My Job Hunt Journey

Up until August, I have had the good fortune of never being laid off. I was terrified of it, and it loomed large in my mind since the beginning of the year as the cuts flooded in across the tech industry. Then, when it happened, I felt like a lightning bolt shot through my chest. It was awful.

I’ve been thinking a lot about how I managed these last four months of “the between times,” and I want to share them with the community; the things that I did do not constitute advice—I try my best only to give advice when it’s asked for. I am sharing what worked for me in case you might find it helpful.

👉 I’ve included links to the resources I mention. Thanks for reading!

TL;DR

I focused on what I could control, stayed creative, learned some things, and got involved with the community.

Digging Deeper

✅ Owning the morning

I kept the same schedule as I did when I was working. I got up early and worked out three days a week. On the other days, I took guitar lessons via PickUpMusic, which I highly recommend for anyone who wants to improve their playing regardless of ability. Then, I would get to work looking for work,

✅ Looking for work was the job

I applied for 2 to 4 jobs daily, worked on a new portfolio — coming soon, I promise—and networked with folks on LinkedIn. I created a spreadsheet to keep track of all my applications. You can grab a copy of it here. I used tools like LinkedIn, FlexJobs, Indeed, and EarnBetter to help me fine-tune my search.

✅ Rejecting rejection

We are wired to find rejection painful. So, in the job hunting spreadsheet I made, I created a category named “closed” and dispensed with the word “rejection” altogether. This doesn’t mean I was immune to feeling rejected when I wasn’t selected for a role after an interview I felt good about, but it helped.

✅ Finding community

I accidentally stumbled across Mindaugus Petrutis on LinkedIn and connected with him to learn about the Coho Fellowship, which I subsequently joined as a member of their Design cohort. I connected with other designers and design leaders, attended seminars, and took some of their training to better myself. Everyone I interacted with inspired me. I plan to continue to utilize and contribute to the platform to return that favor.

Late in the game, I learned about Phyl Terry’s Never Search Alone method of looking for a job. I wish I had known about this earlier; it would have been beneficial.

✅ Paying it forward

I mentored someone through the UXPA and established free office hours focused on design. During those sessions, I helped folks brainstorm, answered questions, provided career feedback, and reviewed portfolios. I was thrilled to connect with so many talented, interesting people from the Design community. It was inspiring and reminded me why I chose Design Management as my career path.

About my office hours, I plan to continue the sessions, but I need to figure out my new schedule first. I’ll post my availability soon.

✅ Maximizing LinkedIn

I utilized LinkedIn in many ways. I splurged and paid for LinkedIn Professional because I wanted the ability to message people I wasn’t connected with. I spent a lot of time using LinkedIn Learning (you can most likely get that feature for free through your local library in the U.S.)

This might belong in a subsequent section, but I took J.T. O’Donnell’s class on connecting effectively with recruiters and followed every single tip she provided.

If I saw a role at a company I was interested in and someone from my network worked there, I would ask them for a recommendation. If I had a second-degree connection at a prospective company, I'd ask our mutual connection for an introduction. This frequently led to me securing interviews with recruiters. I also connected with folks who had worked in companies I worked for, even if our paths didn’t cross. The same goes for people who attended the University of Washington, where I acted as a mentor for their HCDE (Human Centered Design and Engineering) program for many years.

After I landed my new role, I used LinkedIn’s messaging tool to thank the people who helped me out. If you helped me and I forgot to DM you a note—thank you! Seriously!

✅ Building a brand

This ties into the LinkedIn piece of this, but it deserves its own section. For me, LinkedIn is all about my brand. It’s a marketing tool, and I wanted to showcase my thinking, skills, and attitude. As a rule, I do not post anything personal on it. If I was having a bad day or felt the weight of the sky pushing me into the ground, I talked about it with friends and family. This is how I work, and I wanted it reflected on LinkedIn. My thinking was, if I am broadcasting negativity, why would a recruiter or a hiring manager want to connect with me? I certainly wouldn't if I were looking to hire someone.

✅ Acting like a student

I took an excellent class that got me started using ChatGPT effectively and used that tool to help me with my search. I also spent time brushing up on CSS and JavaScript and learned to use Framer.

✅ Staying creative

Those of you who know me know that I am a lifelong musician. I spent a lot of time recording for two music projects, Head Full of Stars and Analog Friends. And I joined an improvisational ensemble led by ambient maestro Jeff Greinke.

✅ Going off the rails

I permitted myself to be human and tried to be a friend to myself. Some days felt great, others bleak. Sometimes, I took long naps in the middle of the day. Sometimes, I decided to do nothing. It was part of the recovery process.

✅ Feelings aren’t facts

This can be hard to wrangle. But, our thoughts and feelings are not objective. Mine often mislead me, and I cannot count how often my feelings about something do not reflect the reality of the situation. Why does this happen? Well, sometimes my inner narrator is not a nice person.

One of the ways I sorted through my thoughts and feelings was by journaling them every morning. I also keep a daily gratitude journal that’s been going on for years. I never read it; it’s more about the ritual of filling it out that matters to me.

✅ Celebrating small wins

I celebrated the small wins—I got a message back from a recruiter! I figured out that complicated melody on my guitar! And so on. Progress can be difficult to measure, but celebrating the small wins made me feel like things were happening.

Wrapping It All Up

Ok, you made it to the end! All of the things I mentioned helped me stay focused on my goal of finding a new job, as well as taking care of myself. I hope you found some of this useful to you. Or at least now you know me a little a better.