After Applying To Over 167 Jobs, This Woman Got Hired By Mashable Through Twitter
In 2017, we're seeing the power of social media at its finest. We use it to speak on social and political issues that we didn't always have a voice in, news and entertainment stories are turned into viral pieces that would otherwise go unnoticed, and it's also a place where we gather together to give real time commentary on our favorite primetime TV shows (#ScandalThursdays and wine anyone?)
Amongst all of the great things that social media does, it also allows us to network in ways that we never have before.
When I first started using Twitter as a journalist, I knew that I wanted to connect with like-minded people in my field, but I had trouble finding them. I later discovered that the key to getting more followers on Twitter is through Twitter chats! Twitter chats are virtual discussions that allow you to connect with others and engage in conversations about things that you know. I have a few Twitter chats that Siri reminds me of each week, and #BizChats is one of them. Mashable's business sector has bi-weekly #BizChats program that highlights various topics of business from intern to executive.
As the curious person that I am, I researched who ran #BizChats and discovered the gem Tracey Edouard, who is a Social Media Assistant at Mashable. Mashable is a global media site that caters to a digital generation of movers and shakers, providing news about everything from: business, tech, politics, social media, entertainment, lifestyle and more.
I did a little research on Tracey and became extremely impressed with her, and her evolution as a woman and job seeker. The Penn State graduate worked tirelessly as an intern at Mashable, where she focused building and facilitating Mashable's social media presence for the business vertical – that is basically controlling the channels for Mashable Business on Facebook, Mashable's LinkedIn account, and the @MashBusiness handle on Twitter. She did so well at her internship, that a position was created for her–but the road to success didn't come without its struggles.
Finding a job can be extremely difficult, and being laid off doesn't instill the highest level of confidence in us. Tracey is someone that went through a rough unemployment period, but eventually with her faith and persistence, she was able to land her dream job. In a recent interview with Tracey, she took me to church and back and humbly shared her story of literally starting from the bottom and persevering.
Here are a few things that I learned and that inspired me about Tracey's story.
She was unemployed for nine months, and during that time applied to more than 167 jobs!
I went to Penn State University from 2009 to 2013, majored in Advertising and Public Relations with a minor in Sociology. After I graduated in 2013, I came across a job that was in social media marketing that I truly loved. After six months of working there, there was an unexpected series of layoffs, and I was let go. I found myself unemployed for nine months. This was a really, really hard struggle for me because I'm the type of person that is a true overachiever. When this happened to me, I had nothing else to lean on, but my faith.
As a Christian, I know how important it is trust God when things around you aren't working out. While unemployed, I felt like I turned into a full-time ministry student; I attended numerous bible studies and stayed prayerful, all the while applying to jobs consistently. Nine months after being unemployed, I realized I had applied to over 167 jobs!
Turning to her faith helped her overcome depression
When I couldn't land a job, I dove into a deep depression – every day was a struggle, even to just get out of bed – I wasn't eating properly or taking care of myself. The only thing that carried me through was building up my faith and learning how to trust God in the good times and the bad.
After nine months of being unemployed, I interviewed with Mashable for a social media internship for their business sector. As an intern, I was determined to show them what I was about, and to prove why I deserved to be on the team indefinitely. After nine months of interning, I was offered a full-time position when there wasn't a guaranteed full-time position available at the beginning of the internship – they created a position for me!
During this time, I learned the importance of staying steadfast amidst the storm. There were times when I wanted to give up, and quit all of my trying. Especially during the sixth and seventh month of being unemployed, submitting job application after application, I was tired of reaching out to people and not hearing back. I realized that it's important to stay true to yourself and keep your faith. Just because your time isn't right now doesn't mean that it's never going to happen. Getting the internship at Mashable showed me why all of the other jobs that I applied to never worked out. This is where I'm supposed to be. This is where God is opening doors for me. I'm learning a lot, and I'm in an amazing environment.
[Tweet "Just because your time isn't right now doesn't mean that it's never going to happen."]
