On going north
even during the hard times
I went on a previously scheduled spring break trip with my family this past week, and I didn't take my computer. Which was the right move—I didn’t want to feel like I should be surfing job sites and updating my resume (again, and again, and again) the whole time we were away. I had a good time meandering (because that’s the speed required for this time of year) through the soggy and icy woods along the shores of Gichigami (Anishinaabe) or Lake Superior (English).1
The mosses are thriving, the trails are passable early in the day before the ground gets soft, and the water is gushing down the gorges of the many waterfalls that dot the shore. My husband and daughter got in a great day of skiing at Lutsen Mountains, where it is still plenty snow-covered despite this being the winter than never really was. We hot tubbed, we visited Drury Lane2 and the other usual shop stops in Grand Marais, drove down Old Ski Hill road to find the …old ski hill site (note: it’s not very visible), walked the windy rock beach, and had a tasty meal at the Angry Trout. And then we came home, and today I opened up my email to these gems:
Unfortunately, we have decided not to proceed with your candidacy.
While your skills and background are impressive, we have decided to move forward with other candidates who more closely fit our needs at this time.
After careful consideration, we will not be moving you to the next step in the hiring process.
Unfortunately you were not successful in this instance, but we wish you good luck in your search. [This one is a personal favorite...employers take note: a simple 'we didn't pick you' will suffice—a job seeker doesn’t need to be told they were not successful when that much is very clear.]
Unfortunately, COMPANY has moved to the next step in their hiring process, and your application was not selected at this time.
Ugh, right? Job searching, especially if you were basically happy with the job you were laid off from, is generally not a good time.
Intellectually, I am 100% confident I have the skills, experience, and commitment to helping others in the compassionate and empathetic way that's necessary to succeed in each and every one of those jobs that I applied for3 — it's tough on mental wellbeing, however, to receive rejection after rejection. Especially for positions that are very much aligned with your employment history. Or for positions that rely heavily on writing, when you are an eight time published author.
In the writing world (and oh how I wish that world [or the hiking one] provided enough income to pay the bills) sometimes writerly folks compile all the rejections they get from submitting work to magazines, journals, publishing houses, and the like. You know, to put things in perspective, to motivate themselves to continue submitting, and to remember that despite myriad nos, all it takes is one yes. (Or a couple yes’s when you’re submitting to magazines or journals.) I have a whole spreadsheet of rejections from when 12 Tiny Things was being pitched to publishing houses.4 But eventually it did get a yes, and off we went.
We'll see if this strategy holds water with a job search. Jury is still out.
Fellow job seekers, I see you, and I know this is really hard.
Let us take a cue from an older book of mine, Woodland Manitou:
Take your life situation for what it is—a situation—instead of a sentence or definition; busy or not, and let it be a way for your Being, your true self, to experience all that is worth experiencing. Walk through a grove of aspen trees, stand in a ray of sunlight in the middle of the city, marvel at the way your physical body helps you carry out the mission of your soul. Focus. Spend time loving the present. Take some time off if serves you. Enjoy silence. Be loud when being loud helps. Dance with your baby, talk to your neighbor, let the rain melt into your skin and see the art in the world.
In more cheerful news, Collisions of Earth and Sky is a Foreword INDIES finalist in Body, Mind & Spirit (Adult Nonfiction).5
And I’ll be at The Nook, a bookshop in Brookings, South Dakota, on March 30 doing a signing from 10-noon! If you’re in town, I hope to see you then.
And you can register for my new eCourse, Just Wild Enough, anytime.
Slightly more tense than would have been ideal given the layoff situation, but still nice.
They have a bunch of my signed books now, so stop in if you’re local-ish, or order online!
There are several more that I’ve applied for that it’s highly likely I’ll never hear from - so though I don’t like rejections, knowing something is off the table is better than wondering about it, or following up to receive no response at all.
Broadleaf Books has been a delightful home for this little book as well as my latest release, Collisions of Earth and Sky.
Should I have lead with this news? Maybe. It’s harder to celebrate good things when other [pressing] things feel heavy.
Our son is a Marine recruiter. He told me that they expect 100 no's for every yes.
I hope that you won't have to suffer that many rejections. Hang in there, keep your options open, and enjoy your family time, it's the most precious, and we often take it for granted.