Girl Finds Herself On The Job Search Yet Again— Starts A Blog To Avoid Posting Paragraphs On LinkedIn Nobody Is Reading
Here we are once again on the job search, for the (I won’t insert the number) time in a year. At the risk of sounding dramatic, of which I rarely make any apologies for, applying for jobs since the Big L from my company in August 2022 has been like throwing spaghetti at the wall. I just can’t get something to stick.
‘Frustrating’ doesn’t even begin to describe being right back here, after being so sure that I wouldn’t be on this side of the job market again, at least not for a while. At least not so soon. But what can you do other than; refresh your email every 5 seconds; open-and-close LinkedIn dozens of times in 10 minutes; comment on every post you see with the words ‘HIRING’ and ‘COPYWRITER’ (or your area of expertise); tweak your resume so many times you can hardly tell the difference anymore; obsess over every project you have on your portfolio before getting so nitpick-y you contemplate deleting the entire thing altogether? Unfortunately, this is where I’m at. This is where A LOT of us are at which, ironically, can be comforting at times. It’s like, “Hey! Someone ELSE is ready to throw their phone out the window after receiving their 5th rejection email in 48 hours and getting ghosted by yet another recruiter! Let’s start a support group!”.
Now, it hasn’t all been bad. I landed some amazing freelance gigs starting in January 2023. For a minute I was thriving. Sure I wanted something more permanent, more stable— but that’s the thing about loving what you do. Even if you know you won’t be doing it for very long, you hit the ground running on day one, make the most of it every day after that, and pray that by some twist of fate you’ll be included in the company’s budget for the upcoming quarter. But it seldom works out that way. I will say that during my time as a freelancer in the last year, even knowing that my time at each place was borrowed and limited, I treated every gig like I would be there forever. I enjoyed being part of each team. Being part of a team. Enjoyed the projects. Enjoyed the people I began to look forward to seeing on calls, no matter how early or late. Enjoyed the sound of them joining a Google Meet. So much so that as each contract ended, I found myself in a *light* stage of mourning (okay, that was dramatic, but that’s me).
What do I really want? A PERMANENT JOB! When do I want it? ASAP (like, I want to sign onboarding documents right this second)! Freelancing is great, don’t get me wrong. It’s kept me writing, kept me learning, kept a roof over mine and my dog’s head. Freelancing has also granted me so much more freedom both creatively and in my personal life. The only caveat, which is a huge one: it doesn’t last forever. When you’re a freelancer, you’re technically still on the job market. At least, you should be. Getting comfortable because your gig is a guaranteed 6 or 8 months could very well be a huge mistake. Yet and still, as I continue my job search once again, I am remaining open to freelance roles. I’ve loved them and will always be thankful for the ones I have had thus far. Still, it’s a permanent job I dream of. I’ve got some permanent-role irons in the fire right now, though. Then again I’ve had some in the past and, well…look where we are now. Again. But this time around, I’m trying to do things a little differently.
First, I completely re-did my resume and realized that I actually hated the old one. Well, hate is a strong word to use, especially when referring to a document that chronicles your work experience and details of your roles. But I got to looking at it late one night last week and said, “You know what? I hate this. And I wouldn’t hire me either”. Mind you, getting hired should be about the contents of your resume, not the font it’s written in, or the template you use. Nevertheless I created a fresh one, and even added a short introduction to make it a little more ‘personal’. I also created a section specifically for my freelance work, and added a brief description for recruiters and hiring managers to have a clear sense of what I’ve been up to since the beginning of 2023.
Next, I added some new things to my portfolio. The longer I looked at it, the more bland it became. It didn’t have a touch of personality which, in my opinion, is important. I am not just the work I’ve done. I am not just a copywriter. So I added a logo with my name and title and a fun, colorful graphic, courtesy of Canva. I think the logo is clean and cute (not that recruiters or hiring managers care about ‘cuteness’, but I do!). I added a new tagline at the top, including that I am a dog mom and a cheesecake connoisseur, both of which I take just as serious as my career. None of those are huge changes of course (stay tuned for those, this page is currently ‘under the knife’ as we speak) but in my eyes, they make an aesthetic difference. Make me ‘stand out’, if even in a small way. The projects on my portfolio are still the same, with my proudest, most favorite pieces of work coming from my time as a freelancer at Oura Ring— and yes, I still miss it there.
Lastly I’ve added this: Too Long; But Read (TL;BR). THIS BLOG! Should I have done an introductory post about why I’ve decided to create a blog on here? Maybe. But then again…I feel like it’s self-explanatory. If it’s not (and you haven’t already closed this page) keep reading:
-I am a certified yapper, both online and in real life. As a Virgo, it’s in my blood and bones to never shut up. My friends have to pry me away from strangers in public places after I disappear from them to have a long, drawn out conversation with someone I just met, but am speaking to like I’ve known for years. I wear my yapper badge with honor. Now, I have a created a place for just that. I’d love for people to read and share, but this blog’s purpose is so much more than that. It is a thoughtful and carefully curated space for me to do what I do best. Does it matter if I get a ton of traction? No. Do I expect to get a ton of traction? Still no. This place is for me to express myself in my favorite artistic way, and share it with any and everyone who wants to hear ‘the story’. Whatever that story may be, it’ll be here: for my eyes, for your eyes, for anyone’s eyes who are inclined to grace it.
- I was given some pretty sound advice from a Capricorn yesterday (and if you know a Capricorn, you know they are as straight-forward as they come): LinkedIn isn’t the place for paragraphs that dive into your personal life and every facet of your current state of employment, every other day. Unless you want to be a ‘LinkedIn Influencer’ (no offense, but no thanks). And well, she was right. I am certainly a lover of writing multiple long paragraphs (sorry to the friends I text!), and the overkill use of the Oxford comma and Em-dash. While you SHOULD be active on the platform and interact with your network and beyond (which I will continue to do during my search), at the end of the day we’re all there for one thing: networking, not novel reading. So no more novels for my connections, I pinky promise!
-Most importantly: I love to write. I have been writing since I was 6 years old, since the day my mom brought home a black and white composition book from her classroom supply closet for me to use. Ever since then, I can’t imagine doing anything else. I’ve been told countless times over the years that I should start a blog or write a book. As far as books go, I’ve got three unfinished ones sitting in my Google Drive (more on those to come). But I’ve never tried my hand at blogging. I always felt like it would be cliché: “I’m a writer and I have a blog. Just like every other writer”. Yet as I write this first post now, cliché be damned. I wish I started this years ago. It feels good to write this way, sitting in bed with my dog burrowed under the comforter, right between my legs as I loudly type away.
So what can you, reader (if I have any) expect from this page? Honestly…I can’t even tell you. What I CAN tell you is that it will consist of a multitude of thoughts and feelings: about my job search, about trying to get back on my feet while I endlessly apply (and endlessly get rejected), about what I have going on in the meantime— and trust me, I’ve got a lot going on. Job related (or lack-thereof) and in my personal life. I’ll more than likely keep the personal things away but who knows? Maybe you’ll see a post about how I’m still drowning in unpaid parking tickets from LADOT, and wake up in a panic every morning that my car has been impounded—again.
For now, all I can say is: stay tuned, keep reading, comment, and share.
Best,
Ashanna Molokwu