I quit my job last year for a variety of reasons.

10 Comments

1. Peggie Arvidson * Career Consultant | Adoptee Advocate | RecruiterJanuary 20,2023 at 6:17PM UTC

   Hey there - I agree. life is short so good on you for choosing you.

   so much of our life and sense of self is tied up in our jobs though and it can seep into our vision of ourselves when we don't have a job.

   Let me give you some thoughts:

   a) you are not "essentially unemployable"! You may need to rethink your goals for a job (it's a weird economy right now) but I guarantee you could walk out the door and get a job right now. (maybe not what you want/dream of doing but paying the bills is key so you can always do a stop-gap gig to tide you over)

   b) recruiters are paid by the companies who hire candidates - so "working with a recruiter" isn't going to help you if you don't meet the objectives of the hiring organization.

   c) Advice - get clear on your non-negotiables in a job and your nice to haves - and then start researching companies that meet those goals. At this point focus on companies or industries - not titles or job openings. and re-write your story about what happened at the other job - so when you are asked by a recruiter why you left your last gig you have a direct, fact-filled, non-emotional response - i.e., "the company culture really changed from when I was hired and my director and I disagreed on the strategy to move forward." HARD STOP.

   one more thought - back in the 90s it was thought/believed that for every 10K you made in salary it would take you that many months to find a similar job - so 90K - 9 months. In today's timeframes it could be longer or shorter - so don't take it personally.

   There are thousands of open jobs - but they may not all be your cup of tea -

   Feel free to connect with me on LinkedIn - I do my best to share lots of info about job hunting there too

2. Christine RobertJanuary 24,2023 at 4:49PM UTC

   Hi Peggie! What are some tips on finding the right recruiter?

3. Peggie Arvidson * Career Consultant | Adoptee Advocate | RecruiterJanuary 25,2023 at 12:01AM UTC

   the "right" recruiter may be a misleading term - because recruiters work for either agencies or the corporation/company doing the hiring. In other words, they don't work for the candidate.

   Now a good recruiter cares about people and making a good fit and they'll tell you if they don't think the role you're interviewing for is going to make you happy - but at the end of the day, no matter how much they want to help candidates, they can't if they don't have a job opening for that candidate.

   I spend a ton of time on LinkedIn and Insta (and here) sharing insights about what a recruiter does on a daily basis and helping people understand why we don't reply if we don't have a job opening -- right now recruiters are being laid off at an astronomical rate (mostly in tech - but lots of other industries too) and those that are left are overwhelmed with the sheer volume of applications...

   so the best way to start a relationship with a recruiter is:

   • apply for jobs where you meet all of the requirements and many of the nice to haves
   • call them back if they leave you a message (and related make sure you phone number is correct on your resume/application and that your mailbox isn't full and is set up)
   • let them know what you're looking for and why you're looking - including a range for compensation that keeps you whole - don't tell us what you're making now - what you WANT - i.e., what would be enticing and what would be a no-go.
   • describe the results you bring in your current/previous roles and how you see yourself solving the problem the company is trying to resolve by hiring someone
   • and basically - just be kind and have common sense manners

   How to get on a recruiter's bad side?

   * Don't have a voicemail set up

   * call them 10 times a day if they've called and couldn't leave a message because your vm was full or not set up

   * argue with them about how you know you can do the job even though you don't have the qualifications clearly stated in the job (there are often federal regulations that require us to post those qualifications and only hire people that meet them - depending on size of company, etc0

   * spend tons of time badmouthing your last/current job

   * tell them that you want to work at home so you can be full-time available for anything other than doing the job they need to fill

   * put a picture on your resume (many companies have strict rules that force them to dump resumes with pictures to avoid any semblance of discrimination)

   * use lots of filler to describe your background (team-player, multi-faceted, hard-working, happy)

   * don't specify the results you bring

   Hope that helps - BTW - your dog is adorable

4. Christine RobertJanuary 26,2023 at 3:37PM UTC

   Thank you Peggie for all the info. This is very helpful!!

   His name is Watson

5. GirlBossanova934974January 24,2023 at 1:57PM UTC

   With no hesitation, you are not unemployable if you are not employed for a few months. No way. I have worked in Marketing for over 20 years. Right now, the smaller to mid sized companies are doing the hiring. The big companies are not doing a lot of hiring. I would avoid anything TECH right now. I would look at the infrastructure, travel, energy, insurance, banking, pet food verticals as all of those sectors are still doing very well right now. I work in high end pet food right now and our sales are up 30% plus, year over year. Any business or product that sells to older clientele is having a very good 2023. I have also worked in the travel sector for a number of years. Travel needs all the marketing help it can get! Best of Luck! PS: I would cease working with recruiters. Most of them are in scramble mode right now looking for the fastest sale they can get.

6. AnonymousJanuary 24,2023 at 5:45PM UTC

   Do you have some funds to take some courses/get some training? This is the time to add some education to your resume.

7. Laura BrennanJanuary 24,2023 at 10:56PM UTC

   I agree with both Peggy and GirlBossanova (GREAT handle!): you are not unemployable. Stop telling yourself that, it's not useful; also, ditto, you need to reframe the story of your last employment. It wasn't a good fit. End of sentence. Because the more you share the old story, the more energy it drains from you and from the room.

   You have fantastic skills! And if you're worried about losing them, what a great opportunity this is to up-skill -- not just for the skills themselves, but for the people you'll meet in classes and webinars.

   Also, think about what you do really well. How can you share that? Presentations you can give to local business groups or professional associations? Could you gather together a dozen of your peers and host a mastermind group? You could just meet once to brainstorm and see how you can support each other -- very low commitment -- and then if things go well, some of you might start to meet monthly. And you are the one who brought them together, so you are a lynchpin.

   You said you've done some networking, but I would invite you to reframe what you think about networking. Networking is connecting with people you genuinely like for mutual support. Who can you help in your network? How can you concisely let them know what you're looking for? You are never looking for "a job." It's too vague to get people engaged to help you. You have to be looking for something specific to your skills, and maybe give the arena, like "a nonprofit" or "a small to midsize company."

   GirlBossanova is dead-on with her advice to look to smaller companies. And the great thing about potentially shifting industries is that it can shift your search from looking for a position to looking for *information* -- you're interested in learning more about these other industries where smaller companies are thriving. So you tap into your market to look for informational interviews. SO MANY of your friends and family will be able to help you find those by connecting you to people in their networks who work for or own smaller companies. It's a much smaller ask, and you can ask EVERYONE, not just people you know professionally. Everyone knows someone who might have some advice to give -- and people love to give advice! This ties into Peggy's excellent advice as well, to research industries; researching while also meeting new people and letting them see how awesome you are in a low-pressure environment is just a win-win-win.

   I have a pdf on my home page (the link is just under the main picture/headline) to a job-hunting guide that leans heavily on informational interviews. It's free, no opt-in, you might want to take a look: https://www.pitchingperfectly.com/

   You've got this!

8. SupriyaJanuary 25,2023 at 6:00AM UTC

   Hi, I have worked in Marketing Operations and completely understand all the pain points you have faced. I'd like to invite you to 2 communities which are exclusively focused on jobs in marketing operations. I am pretty sure you'll land a great one soon. Can you send me a DM on LinkedIn? https://www.linkedin.com/in/supriyaagarwal/ I believe I can help you. Stay positive!

9. AnonymousJanuary 29,2023 at 7:04PM UTC

   I will reach out! Thank you for your note!

10. AnonymousJanuary 29,2023 at 7:05PM UTC

    This is great thank you!