She created #Bizchats to stand out as an intern
#BizChats is the closest thing I have to a child. Starting it up from scratch was scary and exhilarating all at the same time. The responsibility of keeping #BizChats going rests on my shoulders. In addition to my daily duties as a Social Media Assistant, I brainstorm the questions, reach out to influencers, schedule Twitter promotions, run the chat, write the articles. I'm super proud to see how far it has come.
She started #BizChats without a background in business
Starting #BizChats for Mashable was definitely a challenge. Please note, I didn't go to Penn State for business, so when this internship was presented to me, I was kind of apprehensive to take it because I wasn't sure if I could truly deliver. As an intern, I knew that Mashable was looking to bring the conversation of business to our audience, compiled of millennials and young adults. We wanted to find new ways to talk about business and make it fun, fresh and engaging. Stepping in as an intern, I personally had a big misconstrued view of business. When I was creating the idea of #BizChats, I sat down and asked myself, 'As a consumer (and a millennial), what is it that I wanted to know about business?' After launching the first #BizChats Twitter chat, I noticed that it didn't matter what field you were in professionally, everyone is just looking for ways to better themselves – and this is how #BizChats found its footing. I believe what differentiates our Twitter chat from any of the others is that we are really about providing information to our audience to make them a better version of themselves. You don't have to be the cream of the crop to get this information. It is for people at any level of their career, and we provide tools and information necessary for them to be the best professionals that they can be.
#BizChats caters to everyone navigating the business world, not just big wigs
Some of the topics that we have discussed in #BizChats include: freelancing, job hunting, how to pay for college, cleaning up your credit score, how to excel as an entrepreneur, company qualtrics, how to turn ideas into a business, LinkedIn, networking dos and don'ts, work-life balance, the basics of business planning, budgeting, personal branding, and much more.
She's breaking barriers as a young Black woman in digital media.
One of the things that I struggled with when I was unemployed was the feeling of rejection I felt after putting in so much time and effort into job applications and not hearing back. I'm the type of person that is an over-achiever – I have a personal portfolio, a personal website, I'm the one that's always super analytical over my resume as well as my LinkedIn, so I couldn't understand why I wasn't hearing back from anyone. It's a catch-22 for not only young millennials that graduated from college and are looking to get their foot in any door, but it's even harder for women of color. There is a saying that I take with me wherever I go, and that saying is: 'you are always being watched.' When you take that saying and apply it to a woman of color, it's multiplied and magnified so much more. Not only are the barriers to entry even higher, but I also feel that sometimes people are watching to see what women of color are really about.
I do have to say that Mashable is more diverse than people would think. Mashable is embracing the fact that and understanding the benefits of bringing together a diverse staff, both professionally and culturally.
She stood out by stepping up
As a young Black woman, for me it is about always going above and beyond. When I say this I mean not always staring at the clock, waiting on 6 o'clock to come, and then just leave right away. If there is something that needs to be done, I'm volunteering, or if there are extra assignments to complete, I'm up for it. Also, not just being the status quo and typical employee - if you are just doing what you are told, that's not enough anymore. Thinking outside of the box, and trying to bring something new to the table shows that you care and that's really what #BizChats was for me. That was my challenge, my risk, my opportunity to go above and beyond, and it paid off greatly.
[Tweet "I believe in going beyond the status quo in life."]
Staying ahead of the curve helped her get her first job
In my first year of college, I knew that LinkedIn was going to be something that employers would pay attention to. For me, having a LinkedIn early on was super important because I was able to easily keep track of all of my accolades from freshman to senior year. It wasn't like I had to sit down senior year, and scramble and dig together everything that I had done in college.
She owns her name, literally.
Another thing that I did early on was I bought my own name. When I say this, I mean I bought my own domain name. Doing so was very important for me. Everyone has their own unique name and it is very important while in school to build your online presence because that's where employers are going to be looking. When you buy your domain name, you can then use hosting sites like wix.com, or squarespace.com, to build yourself a personal website. When creating your domain, don't forget to be consistent. Make it something along the lines of: [first and last name] [dot] com. Include your unique website on your business cards and resume, too. Having that consistency will make it easier for recruiters to find you not have to become Nancy Drew to find anything out about you.
At this point in your life, you are in charge of showing your best qualities, so why not take advantage of that early on? By the time you reach your junior in college, you'll already be ahead of the game.
