Searching for a new job can feel like looking for your place in a 5,000-piece puzzle.
From navigating the job qualifications and benefits to questioning whether you’re making the right move for yourself or your family—it’s a complicated decision. Sorting through those puzzle pieces helps you determine whether a potential employer is the right fit for you.
In 2017, I’d been working at the same company for nine years—at my first job after graduating from college. I’d moved up the ranks, but increasingly I realized I was a square peg in a workplace full of round holes. And I realized it was time to find a job that fit better with my life and goals.
Suddenly, I found myself in the job market for the first time since college. And this time, I was on my own.
During my first job search, I’d leaned heavily on my trusted journalism professor and adviser, Dr. Kate Hastings. She became a critical resource for me as graduation neared and I began applying for jobs.
Dr. Hastings is a firm believer in the power of the cover letter to help you stand out from the crowd of misfit pegs. So when I began applying for a job at my hometown newspaper, Dr. Hastings was adamant that the cover letter needed to sparkle.
I drafted several versions, but it just wasn’t clicking. Finally, we landed at a glaringly obvious conclusion: The cover letter needed to be about me, my story, and why my story made me the best fit for this job. And in this case, that boiled down to my deep roots as a local farmer’s daughter, someone who understood our community’s struggles with development versus preservation, growth and advancement versus legacy and sustainability. This understanding, I wrote, made me more qualified to work there than anyone else.
It worked. I got the job even before I graduated. I launched my career and quickly moved to an editor position that helped me grow my leadership skills as well as my journalistic ones.
Nine years later, it was time to move on. I began exploring job openings, cleaning up my very dusty resume, and crafting a new cover letter in hopes of finding a new employer where my peg fit better.
At this point, my job-seeking skills were rusty, so I fell back to my old crutch from my previous job search: Dr. Hastings and her trusted advice. (At least, I think that’s what it was. That’s my only explanation for why the “farm girl” bug remained stuck in my ear.)
I got a second interview at a job I really wanted, and I practiced my talking points the entire trip to the interview. In my mind, the first question was always, “Can you tell us a little about yourself?” And my answer always began with that nugget that Dr. Hastings had pointed out: You grew up on a farm.
In reality, the first question was, “Can you tell us a little about your career so far?”
But that’s not what I heard, so I answered the question that I’d been repeating to myself for 30 minutes in the car. The answer that began by talking about how I’d grown up on a farm.
The interviewer listened politely and then asked, “Yes, but what does that have to do with your career?”
My career didn’t have anything to do with farming. I’d trusted that first cover letter so much that I didn’t question the premise at all, even though it wasn’t relevant here.
I felt the panic rising in my stomach, the terror that I’d blown the interview and wouldn’t get the job.
Somehow, in an instant, I mentally folded up that feeling and swallowed it, determined not to let it derail the interview. I think I laughed and then garbled out an answer about the farm being foundational to who I am. Honestly, I don’t remember the exact words because I was so focused on swallowing that fear of failure.
Ultimately, it was one awkward moment during a really great interview. The conversation was comfortable and straightforward—maybe because I’d gotten the weirdness out of the way first thing. I got the job, and for about two and a half years now, I’ve been challenging myself to grow in new ways with a truly great employer.
And it’s proven to me that finding the right fit in your career is critical.
Just because you’ve wedged yourself into one particular peg hole doesn’t mean it’s a good fit, and it doesn’t mean you have to stay there forever. The unknown is scary, but it’s worth it when you find the place where you truly fit.
See more stories like this live in person at Lancaster Story Slam the fourth Tuesday of each month at Zoetropolis. In York, Story Slam takes place third Tuesdays at Holy Hound Taproom. Visit lancasterstoryslam.com or yorkstoryslam.com for more info.
