Month: January 2024

Rejection – and your health

I got yet another automated rejection email in my job search this morning. Intellectually, I know it isn’t the end of the world but emotionally – OUCH. Job searches are a game these days trying to outsmart the automated screener to even get to a real person who might understand the value of the person represented in the resume. But can that rejection impact your health?

Of course I dove into Google and here’s what I’ve got. According to the American Psychological Association, rejection does take a toll. They say people who routinely feel excluded have poorer sleep quality, and their immune systems don’t function as well as those of people with strong social connections, he says. Even brief, seemingly innocuous episodes of rejection can sting.

But, I found another article that says your reaction to rejection can be a good thing. It’s a sign your brain is working correctly. Read this – I’ve got to go read more job listings and keep on keeping on!

https://www.cnbc.com/2023/02/17/why-rejection-is-good-for-your-brain-according-to-a-psychologist-.html

Disappointment – and moving forward anyway.

So remember that first interview I posted about? I don’t have category experience so the HR screen has screened me out for now. They interviewed me because I had an internal referral so I guess that’s something?

But it is disappointing. I actually WANT to work. I read a lot of postings on social media about people who phone it in. People who don’t show up for interviews and when they do, they make crazy demands or worse yet, bring their parents! I cannot for the life of me wrap my head around that. 

So I’m kind of gloomy today. Add to my disappointment that I got my packet about my severance and it’s a recipe for being out of sorts today. Thankfully I’m resilient and I’ll be right back at it – but I’m taking a minute to have a personal pity party this morning. Just a minute though!

Because I don’t think I always interview well, I’ve been looking at some resources to help me. If you’re on the job search, check these out!

  • Ladders Interviews Guide: 74 Questions That Will Land You the Job by Marc Cenedella
  • Anna Papalia on social media – she is the author of Interviewology. 
  • Check out Brigette Hyacinth on LinkedIn. She gives LOTS of good advice.
  • And this Golden Rule for interviewing I picked up somewhere along the way — be prepared, be professional and most importantly, be yourself. 

Disney 100

What is the point of being on a hiatus from the corporate world if you don’t have the occassional fun day? So today, I’m off to the Disney 100 exhibition in Chicago.  What a great Thursday Throwback for me!

I love almost all things Disney – although I haven’t been to DisneyLand yet. I need to work on that! Here’s the link to the the Disney 100 information – if you’re in the Chicago or Kansas City areas, you might want to check it out now too!

https://disney100exhibit.com/

Disney100: The Exhibition invites guests to step into ten magnificent and imaginatively themed galleries, where moving stories, unique interactive installations, and behind-the-scenes glimpses will take them on a journey through 100 years of The Walt Disney Company. There are ten large and imaginatively themed galleries with renowned classics from Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937) to Encanto (2021), including the latest members of the Disney family – Pixar, Star Wars, MARVEL, and National Geographic. Celebrate the magic of Disney with timeless stories and memories through the visual, audio, and interactive elements of Disney100: The Exhibition.

Job searching and the weather…

Is it just me – or is it easier to look at the job listings when it isn’t so gloomy outside? I’ve hit a wall yesterday and today at looking at the job boards. I have about 6″ of snow at my house and it’s really gray outside. Has the seasonal affective disorder caught me?

This link will take you to everything you need to know about seasonal affective disorder: https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/seasonal-affective-disorder/symptoms-causes/syc-20364651

But I don’t really think I have SAD – I think this is just a trough of the roller coaster of being on the job search. It really does wear on a person. I’m still in contact with members of my old team and it is really odd to talk to them when I’m not really a part of the group anymore. Not to mention that talking myself up to a lot of strangers is NOT a comfortable thing for me.

This too shall pass right? At some point, a company is going to realize that I’d be a great fit for them and I’ll get back in the work grove. But today it’s wearing on me….