She suggests having a bomb (professional) headshot to attract recruiters
Find a friend that can take really nice photos with a good camera and get some headshots taken. Once this is done, really take the time to build a website that you are proud of so that you can also show off your talents, accomplishments, and what you are passionate about in a unique way. At the end of the day when you are applying to jobs, and your resume pops up in a recruiter's inbox, rest-assured you will be researched. People are going to Google you, and they are going to look up your social media because they want to see what you are about. It is good to already have that online presence there and in a positive manner.
She sends thank you videos instead of thank you cards
In college, having my own website and a LinkedIn account helped me stand apart from others. Another thing, when it comes to interviewing and job fairs, I personally feel that thank you cards have become the new vanilla. I'm saying that because very rapidly we are turning into a video-centric society. There are so many unique ways to show appreciation after an interview or meeting. After every interview that I went to, I made the interviewer a personalized thank you video. They weren't long, maybe like 30-40 seconds long -- tops. Please note, it wasn't hard to do, and if I can do it, anyone can. I'm not a video editing guru. I just used my iPhone and couple books for propping purposes. In my videos, I bring up several key points I shared with the interviewer from our conversation and thank them for their time. I upload the videos onto YouTube on a private account, and get the link and send them the video.
[Tweet "Sending thank you videos is the new 'it' thing after interviews."]
When I sent my thank you video to my first boss, I was offered the job the same day! She told me she had never seen such a creative response to send a thank you message. I personally think that creating thank you videos shows your commitment, your talent, and your passion. Yes it takes more work, but at the end of the day, if you want the job, it will be worth it. It shows that you don't mind taking a step up. Recruiters expect thank you cards all the time. You want to be the one to present the unexpected – you want to show recruiters that there is more to you than just the status quo.
Her spirituality keeps her motivated
A verse that I hold near and dear to me is from Proverbs 3: 5-6. It reads, “Trust in the lord with all of your heart, and lean not on your understanding. In all your ways, submit to Him and He will make your path straight." This for me was my mantra when I was unemployed and it still is now.
When I got laid off, I was devastated and I didn't know what the future would hold. This scripture spoke to me and it taught me that no matter what's going on, the Lord has my best interests in mind. Even when the path you're traveling isn't leading where you expected, you have to trust Him.
I encourage other young women who are in college to stay prayerful and stand in the truth that the Lord knows where they are at in all situations. Please know that if you seek God first He will make your path straight in all situations and fulfill the desires of your heart.
She's inspiring other women not to give up on their dreams
I hope to inspire other women to not give up. As painful as your journey may be, emotionally, professionally, spiritually, you have to know that there's beauty in the pain and it's all a part of growing character. The Lord doesn't waste painful situations -- I truly believe that. Every situation that you go through, whether it is good or bad, is for a divine purpose.
Brittani Hunter is a proud PVAMU alumni and the founder of The Mogul Millennial, a business and career platform for Black Millennials. Meet Brittani on Twitter and on the Gram at @BrittaniLHunter and @mogulmillennial.
ItGirl 100 Honors Black Women Who Create Culture & Put On For Their Cities
As they say, create the change you want to see in this world, besties. That’s why xoNecole linked up with Hyundai for the inaugural ItGirl 100 List, a celebration of 100 Genzennial women who aren’t afraid to pull up their own seats to the table. Across regions and industries, these women embody the essence of discovering self-value through purpose, honey! They're fierce, they’re ultra-creative, and we know they make their cities proud.
VIEW THE FULL ITGIRL 100 LIST HERE.
Don’t forget to also check out the ItGirl Directory, featuring 50 Black-woman-owned marketing and branding agencies, photographers and videographers, publicists, and more.
THE ITGIRL MEMO
I. An ItGirl puts on for her city and masters her self-worth through purpose.
II. An ItGirl celebrates all the things that make her unique.
III. An ItGirl empowers others to become the best versions of themselves.
IV. An ItGirl leads by example, inspiring others through her actions and integrity.
V. An ItGirl paves the way for authenticity and diversity in all aspects of life.
VI. An ItGirl uses the power of her voice to advocate for positive change in the world.
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These 11 Married Couples Share Their Keys To Long-Term Marital Success
The late actor Audrey Hepburn once said something that I think a lot of married couples who have at least 10 years under their belt will agree with: “If I get married, I want to be very married.” In my mind, this means very committed, very complementary, and very willing to go the distance — otherwise, what’s the point?
