I found out April 1st that, come April 30th, my full time employment would be eliminated. My car decided that it wanted to make the sound that could only be compared to the whale in Finding Nemo. And that’s okay because gas is now more than the 412 area code that Pittsburgh resides in. It’s…
Tag: Career Advice
Once Upon a Black Woman: There’s Something About April & Change
April always tests what I’m made of… In April 2013, I joined AmeriCorps after being laid off for the first time. In April 2014, I became an American Airlines flight attendant. In April 2023, I was laid off for a second time. This time from my third career as a healthcare IT Business Analyst. I…
Why Not You?
Audacity “The quality or state of being audacious: such as a : intrepid boldness knights admired for their audacity.” I’ve had about four or five careers (I’ve stopped counting), and I just embrace the art of side quest. Why not step out of your comfort zone? Why not learn something new? If you fail, it…
On: Millennial Adaptability, Authenticity, and Publishing My 4th Book, Black Girl, Blue Skies
Just chasing authenticity and imperfection in a world full of perfectly curated artificial intelligence. You’ll never have it all figured out, and as soon as you figure that out, life doesn’t get easier, but it absolutely becomes less chaotic by far. Controlling everything like a game of The Sims 4 is impossible. If I weren’t…
The Art of Not Knowing: Why an Undefined Career Path Can Open New Doors
I got the opportunity to guest lecture at the University of Pittsburgh’s Leadership Course and it was energizing. I got to share with them about how not knowing what they wanted to be when they grow up is their biggest asset. How many people know right now what it is that they want to do…
Permanent Stability and Other Fairytales We Tell Ourselves
Permanent Stability Can Be Achieved? Being laid off at my first job out of college was the biggest blessing. I appreciate it in hindsight because it taught me that it was impossible to have life figured out and to accept that as fact not feeling. This helped me rewire my brain to no longer associate…
Hybrid Work is the New Micromanagement
The work day is 8 hours. It takes approximately an hour and four minutes round trip to get to and from work by bus which I understand to be lucky as I utilize public transit to my advantage. That public transit costs $90 a month and on average my eco-friendly Fiesta is about $50 a…
Don’t Be Afraid of the Big Bad Wolf: How Fear Can Motivate You
Most people back away from things because of fear but after a little reflection I’ve learned that I might be motivated by fear and I have no idea when it happened. Back in 2012 (the first time I got laid off) when I lost my job after college most people would’ve panicked. Instead, I took…
What Does Your Internal Mobility Look Like?
Companies that don’t have any internal mobility tend to lose employees as company cultural norms aren’t what they used to be. 30 internal applications in 7 years. Approximately 3 interviews and exactly 30 internal applications were all rejected. Imagine working for a company and these are the statistics that you’re faced with. Once I submitted…
6 Ted Talks for Self-Motivation
Some days I feel like I can conquer the world and others I can conquer the first two things off my to-do list and that’s only if I want to do said things. It’s okay to say, “I can’t because I don’t want to,” but on those days when you can’t and you kind of…
OMG It's Just Daé 