Following up

At the top of my to-do list to day is to follow up with some people I’ve been networking with about open roles. It’s my LEAST favorite thing about the job search because I hate to feel like I might be annoying people.

I’m horribly independent – it’s likely one of my bigger personality faults in this situation. I want to make it on my own merits. But a job search is so interdependent on just the right person seeing your application/resume with the right timing. And if there’s one thing I know about looking for a job, it’s not what you know, it’s who you know.

So who do you know that might be looking for a good marketing person? Maybe I should be following up with YOU! 

First interview!

Yeah, yeah – it’s a 15 minute HR screener, but I have my first interview on the calendar. Bonus? It’s for a job that I would really like! So of course I started thinking about in-person interviews and consulted my closet to see what I could wear. 

After years of business casual and work from home during the pandemic, my options for interview appropriate attire were sad to non-existent. The pandemic pounds are certainly problematic in more ways than one! So I took myself off to the mall yesterday and bought a few interchangeable pieces that will allow me to have more than 1 interview look and took advantage of things in my wardrobe that still do fit! 

What is interview appropriate these days? Well – I had to consult the internet because I’m not exactly a fashionista. I’m going with slacks and a knit jacket rather than a blazer. Polished but still slightly casual which I think will give me enough comfort to be confident. Here’s the jacket – what do you think?

Analytics

Not really a throwback, but I’m getting enough new data on this site now to start having some fun. Today, I’ll be diving into my site data and seeing what I can tweak to get better readership results. I’m also looking forward to seeing where all my readers are from – in the past, I had a very faithful reader in Ireland so it will be interesting to see if that reader has rejoined me!

I’ll be checking my site using Google Analytics as well as the WordPress tools. Might even swing by SimilarWeb and see if I’m there!

I love diving into data and finding a story in what seems like chaos. I think it goes back to my first job at Young & Rubicam in their media department. I was responsible for going through the Nielsen ratings books and entering the ratings for each of the programs that an Advil commercial aired in as well as our competitors. Mind you, a computer would do this all on it’s own today, but back in the day, we had 2 computers for 40 people on my team so humans did a lot more than they do today!

It was a tedious job and most media planners hated it – but I didn’t. I used it to get REALLY familiar with ratings data and had a field day manually figuring out how to get Advil an edge over our competitors with our programming selections on Primetime TV. That granular knowledge of ratings has served me well over the years and even laid the groundwork for the logic I put into place when programming tools for budget tracking and incentive tracking later in my career.

I think what it boils down to is Curiosity. I am NOTHING if not curious about almost everything. I love puzzles and playing in analytics is just one giant puzzle. So excuse me – but I have some data that really needs to be played in today! 

Wellness Wednesday

I woke up with a horrible headache today – made me appreciate my down time since I didn’t have to push through it to get somewhere by a particular time this morning. It’s one of those headaches that has the potential to be a migraine but I’m fighting it. After some extra sleep, I had some Advil and a hot shower. And really – is there ANYTHING a long hot shower won’t make better? So now I’m up and at it although I’m keeping sound and light to a minimum.

Tomorrow is my annual mammogram. Ladies, are you faithful about them? With the exception of a year during the pandemic (which I think can be forgiven), I’ve always gotten mine since I turned 35. I’m at a higher than average risk for breast cancer since my mom died of cancer that started with breast cancer. She was diagnosed with it in 1969 which for her meant a hysterectomy, radical mastectomy, chemo therapy and radiation. In 1969, the doctors weren’t messing around and treated her very aggressively. It still managed to metastasize to her bones and eventually her liver – but she had 11 years between her initial diagnosis and when she died.

Today, while 1 in 8 women will be diagnosed with breast cancer sometime in their lives, most breast cancer cases aren’t a death sentence. We’ve come a long way since 1969 thankfully! So go get your mammograms – a few minutes of discomfort could give you the warning time you need to keep cancer in check. Here are some resources about breast cancer and early detection – check them out!