Really, what’s the point?
Thing is, with the divorce rate still being higher than it ever should be (for the record, a husband is not a boyfriend, and a wife is not a girlfriend; a marriage is serious business, y’all) and acting married being praised (or at least acknowledged) more than actually being married seems to be — folks who 1) are married and are looking for some hacks that will help with relational longevity or 2) want to be married someday and want insight on how to make their future marriage last are constantly seeking truly beneficial material.
Can you Google articles with random bullet points? Sure. And I’m not discouraging it. Every little bit of wisdom that you can pull, I fully support. However, the reason why I like to do articles like this one from time to time is there is something to be said from hearing real talk from multiple sources on the same topic who have some solid wisdom and knowledge on a particular topic.
Today? 11 married couples who were willing to talk about how they’ve been able to make it to several wedding anniversaries with a smile on their face and no regrets for choosing who they chose. Let’s all sit at their feet for just a moment.
*Middle names are always used in my content that’s like this so that people can speak freely*
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1. Kyle and Adrienne. Married 12 Years.
Kyle: “Some of your readers aren’t going to want to hear this but it’s worked for my marriage: people need to lower their expectations sometimes; I mean, men and women. We go into marriage with stuff that movies told us, social media told us, friends who are always single told us about what we should expect from someone, and then want to fault the person when they’re not what we made up in our head. Everyone should have standards but if you’re expecting your spouse to be some living version of a fairy tale character, you’re going to be disappointed almost every day of your life. Drop those expectations some and watch your relationship be a lot less stressful.”
Adrienne: “Talk to people who respect your man about your marriage. I’ve never believed that you shouldn’t ever go to anyone when you need some support. Even the Bible says that there is safety in wise counsel [Proverbs 11:4]. Too many women talk to women who don’t respect men, in general, let alone their husbands, and so that’s where things go left. Sometimes, you need an ‘outside in’ perspective. But if that woman is always taking shots at men, doesn’t respect marriage, or isn’t someone who holds your man in high regard, don’t ask her for advice. Really, you should ask yourself why you’re friends with her at all.”
Shellie here: I’m big on engaged and married couples having a “village” of sorts for their relationship, too. Check out “Why Every Engaged Couple Needs A 'Marriage Registry'” to get a good idea of what I mean.
2. Levi and Paulette. Married for 15 Years.
Levi: “Some of you have probably heard of the 7-7-7 rule. It’s where couples go on a date every seven days, have a weekend getaway every seven weeks, and go on a romantic trip of some sort every seven months. My wife and I do the 2-2-2 rule instead because sometimes our schedule and budget make ‘7’ difficult. It has gotten easier since Shellie told us about the sex jar. Bottom line, if you’re waiting for time to just open up to be with your spouse, that ain’t gonna happen. Schedule intimacy, including sex. Prioritizing it is better than saying you’re gonna be spontaneous and…never are.”
Paulette: “Initiate sex, dammit. When Shellie told us that men initiate sex most of the time, and then I thought about how often I used to push my husband away whenever he did it — I never really thought about how that made him feel until I put myself in his shoes. We’ve got to stop having all of this understanding for why women cheat when it comes to them not feeling desired or not getting attention when we’re the same way to our husbands. Your marriage isn’t ‘Young and the Restless’, where you’re just supposed to wait for your man to make the move. If you want to feel wanted, do the same thing for him.”
Shellie here: What’s a sex jar, you ask? You can read more about it via “5 Reasons Why Every Married Couple Needs A Sex Jar.”
3. Matthew and Gaia. Married for 17 Years.
Matthew: “Reenact some of your favorite times together. My wife and I do that semi-often. We’ll go back to where we had our first date, or we’ll go back to the hotel where we had some of the best sex before. Bringing back memories of when you felt the best together can give you the motivation to stay together to create some new memories to ‘play out’ later on.”
