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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Listen, when you live in Music City like I do, one way or another, you’re gonna find yourself involved in the music industry, even if it’s just by way of association. However, because I grew up in a music industry home and I got my start as an entertainment writer, the amount of stuff that I learned about artists — lawd.
Take a particular artist, who will remain nameless and who, to this day, is one of the most condescending and patronizing individuals I have ever met. One day, as someone who used to work with them was cosigning on that very point, they brought up an example that is perfect for the direction of today’s piece.
Them: “She was always trying to talk about how young people only have sex on their minds, and she would pray for their obsession with it. When we all told her to be quiet because she basically got married at 12, she shut up real quick.”
I bet she did. It’s real easy to “not understand” what you personally don’t have to deal with. Yeah, I wonder if she had waited until even 25 to get married if she would be preaching the same sermon about sexual sobriety. Ah, and sermon. Yeah, that’s a nice segue, too, because if there is another place that is notorious for being in the pulpit about sexual promiscuity while ironically encouraging singles to be consumed, if not obsessed, with finding a spouse, it’s the Church — well, many churches.
Where am I going with all of this? I ain’t got no lies for you. The Good Book says that the truth is what sets us free (John 8:31-32), and there’s no time like the present to tackle something that is quite relationally rampant and yet, interestingly enough, doesn’t get addressed nearly enough: emophilia.
Never Heard of Emophilia Before? Chile, I’m Not Surprised.
GiphyBack when I was in college, I went to school with someone who was always talking about getting married and who God told her was her husband. Looking back, it’s kind of comical (and sad…yes, both at the same time) to think about just how many men she claimed that was. It’s also kind of buck that, all these years later, she’s had multiple husbands (and yes, she put “God on them” every single time) while enjoying taking digs around the fact that, according to her, my body count is much higher than hers (I’m currently sitting at 14; I never asked what hers was).
Yep, even though it’s been years since I’ve “added a notch” and although she’s had three husbands while I’ve had none, she still thinks that my sexual partners are “worse” than her many husbands. Nevermind the fact that (since she’s bringing God all up in it) Malachi 2:16 says that God hates divorce and, well, I’ll let y’all read I Corinthians 7:10-11 (as far as remarriage goes) — I’ve been more promiscuous, and so she will always find that to be far worse.
Is it, though? Or do a lot of people just not know that, similar to how porn isn’t just about sex because it can also mean an excessive amount of something, promiscuous can also mean “consisting of a number of dissimilar parts or elements mingled in a confused or indiscriminate manner” — and that’s why emophilia is a thing. And just what does it mean exactly? EMOTIONAL PROMISCUITY.
To me, this isn’t anything new (although I used to use a different word for promiscuity here; that’s another message for another time). When you grow up in Church culture, if you’re truly paying attention, you notice that emotional promiscuity is a fever pitch in many congregations. It’s like folks want to get married so badly (or have been programmed to think that they should) that “this guy…no, this guy…oh, my bad, THIS GUY is my husband” — and you’re so used to hearing people say it that you kind of go numb (or at least, develop a deaf ear).
And when you sit and watch how a lot of prophesying (or is it prophe-lying?) plays out, folks approached marriage like their spouse was an ingredient or something — just add a man as you stir him into your fantasy of a long-term relationship — and so they weren’t really prepared for what marriage required. Why? Because they didn’t really love the person; it was more like they were in love with falling in love. And because of that, their marriage became hell, and as a result, they try to go all Flip Wilson (the real ones know) on it with some “the devil made me do it”…when it was more like one of my all-time favorite quotes: “Hell is truth seen too late.” (Thomas Hobbes)
Goodness. Just imagine how much drama and/or pain could’ve been spared if folks were introduced to emophilia — again, emotional promiscuity — as soon as they were taught sexual promiscuity, especially since, again, one definition of promiscuity is putting parts together without any type of order or in a way that causes nothing but chaos and confusion (and won’t that preach)?
Okay, so is emophilia the same thing as being a love addict? Great question. Actually, they’re very similar, although a love addict has a tendency to become very fixated on a person to the point where all of those songs about not being able to breathe or live with someone make all of the sense in the world in their eyes. Love addicts also are the type of people who feel like they don’t have much value unless they are in a relationship.
Emophilia comes from a different angle. These are people who, as one mental health expert put it, like the feeling of falling in love (more on that in a sec) and, because they enjoy the “hit” of it so much, 1) they can think that they met “the one” after just one date; and/or 2) they can easily find themselves feeling this way about multiple individuals, and/or 3) they tend to find themselves attracted to (or caught up in) the wrong types of folks: narcissists and highly-manipulative individuals definitely top the list.
Why? Well, for one thing, they move so fast that their discernment isn’t very keen, and two, they move so fast that they don’t make the time to step back, self-reflect, and heal before getting into a new situation with someone else. To them, they just chalk it all up to their pursuit of love and just move on to the next person — for as long as it takes. And honestly, that is pretty unhealthy. For a few reasons.
Starting with believing that “falling in love” is a responsible approach to love in the first place.
I’ll explain.
“Falling in Love” Isn’t Really a Thing, Though
GiphyI’ve shared in other articles that Albert Einstein once said, “Gravitation is not responsible for people falling in love.” For the record, I believe the full quote is, “Falling in love is not at all the most stupid thing that people do, but gravitation cannot be held responsible for it.” What he’s pretty much saying here is you don’t “fall” in love; love is a choice. And I agree.
