When Community helps you find your next step

Being on the job hunt is frustrating. With the role of AI now part of the process, it can feel scary wondering if your resume will be seen at all! Spending months applying and being unsure if anything is possible feels debilitating.

Thankfully, we do have resources. 

I started becoming active in the MoTaverse, around 2-ish years ago. I started talking on the Club, joining the stage for This Week in Quality, and submitting articles. I met wonderful people along the way and started reading and sharing what they were creating. It's like a laboratory of learning here, and there is always so much to take in professionally. 

Once I started to look for work and applied the green banner on LinkedIn, the community rallied around me. They listened to me while I was processing my fears and hopes. And when I went quiet for a bit, they reached out to me to make sure I was okay. 

Then I saw a job on an online job board and applied (along with my other applications). A hiring manager, Karl Becker, reached out to me on the MoT Slack channel to check out a role he had just posted. Turns out, it was the same role! A human in the loop! We talked through Slack, and I went through the interview process. 

I start my new role on Monday, July 27th. I'm happy to put away the green banner, with full awareness that there are many others currently looking for work. 

My advice: plug into the community. Reach out to others. Amplify their work. As Tristan Lombard says, "Do something different" than merely apply and hope for the best. 

And, above all, take care of yourself. Remember to have fun. Seek joy. Continue growing your skills, and then go eat some ice cream. You are a human, and you need all the joyful things to carry you on this journey. I'm here for you if you need someone to listen. 

In my opinion, the community is your best bet.