Vanessa* is a thirty-something PR, events and marketing professional who just scored a Director of Public Relations job at a major arts and education institution in New York City. How did she bounce back to her dream job after being laid off three years ago? Read Vanessa’s Secrets of My Success:

1. How long were you actively jobseeking?
Approximately one year of concentrated, focused effort.

2. What was your job search strategy during this period?
I applied for jobs mostly from personal leads and networking with many resumes sent to listings from NYFA.org, Indeed.com, and LinkedIn. Arts event production communications was my focus.

3. How did you ultimately come to obtain your current new job? (Through a friend, cold application)
I decided to follow my passion of giving access to the arts and focus on finding a job that would allow me to do so. Because I was laid off 3 years ago from an Arts Foundation that I loved, I was afraid to reenter that world. Admitting, asking and getting what you want can be scary and intimidating. So I would dance around the idea, taking jobs that had nothing to do with my passion and were instead just to work.

Finally I decided to be more open about my search. I shared my desire with the parent of a student I was teaching and she had a friend in the art world she offered to introduce me to. Her friend was too busy to meet but said the PR agency she used was hiring, and passed my resume along. I was scheduled for an interview within days. At the interview I met with the president of the company; the position they were looking to fill was too senior for me, but she offered to pass my resume along to a few places where they were hiring and thought I would be a great fit.

One of the companies called me and I had an interview. We hit it off but they didn’t hire me. I followed up with them, sending emails before and after their events to check in, offering to be of service. I was supposed to meet with the board. However, she cancelled on me and never rescheduled. There were so many times when I could have given up but made myself follow up regularly. Almost a year later, I was hired by the company as DIRECTOR OF PR.

4. What do you think were the secrets to your success?

Declaring my goal is first, and surrounding myself with friends second. On top of that:

  • Being open to sharing my story and asking people to share theirs with me.
  • Following up and through. As I mentioned, there were so many times I could have given up. Instead I decided to be consistent, feel bold by taking chances, and always be genuine and myself.
  • Declaring out loud what I wanted and sharing my intention with people. They can only help once they know exactly what you want to do and how to help.
  • Being specific about my asks for introductions and recommendations.
  • Sharing information. If someone asked me for anything I tried to go above and beyond to help.
  • Surrounding myself with positive supportive ambitious people in my industry of choice and in life.
  • Being myself and honest connecting with people. At the end of the day we all want to connect and be understood.


5. What advice do you have for jobseekers out there?

  • I would say do the Love Your Job Search Class, and do the assignments especially the journaling.
  • Really dive deep and admit that you know what’s best for yourself and what will make you truly happy.
  • Take responsibility for your life and understand why you may be in the position you are in. (I learned a lot from this one.)
  • Ask, believe and receive.
  • Offer to be of service.
  • Be consistent and thorough especially with thank you letters (hand written notes go a long way) and be on time.
  • Think of why you are awesome and would be the best candidate.
  • Have your reference prepped and ready to speak amazingly on your behalf.
  • Put yourself first–always nominate yourself first.
  • Start imagining yourself with your dream job already. Really feel what’s its like.
  • Have faith and TRUST that your journey leads you to the right place— there are always lesson to be learned. I can’t stress this enough.

* Names are changed in this series. Read additional Secrets of My Success blog posts for advice on how others navigated their job search.