Lessons from being a "Covid Hire" - how I got the job and got promoted in the middle of the pandemic

In May 2020, I made the difficult decision to move on from a company I had an incredibly successful run with for nearly 6 years. I left because I was itching to do something new, to challenge and rebrand myself. I decided to not only leave the company, but take a big step back in order to eventually propel my career forward. Talk about a massive risk!

Just this September, I accepted a promotion back into a leadership role and this episode is all about my journey of being a Covid hire - how I landed the job, how I made it work through the most difficult time in my life both personally and professionally and how I got promoted. All while working virtually and in under 18 months. What a ride it's been.

I share some well earned and learned advice on the number one thing you can to land that next opportunity and 3 things you can start doing today to get noticed and get promoted (within Covid or beyond).

If you ever want to connect, provide feedback, share your story or give me any perspective on topics you want me to cover, reach out anytime at thecolourgap@gmail.com 

The Colour Gap Podcast is part of the Alberta Podcast Network, locally grown, community supported.

Licensed intro music from NoMo

Transcript

   I recently decided to start labelling myself a Covid hire - something that in the moment in May 2020 was filled with a depth of anxiety that I’ve never experienced before. Starting a new job is something I’ve done countless times throughout my life and the higher the stakes have gotten, the harder it is - like the first day of school full of fear, trepidation and the unknown along with a tinge of excitement and possibility, but let me tell you starting a new job in the midst of a global pandemic, where the most face to face interaction you have is with the solo IT person when you’re in a panic to get your equipment, keep six feet distance and get out - now that’s a whole other level of experience that I suspect one day we’ll all be writing books about. I like the term Covid hire because it encapsulates my experience in a simple and effective way. Put the word Covid in front of anything and all of us living and experiencing the trauma of it all will immediately understand the heaviness that comes from such a transition into a new role and completely new way of working. 

   Now remote work or a hybrid arrangement aren’t new to me. I spent nearly 6 years prior working in an organization that allowed me to work where it made sense for me to get my job done. The choice was empowering, not having the choice and having remote work be my only option to manage the crisis that was in front of us, not that empowering. And if you don’t know the backstory of all this change, let me catch you up.

   I was a Director in HR at my last company making a well earned salary that I never thought would be possible for this child of Pakistani immigrants. My 20’s were full of what I call character shaping mistakes and I didn’t see a lot of wins in the academic or career progress arenas, namely because my focus was always elsewhere. I was what they like to term a late bloomer and the biggest catalyst for my current success was the decision to bet on myself at the ripe age of 30, to pick up my life, move to Vancouver and start grad school to pursue a new found dream. Stepping into this level of leadership in an HR team where I was the only woman of colour at the table was a big deal. One part of me felt like I had made it, like there was a validation for the little girl who never saw herself represented in leadership and like I was doing something bigger than myself. But something never quite felt right. I had built a name and a brand for myself as an expert in recruitment, someone deeply passionate about disrupting the status quo and humanizing what was typically an experience built for efficiency first. I made a lot of intentional efforts to re-route that brand, getting involved in grassroots efforts around diversity, inclusion and belonging, taking on a new role that allowed me to step completely away from the world of talent acquisition, yet I could never quite shake it or reinvent myself. I had boxed myself in and the only way I saw myself getting out was by betting on myself yet again, this time ten years later, and pivoting my career by taking a step back to propel forward.

   And how I got the job is important to highlight because it speaks to the most important thing that has allowed this girl from NE Calgary who grew up with next to nothing, to find success, and it’s all about closing my network gap and finding the next opportunity through who I knew. I’ve worked for 4 companies in the last 10 years and not a single job was landed by me applying through traditional channels, it has all come through my circles of influence, my networks and relationships. Closing your network gap is the most important thing you can do to land that next opportunity for yourself - within or beyond the pandemic. I can say with strong authority being on both ends of the hiring equation that the recruitment process is risky for any company, there is a chance we all take on those we hire in making sure we’ve found the right fit and when I was hiring for my own teams in the past, the number one way to get me to stop and pay attention amongst the piles of resumes and applications was through a referral from someone I trusted. People want to hire those that others vouch for, those that can speak to your work ethic, those they trust. And I’ll be honest, very little of my approach to closing my network gap was done strategically, but boy have I learned a lot.