Gaia: “If you want to ‘mom your husband,’ you need to have kids — or at least get a dog! I didn’t realize how bossy I was until I got married. It’s because I saw my mom be that way with my dad. In my eyes, I thought that’s what love looked like until I watched how my in-laws were. They don’t try to change each other, and they definitely don’t make any demands. They’re very polite. I think a lot of married people are rude to their partner. Don’t be that.”
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4. Joseph and Carletta. Married for 10 Years.
Joseph: “Go to therapy for your childhood. I’m dead serious. No one is going to show you yourself like your wife will, and I realized that a lot of my hang-ups came from unhealed childhood stuff. It’s hard to be an adult in your marriage when you’re still emotionally a kid in a lot of ways. If you’re at the point where you think therapy is needed, go alone and deal with your childhood first. It did miracles for me and mine.”
"No one is going to show you yourself like your wife will, and I realized that a lot of my hang-ups came from unhealed childhood stuff. It’s hard to be an adult in your marriage when you’re still emotionally a kid in a lot of ways."
Carletta: “Meditate together once a day. Even if it’s just for 5-10 minutes, you need to carve out a moment to be mindful, focus on each other, and slow the world down. [Joseph and I] have been doing it for a couple of years now; it’s totally changed the way we communicate. Meditation reminds us to put each other first; that if we’re focused on each other, we can take on…whatever.”
5. Zeke and Rachelle. Married for 12 Years.
Zeke: “An argument is not a fight and a debate is not an argument. Learn that and you’re home-free. That’s all I got.”
Rachelle: “That advice that you just got? That sums up what it’s like to live with my husband. He’s very cut-and-dry, direct, and not wordy. That used to bug the hell out of me until I realized how wordy I was and then accepted that I wouldn’t want ‘two of me’ in the house [LOL]. He’s right. You can have a difference of opinion, and it be a debate. You can not find a middle ground on something and it turns into an argument. Neither of those is a red flag. It just comes with being with someone who is as much of an individual as you are.”
6. Taurus and Madison. Married for 22 Years.
Taurus: “Be prepared for your partner to change — not a couple of times, quite a bit. And when they change, that alters the relationship because now it’s not the person you stood with on your wedding day; it’s someone else. People get divorced so much because they are inflexible; they expect their spouse to never switch up and that’s just not how life is. If you’re rigid, controlling, or don’t know how to adjust, you don’t need to marry anybody. You’re gonna be miserable, and so will they.”
Madison: “Pray before sex. Before my husband and I got married, we had quite a bit of sexual history that caused us to do some comparing, and that led to resentment. In marriage, we had to adjust to how it’s more than just what we’re getting from another person. Married sex comes with so much more spirituality and responsibility. Prayer before sex reminds us to see it from a spiritual lens — and that makes the experience more intense and sacred. It might sound weird at first. Just try it. I don’t think you’ll regret it at all.”
"Married sex comes with so much more spirituality and responsibility. Prayer before sex reminds us to see it from a spiritual lens — and that makes the experience more intense and sacred."
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7. Karl and LaTasha. Married for 9 Years.
Karl: “Check in with your partner twice a day. In the morning before leaving the house and at night before going to sleep. If you work outside of the home, a lot can happen during the course of one day, so you shouldn’t assume that the person you left in the morning is who you are coming home to. I don’t mean sharing each other’s schedules or to-do lists. I mean, asking your spouse, ‘How are you doing? How are you really doing?’. It’s a smart way to take note of their mood and needs so that you are never blindsided.”
LaTasha: “Give each other some privacy. I have never been the kind of woman to go through a man’s phone, and I won’t start. If you think that you have to be a detective in your relationship, why are you in it in the first place? I know that Karl would give me codes and passwords if I wanted them because we’ve talked about it all before. Knowing that he would is enough for me. Marriage is an institution, but damn, it shouldn’t feel like jail.”
8. Thomas and Wynter. Married for 15 Years.
Thomas: “Ask your partner what their sexual needs are. Never assume that they haven’t changed because if we all agree that we are constantly growing and evolving as people, why would sex be exempt? Don’t personalize what they say about it either. All of us have sexual fantasies and interests that we keep to ourselves because we don’t know what our partner will think or ‘cause we think that they will create stories in their head about what made us think that way. I’ve learned that intimacy is feeling okay with sharing the deep stuff. The more comfortable a man, especially, is with doing that, the better the sex will be for everyone because talking about stuff like that is like taking down some walls.”
