Alvin C.’s Post

𝗜 𝗙𝗶𝗻𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆 𝗦𝗶𝗴𝗻𝗲𝗱 𝗔𝗻 𝗢𝗳𝗳𝗲𝗿! In two weeks, I’ll be starting a new role I want to take this moment to reflect on these last 4 months of unemployment 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗛𝗮𝗿𝗱 𝗣𝗮𝗿𝘁𝘀 𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙢𝙖𝙧𝙠𝙚𝙩 𝙞𝙨 𝙗𝙧𝙪𝙩𝙖𝙡. I got ghosted and turned down for roles where I checked every box and thought I would at least to get a phone call 𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙨𝙮𝙨𝙩𝙚𝙢 𝙞𝙨 𝙠𝙞𝙣𝙙 𝙤𝙛 𝙗𝙧𝙤𝙠𝙚𝙣. I was told that a portion of the hundreds of applicants aren’t actually qualified due out-of-country, automation tools, etc., which forces companies to rely on the filters. I’m still haunted by the 3-hour rejections after submitting an application I spent over an hour on 𝙐𝙣𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙡𝙞𝙨𝙩𝙞𝙘 𝙙𝙚𝙢𝙖𝙣𝙙𝙨. I’ve seen posts ask for 6 years of L&D, OD, PM and CM experience, expertise in Articulate, able present to execs, and facilitate virtually... all for $50–70k. Make it make sense 𝘼𝙣𝙙 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙨𝙖𝙡𝙖𝙧𝙮 𝙘𝙝𝙞𝙘𝙠𝙚𝙣 𝙙𝙖𝙣𝙘𝙚. Some companies still won’t post ranges even though they’re legally required to 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗚𝗼𝗼𝗱 𝗦𝘁𝘂𝗳𝗳 𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙇&𝘿 𝙘𝙤𝙢𝙢𝙪𝙣𝙞𝙩𝙮 𝙞𝙨 𝙛𝙧𝙞𝙘𝙠𝙚𝙣 𝙖𝙬𝙚𝙨𝙤𝙢𝙚! I had more yes than no's when I reached out for advice or a conversation. A special thanks to Melissa Ketel, M.Ed for all your help 𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙧𝙚𝙡𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣𝙨𝙝𝙞𝙥𝙨 𝙄’𝙫𝙚 𝙗𝙪𝙞𝙡𝙩 𝙤𝙫𝙚𝙧 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙮𝙚𝙖𝙧𝙨 𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙡𝙡𝙮 𝙨𝙝𝙤𝙬𝙚𝙙 𝙪𝙥 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙢𝙚. Huge thanks to Kerry McLaughlin, Dan Collado, Michael Polydoris, and Monica Campbell MSc CPTM for the check-ins, referrals, and support throughout this journey. It really helped keep my head in the game and chin up 𝙏𝙝e 𝙨𝙥𝙖𝙘𝙚 𝙩𝙤 𝙚𝙭𝙥𝙡𝙤𝙧𝙚 𝙤𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙧 𝙥𝙖𝙧𝙩𝙨 𝙤𝙛 𝙡𝙞𝙛𝙚. Housework, cooking (I R chef!), learning Mandarin, exploring AI, and walking my cat (I bask in the weird looks). Stuff I might’ve delayed years to explore if I was working 𝗟𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗼𝗻𝘀 𝗟𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗻𝗲𝗱 𝙍𝙚𝙡𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣𝙨𝙝𝙞𝙥𝙨 𝙢𝙖𝙩𝙩𝙚𝙧. Don’t just reach out when you need something. I’ve learned to check in and stay in touch with people. That’s something I’ll keep up moving forward 𝙃𝙖𝙫𝙚 𝙖 𝙧𝙤𝙪𝙩𝙞𝙣𝙚. My worst days were unstructured ones. What helped was forcing myself to work out in the morning, then hitting a daily people reach out and job application number. It kept me focused 𝙂𝙚𝙩 𝙤𝙪𝙩 𝙤𝙛 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙝𝙤𝙪𝙨𝙚. My lowest point came from staying inside all week. I binged Netflix and YouTube, felt bad about it, then watched more to numb the guilt 𝘿𝙤𝙣’𝙩 𝙞𝙨𝙤𝙡𝙖𝙩𝙚. Date night with my wife, family dinners, and board games with friends were the moments that helped pull me out of some dark places. Surround yourself with people who care Unemployment sucked. It was a constant struggle to find meaning. Now that it’s over, I feel stronger, more focused, and very grateful. For those still in it, I hope some of this resonates with you. Keep going and don't stop. You’re not alone, and your next chapter’s coming. Looking forward to sharing a “first day at work” update soon!