However, let’s roll this back a bit. To fall is to drop, usually involuntarily. And as much as our culture is totally irresponsible when it comes to the word “love” (for instance, I can’t stand the television show For My Man; they constantly abuse the word. Love doesn’t make us do crazy things. Love doesn’t provoke reckless and violent behavior. Love isn’t criminal. Humans can come up with some very toxic behaviors; it’s not in the name of true love, though), the reality is that love doesn’t happen involuntarily. When you’re speaking of the I Corinthians 13 biblical version of love (love is patient, love is kind, love puts others first, love endures), if you really believe that God is love (I John 4:8&16) and if you think that love is an action and not just a feeling (and it is) — then no, it doesn’t “just happen.” Love is a series of decisions — with words and actions that follow. So no, y’all, you cannot actually “fall in love.”
What you can do is fall into attraction; you can be attracted to someone involuntarily (unintentionally, unconsciously), and sometimes that feeling can be so euphoric that you might be tempted to use the word “love” to define it — yet c’mon: does it even make mature sense to say that you did something as grand and life-altering as LOVE SOMEONE without intention or conscious? To me, that sounds like something a child would say. Give yourself more credit. Give love more credit, too.
And that’s why this part of the article has the heading that it does. It doesn’t matter if a saying is popular (a lot of popular stuff is dead wrong); it matters if it’s correct, and “falling in love” simply isn’t. Do I believe that you can be in love? Yes. Even then, though, not by yourself (check out “Like, Love & In Love: How To Really Know The Difference”); the literal definition of “in” proves that (because in means “with”). Perhaps, if this was stated more, there would be less unhealthy relationships, less divorces, or more folks who took responsibility for who and how they loved instead of chalking it up to just being frivolous and emotional. You deserve better. LOVE DESERVES BETTER.
And that is a huge part of the reason why emophilia is hella problematic. It’s because everything that I just said, bucks it at every single turn. It wants people to think that you can just fall, over and over again, for the wrong people (for you), and you don’t need to take any type of personal accountability for it because…that’s just how love is — that’s just what being in love is like. Emophilia will have you out here being so emotionally promiscuous that you remain in the pattern of confusion by joining parts of yourself to pieces of others…when they simply don’t belong there.
And sadly, because emophilia is such a thing, it will encourage you to fix all of this by “falling in love,” yet again, when the actual thing that you should do is figure out how you became an emophiliac in the first place — so that you can stop “falling in love” and actually walk wisely and soberly into true love instead.
5 Ways to Break Free from Being an Emophiliac
GiphySo what if you saw yourself in at least a part of this and you’re ready to free your own self from emophilia. What should you do? For starters, here are five tips.
1. Take accountability for what got you here. If you are a fan of the “fall in love” phrase, it’s going to take a while to reprogram your mind from thinking that things “just happen” to you when it comes to relationships. So take a moment. Do some real soul-searching and journaling about why you like the concept of falling so much, if you’ve got a pattern that is counterproductive, and what you honestly think that needs to be done on your part. Oh, and if you know that you have an “unhealthy type” that you are drawn to, research their traits too.
2. Do some reading, researching, meditating, and praying about what love actually is. Real talk, this one is a lifelong journey. Just know that if folks even applied the I Corinthians 13 version alone, they would mature in love exponentially. When it comes to love, what I will say for now is love is something that betters your mind, body, and spirit and does not compromise in that way. If you are “loving someone” and you’re not getting these types of results or if your love isn’t making them better…it isn’t love. Attraction, maybe. Elation, perhaps. Love? Nah.
3. See a therapist (or relationship life coach). There are some clients I have who would probably admit that they are an emophiliac (or at least one in recovery) if you asked them. Most of them are single and some of them will randomly make an appointment with me just so that I can share with them what I see from the outside looking in. Listen, there is nothing wrong with seeing a professional if you’re trying to “unlearn to relearn” when it comes to all of this. I applaud it. More folks should.
4. Be abstinent for a while. You know the saying: If you want something different, you have to do things differently. For an emophiliac, all they know is going from person to person or relationship to relationship. You can’t really heal from this type of mindset unless you take some time away from what’s causing it in the first place. A season away from emotional promiscuity will help you to learn how to find other things that can make you feel good — other than a man, a relationship, or “falling in love.” That way, you can know when the love is real instead of the attraction being (potentially) deceptive.
5. CHOOSE. LOVE. I don’t care what this weird ass culture tries to cram down our throats: love doesn’t just happen to us; we choose it. Daily. Married people choose each other. Daily. If you’re dating someone, you are choosing them. Daily. This perspective is what brings integrity into love, longevity into love, and honor back to love.
That said, one thing that comes up when it comes to the topic of promiscuity is “casual” and love deserves so much more than words like “accidental,” “offhand” and “not premeditated.” If you’re going to really love someone, choose it; don’t be promiscuous about it. You deserve better. Love deserves better.
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For some of you, "emophilia" may be your something new for the day as far as the word. Yet, now that it’s been unpacked, if it’s something that you can relate to, more than just a lil’ bit, there’s no time like right at this very moment to stop being emotionally promiscuous…so that you can learn how to love the right way…the best way…the chosen way.
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