   Let me paint a picture for you of where it all started.  It’s the year 2010 and I was an eager grad student having just moved to Vancouver to push myself out of my proverbial comfort zone. I had left behind a wealth of potential future opportunities in Oil rich Alberta in an attempt to demonstrate to the HR world that I was committed to pursuing a lifelong career in the field. I was going to advance my education and incur so much student loan debt that it would leave no doubt in anyone’s minds how committed I was to this career path I had been itching to break into. A few months into my life as a student, living in one of the most expensive cities in Canada, I needed a job and I needed a job ASAP.

   I was that jack-of-all-trades, master of none, and I was throwing out resumes left, right, up and down in an attempt to find something, anything that would help me stay afloat in my new city. I tried everything and no one would call me back.  I had experiences in a myriad of areas, had worked for some top employers in the world, I was educated and might I say one smart cookie, yet I couldn’t even get my favourite neighbourhood coffee chain to hire me. In fact, I was so desperate for work that I even compromised my personal safety and via a Craigslist ad went to a job interview, by myself, in a random strangers home in a less than desirable area of Vancouver (I know, bad TV movie written all over that scenario, right?!) Thankfully the job and the interviewer were legitimate, and I left unharmed (but sans job) and a couple of months later though answering yet another Craigslist ad, ended up finding work which eventually led me to where I am today, and it was through building a trusted enough relationship with someone in a position of influence who opened up the door for me. I worked for 4 months on a temp, part time basis for a helicopter company supporting a VP of Investor Relations as he built the function up for the company and I spent my time literally building powerpoint decks and helping him with a myriad of tasks as a two person team. When I left the company to take on a full time, permanent role to help me better sustain myself financially, I leaned on that exact trusted relationship 1 year later when I saw an opening back at that helicopter company that felt like a perfect match. I didn’t end up getting that job but I did end up making a strong enough impression on the recruiter I connected with that opened up the opportunity for me to take on my first HR job - - a 4 month recruitment coordinator role and all through the power of a trusted relationship, and the rest is essentially history.

   I’m not saying building a network that you can lean on when you need it is all that easy. It takes intentional effort, time and sometimes pushing yourself to engage and connect with an agenda. It can feel icky and self serving, it can be incredibly uncomfortable to push past small talk to get to real connection, but what I can say is that it also can be incredibly fulfilling. When you connect with like-valued professionals, it makes you feel less alone and I’ve often found myself adding connections and people to my network from a place of excitement to learn and evolve myself from a professional perspective and let me tell you a secret - when I’ve leaned into my desire to learn and connect from a space of adding more to my toolkit of knowledge through other people, those are the relationships and connections that have worked the most to help me get to where I am.

   And in May 2020 when I was itching to move into something new, I yet again leaned on relationships moving to an organization where I knew 4 people in the HR team, one of whom was a former leader of mine and served as a valuable reference for me in the process. I was a literal non-fit based on my resume. For those of you that know the HR world, you would know that someone who was a Director of HR, taking a big step back, with no labour relations experience, no HR Business Partner experience, no HR designation would not be an outright fit for an HR Business Partner role in a heavily unionized environment, but what I had was a reputation and relationships and in no time at all, I had officially become a Covid hire.

   And I laugh about it now - in January 2020 I sat down to vision board my dreams for the year and what I wanted to actualize in my life. We all know how that went, throw in a global pandemic into a well thought out plan and you’re left with really no plan at all. Except there were anchoring elements to my vision board (which still sits on the wall above my bed to this day because I’m an optimist first) that led me to make the shift in my career and do so in the midst of much unknown.

   And I understand why people resist change, it's damn hard and even harder than I could have imagined in the midst of Covid. Leaving an organization where I had nearly 6 years of social capital to start over literally felt like a literal nightmare. I felt such an imposter, my ego took quite a hit and never felt like I was enough.