Wynter: “It’s okay to take one vacation a year with your girls and one by yourself. Just don’t go with people who don’t have the same standards as you, and as far as your solo venture, it doesn’t need to be longer than a long weekend. One thing that they don’t tell you about marriage is how there are times when you will feel like it is monotonous because of the routine of everything. A girls’ trip reminds you to get back to you outside of being someone’s wife or mom, and the trip alone is when you can sit around and do whatever you have to negotiate most of them. And yes, your man should be given the same courtesy.”
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9. Allen and Yvette. Married for 11 Years.
Allen: “STOP. BRINGING. UP. OLD. SH-T. SH-T. Nothing creates walls in a marriage more than you telling someone that you forgave them, and then the minute something else happens, here you go with the rap sheet of wrongs. Forgiving someone means that you are pardoning them, and that’s not what you’re doing if you’re constantly holding stuff over their head. One thing that marriage will show you is how bad of a forgiver you are. Most people suck at it, if we’re gonna be real about it.”
Yvette: “I already know that some women are going to assume that my man must’ve done something to say all of that (LOL). He’s a much better forgiver than I am, believe it or not. The real plot twist is, what gets on his nerves more than anything, is when I bring up stuff that he’s forgiven me for. Allen is the kind of man [who] hates to live in the past. I’ve grown a lot because of that. I think my advice would be to stay focused on solutions and tomorrow instead of problems and yesterday.”
Allen: “Sh- t, that’s bars, babe!”
Shellie here: INDEED.
10. Brennton and Danyelle. Married for 16 Years.
Brennton: “Why anyone who is trash at forgiving would get married is beyond me. It’s delusional to the nth degree to think that you are worthy of forgiveness and others aren’t — or that what you do isn’t ‘as bad,’ and that’s why you deserve forgiveness and others don’t. My wife and I have a lot of time under our belts. I’m here to tell you that there will be something, daily, that you will need to forgive your partner for on some level. If you can’t see yourself being open to that, marriage simply isn’t for you.”
Danyelle: “I don’t know who taught so many of us that being passive-aggressive will get us what we want, but it’s a damn lie. If something is wrong, stop saying ‘nothing’ when your man asks you what’s up because, if you’ve got a man like mine, he’s gonna say ‘Okay’ and go on about his day. Brennton often says that my refusing to speak isn’t his responsibility, it’s mine. That used to piss me off because, deep down, I knew that he was right. Oh, and chill on the grudge-holding too. With guys, that’s not going to get you anywhere either.”
11. Christopher and Yvonne. Married for 26 Years.
Christopher: “Have more loyalty for your spouse than you do your closest friend. Too many people don’t think like that. If you’ve got a friend since college, you’ve been through some things and you’ve learned to forgive and move past it. If you can’t see your wife or husband in this way, why did you get married? You should never have more grace for someone who you didn’t take vows with; that’s ludicrous. Before anyone else, I’m going to prioritize reconciling with my wife. It’s because I value her more than anyone. That’s what marriage is.”
"Before anyone else, I'm going to prioritize reconciling with my wife. It's because I value her more than anyone. That's what marriage is."
Yvonne: “Even if you’re not about ‘traditional gender roles,’ discuss what the expectations are for the home. People don’t divorce over cheating as much as getting sick of beard clippings in the bathroom sink or cars that look like pocketbooks. When you sign up for marriage, you are doing daily life with another person. Articulate your expectations. Listen to theirs. Be flexible until you both can make it work. Do that, and you’ll look up, and it’s been 20 years already.”
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Gems. Pure gems, y’all.
You know, popular consultant Barbara De Angelis once said, “Marriage is not a noun; it’s a verb. It isn’t something you get. It’s something you do. It’s the way you love your partner every day.” And love? Love is a choice.
And so, whether you’re married, engaged, or simply desire marriage in the future, hopefully, these tips will help you to choose how you love your spouse (or future spouse)…better.
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Featured image by Jasper Cole/Getty Images