Background.
The morning of November 18th I stood in the mirror and said a very specific prayer over my life. I prayed about what I wanted next for my career, love life, finances, and more. November 19th I was laid off from my job.
I did not see it coming. My other teammates that got let go with me didn’t either. Our department was typically “safe” when it came to many changes and restructures the company frequently made. Now we all know no position is ever safe in Corporate America but the blow still stung.
Whoa there buddy! God what are you doing? I thought. I know I wanted some new changes in my life but never imagined like this. I was blindsided. I was shocked. I was scared. That rejection hit me in the head like a ton of bricks.
That opening was super dramatic but I’m trying to paint a picture of what happened and how I felt in the moment. What I once thought was the “worst thing” that could happen to me turned into being one my biggest blessings.
Today’s post is MY story on rejection and how I coped with the changes life threw at me. I’m sharing this because it’s hard seeing the other side when you’re going through it. My aim is that you are encouraged to keep pressing on.
Now what?
After processing what happened, I came to the realization that I took being laid off so hard because it was the first time I felt rejection like this. When it came to my professional life, jobs came easy to me. My career was the least of my worries. I knew God was trying to show me something. I could not see the bigger picture yet.
Coping.
One thing that has always guided in my life was my faith in God. It’s human to have worries but I knew that throughout it all I would be taken care of. Yes I had faith but each day was a battle of pushing past the feeling of failure.
There is no right way to push past rejection. I fell into a funk. There were days where I didn’t get out of bed. I wasn’t too active on social and I wasn’t super motivated in my job hunt because of the amount of denies I was receiving.
What did help me was having a strong support system. My family and friends showed up for me in ways I will never be able to say thank you enough for. My network sent in internal applications for me and more. I am forever grateful.
I had a nice flow going but I stepped up my prayer life and Bible reading. Goliath Must Fall, Dangerous Prayers, Wait & See, and Filled With Gratitude are a few of many Bible plans that kept me encouraged. Handing over my worries to God was the single best thing that I did to cope.
For the first time in years I had to sit still which made me very uncomfortable. I’m a super planner by nature so the uncertainty drove me crazy. I created a routine that I attempted to do everyday; but in reality kept it up one or two days out the week. This consisted of putting on clothes, getting up, and cooking.
I took the pressure off myself to be this super productive person each day because that was not realistic at that moment. I gave myself some grace.
A few months later.
As the months rolled on the rejection emails piled up. I began to think, will I have to move back home? That would be a last resort but also ummmm bills, rent, life! I was fine for a little while but this wasn’t going to be a forever thing. Jobs that I checked off the boxes of qualifications for kept denying me instantly. I would also get to a far round in the interview process to only hear “You’re great but we are going to move in another direction…”. I didn’t understand why!
One day in January I saw a position on LinkedIN that jumped out at me. This position was what I described I wanted in my original prayer on November 18th. Even better I was able to get a internal referral which is no guarantee; but i’ve found that the company will at least look at your resume. I had many rejection letters that came from internal referrals WOMP!
A phone screen and 7 rounds of interviews later I was offered a position of my dreams. Even better I was able to start ONE WEEK BEFORE Covid-19 stay at home orders. No one could have predicted the intense effects of this virus.
I give all glory to God. If you are feeling discouraged or facing rejection please understand it usually means there is a redirection coming. You are deserving of all your hearts desires and just because a company or person doesn’t need you anymore doesn’t mean you aren’t worthy. Keep pressing on….your journey is still being written.
More soon…I promise!
XOXO- Taylor
PS Life looks very different for a lot of people right now. I cannot suggest ways to cope and to speak about being laid off during a pandemic; but what I can say is that I am here for you, I am praying for you and if I can be of help in any way please email me. Info@taytreschic.com