   But taking a step back to propel forward put me back in deep learning mode. I always say my home training and the navigation of change throughout my life has set up a great foundation, but I spent a lot of time that first year trying to remind myself to dig into the curiosity of rookie mode, trusting that I didn’t have to have all the answers. Eventually that doubt started to fade away. I started to find new ways of channeling my inner extrovert when seeing my calendar filled to the brim, I started listening to my gut more, pursuing ideas that lit me up, solving problems that no one asked for, and saying yes to opportunities that aligned with that longer term vision and I’m proud to say 18 months in I got promoted to a leadership role, making more than I did in my Director level position and doing work in an arena that I know in my soul I’m meant to be doing. I learned a lot of lessons and got further grounded in some things I know for sure and this is my sage advice on how to get promoted in a new company in the middle of the pandemic or anytime.

  First, visibility matters. It’s a big part of how people start to build trust with you and yes, even more so in virtual environments. There is no chance for those organic and natural connection points, those water cooler conversations or bumping into someone in the kitchen. Making sure people know your name and getting the opportunity to focus your energy on how you make them feel in each interaction is of prime importance, and necessary to do so virtually because you should never rely just on your hard work alone to get noticed and get ahead, it’s simply not enough. For me, talking about my experiences making such a difficult career pivot in the midst of Covid on platforms like LinkedIn and through this podcast helped me connect and engage in ways that wouldn’t have otherwise been possible. I rarely shy away from getting personal and vulnerable even in spaces and places that don’t traditionally expect it, and it’s worked well for me for the most part. Some people are uncomfortable with that level of authenticity, especially from the HR lady, but my desire has evolved to be different in how I practise my work and that can’t be done by operating in the black and white. It has also proven to be a sort of hack, to test the waters per say on my own thoughts and ideas and if they would translate to my new work environment. When I speak to things that I’ve been experiencing through the pandemic - struggles with my mental health, losing my Dad and the ways his death has put more focus on simple pleasure, connection and community and discussing my thoughts around humanizing conversations around the return to the workplace and the great resignation, it opens up the opportunity to plant those seeds with leaders within my current organization to get a feel for the way I think and it doesn’t relegate providing my thoughts and opinions only in the fleeting moments in important video calls when I can take myself off mute and stumble over someone else trying to also speak in the process.

   Second, don’t be defined by your job description or title, seek ways to solve problems in your organization and don’t always wait for permission to do so. In addition, start talking about your passions, skills and the impact you’re having – never rely solely on anyone else to speak to these things. If you do great work but no one knows about it, it’s wasted. My own path over the years has seen me pitch and landing a job to a trusted Executive when I saw a gap in strategy, had me creating a free speed resume review event to help Albertans who were out of work, it had me creating a summer student experience for my current organization because I saw a gap in the connectivity and sense of belonging our summer students would have working virtually throughout the summer, and I was never shy about speaking to the impact. I also never waited for anyone to tell me to fill these gaps, I took chance after chance, driven by my passion and a desire to do something meaningful and that approach has paid off time and again.

   Third, trust yourself and know your worth. I spent a lot of time and energy over the years trying to make myself fit the norm of all the HR leaders I was surrounded by, and yet none of them looked anything like me or had the lived experiences I had or the unique perspective I could bring. I listened to people who told me to quiet my voice, stop using expressive language in my emails, leave my unconventional ideas to myself and not rock the boat by asking for what I desired and deserved. The most grounded I’ve ever felt in knowing myself and knowing my worth is at this point. It took going through a global pandemic and losing my Dad to ground myself in the knowledge that my voice is valuable and that editing it to fit into a culture or a way of doing things that are outside of who I am simply isn’t worth it. This one might take more time, more growth and more life experiences to get you there, but the moment you do, the ease of opportunities and experiences will open up. You will be able to better distinguish between advice that is meant to help you grow and that which is designed to make you assimilate. You will be able to more readily walk away from organizations that don’t help you thrive and you will find your place.

   In summary, remember relationships first, visibility matters, solve problems without waiting for permission and learn to listen to your gut to show up authentically. Pandemic or not, following that approach will get you closer to a career to love, I promise. 

   If you haven’t taken a moment, I would love for you to be a part of the conversation with me for the long term. Hit subscribe on your favourite podcast player and tune in every 2 weeks for new episodes and conversations. If you’re so inclined, I would love for you to leave a review or for you to connect with me to tell me how I can be of further service to you. My contact details are always left in the description box of each episode and I’m grateful for each of you coming along on the journey with me, trusting me and giving me all this space to be my authentic self. I can’t wait for what comes next.