Anecdote time:
This past Saturday, I roped off a parking lot at 5:45am near TCU’s campus (my alma mater) for game day parking…for a game that started at 6:30pm. No, I was not scamming people in a random parking lot, though several TCU dads gave me suspicious looks as they handed me their $30 that day. My best friend’s father-in-law owns a building and lot near campus and will charge for parking every football season. This year, my friend and I are the “parking attendants”, collecting the money and directing individuals where to park…going as long as needed until the lot is full.
It might be shocking to hear that people in Texas do NOT start tailgating at 6am for a night game, but maybe the TCU fanbase just isn’t that hardcore. My friend and I spent the morning and early afternoon hours sitting in lawn chairs in the empty lot, occasionally telling disgruntled restaurant patrons why they couldn’t park there.
During the morning hours, when my friend took her break for a cat nap, I found myself alone in the lot and left to guard the area. As I was thinking about the long day ahead of me and the 100-degree high, I saw a sweet older lady and her dog walking by.
We made eye contact and then she suddenly said to me, “Honey, one day when you are rich and famous, and maybe sharing your story on a talk show, you’ll be able to look back on this moment and say you sat in a parking lot for hours to make money and you hustled.”
And while I have no desire to be famous, just rather respected in my field, I couldn’t help but feel proud of myself when thinking about her comment. Not because it was a highly esteemed job I was doing; but because I was persevering and knew I was taking every opportunity I could to provide for myself during my layoff.
So though I am deeply humbled by every rejection email I receive and wildly unglamorous gig I take on, I’m proud of my work ethic during this challenging time. From taking on commission paintings to working two retail jobs, selling clothes, fulfilling boot orders in a warehouse, and so much more, I’ve had a lot of odd jobs this year. And, if we are going to get technical, these experiences have only solidified the very traits that employers are looking for — creativity, problem-solving, and an entrepreneurial spirit (to name a few). 😉
All this to say, I’m not going to give up on finding a role within the marketing/ad agency world, as it’s what I am passionate about and KNOW I am good at. But, I think it’s okay to also give yourself some credit for the little things, like conquering a 12-hour day in the TX heat.
#layoffs #marketing #advertising #sidehustles #opentowork
Retired
3moCongratulations to everyone,