Leaping for the wknd
2024 holds an extra day to align the calendar--but can we better position ourselves?
Leap years have always confounded me; where does that extra day go, or come from? Why does it seem to swing around like a semi-frequent comet every four years? Is time really arbitrary?
I was today years old when I pondered further about this phenomenon, and read into the science-backed response, which, actually makes a lot of sense. We need to add a day to properly account for our invented calendars (such as the Gregorian and Julian), those that appease the human brain and accommodate almost all of our birthdays, but defy the astronomical year. In short, the Earth’s orbit circumnavigating the sun isn’t precisely 365 days; we need leap years to properly position ourselves from drifting away from real seasons, moon phases, and astronomical happenings such as eclipses. It is interesting then, that we have crafted entire narratives, brands, and generations of youngsters who memorize and repeat that there are 365 days a year as credence.
When something happens 1 out of 4 times, I believe it falls more in-line with our ideologies of exception, rather than rule. If we can “fabricate time,” can we change other perspectives, habits, and realities with simple adjustments?
These days, LinkedIn has consumed more of my social media diet than Instagram or Facebook. TikTok is another beast of a topic, but as I have developed a different “follow scheme,” it’s purely serving educational and entertainment purposes for me, and feels less complicit in relation to my “self and circle.” As I’ve alluded to in former posts, I am putting myself out there for full-time work. Along with the other irregularities of our time on Earth, the :overall: job market (as I’ve witnessed it) is crazy-insane, even if the newscasters and correspondents sing the praises of low unemployment rates in the US and Europe. Amidst many other professionals (around the world)—entering, seeking, or recently being let go from the workforce—I have been spending thousands of hours on cover letters, submissions, CVs, tailored messages, and inbox pinging.
Even as someone who fawns over syntax, claps to the beat of wordsmiths, and has always enjoyed sharing/hearing/learning origin stories—it’s been an interesting challenge to play the game of résumé hide-and-seek. Send off hundreds of applications, count to 10, maybe 100, and then go looking for even a single response!
I know I shouldn’t generalize, but the metrics and collective exhaustion I see/intuit, seems to imply we are swamped, saturated, overwrought and time-poor—and yet, we are still making it humanly possible to keep going, keep helping, and keep creating. We seem to be inventing new 24-hour cycles, even beyond leap years.
While I am picking away at understanding the complexities (and luck!) of the labor market, I can share that I have learned that whatever you’re doing now is likely informed by what you did before, in some capacity—even if you are learning a new skill or industry. And what you’ll do next will be impacted by the occasions to apply those past lessons and your innate intuition to future applications. We are never a monolith; even if they want you to be an expert, or a specialist, or a one-trick-pony, we are multitudes. The challenge opportunity lies in how you tell your story, how you disperse your aptitudes, and who is willing to see beyond the bold or fine print. They (employers, clients), will want to know: “why chocolate?” (e.g. perhaps the public believes this is just retail, or hospitality, or food production) or “why supply chains?” (just logistics) for instance, but it is my experience that jobs are rarely non-transferable. In my humble opinion, someone specializing in cashews can easily shift to cacao, and in more out-of-the-chocolate-box examples, parents and restaurant servers can make incredible project managers, firefighters and astronauts amazing and empathetic life coaches and counselors, or Grand Canyon river guides trailblazing chocolate makers.
Not every potential client, hiring manager, or recruiter will give you the benefit of the doubt to explain how one thing is related to another. How did you (metaphorically) go from tiny pod, to fermenting heap, to an entry or winner in multiple international awards? You grew obviously. You simmered in information and environments, you traveled, you stood out, you asked questions, you offered a taste of yourself to others.
If you’re feeling like you are stuck in an industry, a singular role, or a stagnant sector, I hope thinking about how versatile you really are, gives you pause for how to craft the story of your past and potential. If you’ve already found your work nirvana—well done!—but for others who are looking to appertain their next career phase, I offer this gentle reminder, that you are enough, and more so, that your unique experiences are an entire world to be explored.
What might a résumé audit look like if you’re wanting to break into new territory?
Review your CV as if you were not in your current industry.
+ ask yourself if there are acronyms, places, or names that would confuse outsiders
+ consider if you are describing roles that mean something to you, or sharing pertinent information for hiring managers?—you want to let on about yourself, without losing sight that your next role likely serves someone else’s dreams/P&L
+ does your summary allude to what you want to do next?Ask 3 contacts to read your résumé and provide feedback.
+ what is confusing?+ what feels oddly specific to you or your field, or contains content that mirrors jargon or “insider info”?
+ what skills or traits do they see/know about you that you’ve omitted from your current and past roles?Combine the information you gather to “broaden” your descriptions.
+ you may even “simplify” language, but your aim is to widen your potential applications—the goal is depth of significance and understanding, not necessarily depth of line items or word count
Begin taking courses or signing up for certifications that complement your next desired field of interest. (Add them to your CV too.)
Don’t forget the power of networks.
+ go beyond a single platform for job hunting and recommendations, create various formats (digital, analog, QRs), and attend in-person job fairs like it was 1999. There is no shame in looking!Get creative.
+ I sent a box of cookies to a prospective employer, and I once airmailed a CV overseas with an interactive storytelling piece. I’ve seen people make short videos, decorate briefcases/bags/etc., and hire singing telegrams to grab people’s attention—who opens the door/email/SMS/package seems to be more of today’s challenge.
I have always been quite impressed by the diversity of the cacao/chocolate industry; global representation from myriad sectors. If you have had experience shifting careers—either coming or going from cocoa (or food for that matter!), please feel free to share below what work(ed) for you.
Best of luck out there my industrious worker midges and choco-friends!
Note: I prompted AI to create this image of “a cartoon sloth sitting in a tree in a tropical forest, with a cacao pod in their hand, and looking for a new job with a CV in the other”—but I got an extra hand and no résumé out of the deal!
Best of luck to you Lauren! I am sure the perfect job will come your way when the time is right. Sending you positive vibes ✨🌈🍀💖
Thank you for sharing your journey. I also feel pretty lost sometimes when it comes to career paths. Wishing you lots of luck and hope you’re taking time to enjoy the simple pleasures in life too.