now I'm just like, right now I'm unemployed. And that doesn't define me or you if you're unemployed or not working at all. And I have to come to grips with that, that I got too woven into my identity being tied to that. And that's not who I am. I'm a mirror. I'm a human, a loving, creating person, creative person, a mother, a girlfriend. homemaker in my own right. You know, like Cardi said, I don't cook, I don't clean. Well, I actually love to clean, but I don't cook. So yes, I don't have the ring, but that's nonetheless, that's not what I'm getting at. Just, I am a plethora of things. And the very least, I may be something I do for work or my career, but that is not who I am. That is just a little piece of me, very small, minute. piece of me. And so as I grow in this moment in involving and applying to jobs and interviewing and sometimes applying to jobs that are like dream jobs to me, well, in the fact that no job is a dream job. I do not dream of labor, as we all know, but jobs that would fit my personality and some of the visions that I've had for myself as far as my goals. So I'm doing that and I'm taking the time to be more present. And feeling all the emotions when they come from rejection, emails, and just the unknowing. Also knowing that the universe has something better prepared for me. And I'm looking forward to that. And yeah, I'm going to keep this podcast and I'm going to keep doing my blog and writing and creating. and producing this show that I'm so grateful I still do. And it's just a beautiful thing to do. And I'm grateful for the people who listen. Obviously, I'm not a celebrity. I'm not armchair experts or Trevor Noah, what now? Podcasts I love, like adore. And I listen to every flipping week. I'm just a little person out here. I'm just a girl. Really, I'm a great human out here trying to do something that I love. So, That's it for today, guys. I was just catching you up. I love you all. Stay positive. I will try to do the same. Subscribe and follow. And yeah, have a great week. Ciao, Bella.

UNKNOWN 10:55

Bye.