| August 2022 |
HOW DO I STAY RESILIENT WHEN THE ODDS ARE AGAINST ME?
A story about resilience…
WRITTEN BY: Michelle White
I met a couple whilst doing a webinar about working opportunities in Australia prior to the borders being opened. There was tremendous uncertainty but many of the participants were adamant they wanted to return to Australia. This couple were based in Jordan for the past 4 years and were keen to return home.
They both had exceptional experience in the mining industry developed over many years of living in remote areas, experiencing living conditions that weren’t great and enduring long strenuous shifts and limited work-life balance.
Experiencing yet another mining boom and shortage of talent in Australia, it was obvious they could optimistically and realistically expect several opportunities to come their way.
I was shocked to hear they had submitted numerous applications to various companies with no luck. My initial thought was the fact that they were not based in Australia was a major factor as many companies stressed the need for applicants to be in Australia due to potential delays in arrival. Then, they revealed that the senior manager was 72 years of age. So, they would apply and be interviewed and on discovering his age, the interviewers would slowly slip into the shadows never to be heard from again. Devastating!! Those prepared to give feedback, candidly suggested he make peace with the prospect of retiring.
Well, not these two…
They focused firstly to make their way to Perth and after complicated and highly stressful workplace situations of having to resign, submit more applications and copious embassy contacts as well as several flight cancellations they finally arrived in Perth.
“Fight the thoughts of permanence when you are struggling”
“I WAS SHOCKED TO HEAR THEY HAD SUBMITTED NUMEROUS APPLICATIONS TO VARIOUS COMPANIES WITH NO LUCK.”
Three months later following relentless job applications, spending hours trawling company websites and job boards, connecting with hundreds of people on LinkedIn, attending conferences online and networking they secured an incredible opportunity with a renowned international company as a couple.
I have not seen such determination, grit (passion and perseverance), positivity, rejection resilience and sheer guts in many people.
I wanted to share this story as an inspiration to you if you feel defeated and deflated by not finding what you are looking for. I feel privileged to have been by their side through this journey and after many frustrations, tears and disappointments we now celebrate their new beginnings and a beautiful friendship. They arrived in Africa two weeks ago on an indefinite contract and are doing well.
This is such a good example of what Cheryl Sandberg and organisational psychologist Adam Grant talk about in their New York Times bestseller “Option B: Facing Adversity, Building Resilience and Finding Joy” where they refer to “fighting the thoughts of permanence” when you feel there is no hope.
HOW DO I STAY RESILIENT WHEN THE ODDS ARE AGAINST ME?
A story about resilience…
WRITTEN BY: Michelle White
I met a couple whilst doing a webinar about working opportunities in Australia prior to the borders being opened. There was tremendous uncertainty but many of the participants were adamant they wanted to return to Australia. This couple were based in Jordan for the past 4 years and were keen to return home.
They both had exceptional experience in the mining industry developed over many years of living in remote areas, experiencing living conditions that weren’t great and enduring long strenuous shifts and limited work-life balance.
Experiencing yet another mining boom and shortage of talent in Australia, it was obvious they could optimistically and realistically expect several opportunities to come their way.
I was shocked to hear they had submitted numerous applications to various companies with no luck. My initial thought was the fact that they were not based in Australia was a major factor as many companies stressed the need for applicants to be in Australia due to potential delays in arrival. Then, they revealed that the senior manager was 72 years of age. So, they would apply and be interviewed and on discovering his age, the interviewers would slowly slip into the shadows never to be heard from again. Devastating!! Those prepared to give feedback, candidly suggested he make peace with the prospect of retiring.
Well, not these two…
They focused firstly to make their way to Perth and after complicated and highly stressful workplace situations of having to resign, submit more applications and copious embassy contacts as well as several flight cancellations they finally arrived in Perth.
“Fight the thoughts of permanence when you are struggling”
“I WAS SHOCKED TO HEAR THEY HAD SUBMITTED NUMEROUS APPLICATIONS TO VARIOUS COMPANIES WITH NO LUCK.”
Three months later following relentless job applications, spending hours trawling company websites and job boards, connecting with hundreds of people on LinkedIn, attending conferences online and networking they secured an incredible opportunity with a renowned international company as a couple.
I have not seen such determination, grit (passion and perseverance), positivity, rejection resilience and sheer guts in many people.
I wanted to share this story as an inspiration to you if you feel defeated and deflated by not finding what you are looking for. I feel privileged to have been by their side through this journey and after many frustrations, tears and disappointments we now celebrate their new beginnings and a beautiful friendship. They arrived in Africa two weeks ago on an indefinite contract and are doing well.
This is such a good example of what Cheryl Sandberg and organisational psychologist Adam Grant talk about in their New York Times bestseller “Option B: Facing Adversity, Building Resilience and Finding Joy” where they refer to “fighting the thoughts of permanence” when you feel there is no hope.
