Emily Mucken

Not all heroes wear capes 🦸‍♀️ #giftoftime

I guess I don’t understand what’s wrong if a candidate looks “desperate” because of an “open to work” banner?!
Doesn’t “desperate” mean they’ll answer every time you email or call them about their application …
and if hired they’ll work super hard and be thankful for the opportunity??
Aren’t companies asking for even more from their exhausted skeleton crews in this age of late-stage capitalism?
Hire a crew of “desperate” workers, problem solved ✅✅✅
Why is potentially being desperate a bad thing??

Being laid off 2 years ago has made me a much better recruiter.
I'm not saying it was so great to be laid off 😆 oh, no no.

But being #hired after having gone through a layoff, I can see everything from the customer/client/candidates' POVs much more clearly and empathetically.

There has long been a stigma against women in particular for having a career gap due to taking care of children. But I've worked with those women - they return to the paid workforce like LIONS. They bring qualities and skills that a “traditional“ candidate may not have. And a ton of hustle.

There's a more recent stigma against folks from ALL walks of life who have career gaps... which is weird, because layoffs happened at all levels, for all backgrounds, at many companies, since the dawn of the pandemmie in 2020.

I was also given some pushback after layoff during subsequent interviews (“but Emily, why were YOU laid off?!“). What I was never asked: “So, what do you bring to the table that you didn't before, *because* you were laid off?“. And let me tell you, it is MORE. I bring more.

And this windy message is for you, if you are feeling like you bring less to the table in interviews, and you are standing in that gap between paychecks and companies.
You will bring more to your next job than you can possibly realize, because of going through this time. I really hope your next opportunity is right around the corner!

(Sharing a snippet of one email from this morning in my inbox. I receive emails like this every day from candidates I work with. Every day!! This feedback loops right back to my layoff experience and what I learned and experienced. I'm very thankful!)

Being laid off from Netflix last year really messed with my professional self-confidence. It’s still not 100% back to where it was before the layoff, TBH. Sometimes I’ll second-guess my ideas or my work in a way that I didn’t used to before #layoff.

I’m talking to a lot of laid off folks lately who are also struggling with self doubt and are questioning their qualifications and capabilities. It’s even harder now to land a solid new job than it was last year when I was looking.

I can’t fix your self confidence (I wish 🙏), but I can reassure you are NOT the only one feeling very insecure and maybe even embarrassed after a layoff. It’s normal. I wish we talked about the emotional affects of layoffs and job searches more. There’s no shame in how you’re feeling. It’s valid and common. We are in this together.
♥️ Sending anyone who’s feeling that self doubt right now some love, and a reminder: you’re just as valuable and capable as you were before the layoff.
Onward!

So... you're a candidate, and you got ghosted! I'm here to tell you what you did wrong.
👻
You did nothing wrong.
Nothing.
Being ghosted after 2-way communication is established isn't just annoying, it's hurtful.
Please stop spiraling about what you did to cause this to happen - it's happening to almost everyone I know in this gosh-awful job market (IDK if it helps to know that it isn't just you?! But truly, you didn't bring this on yourself, and you don't deserve it).

A LAYOFF is **not** the same as being fired. With all of the really strong talent being put back on the market due to massive layoffs, perhaps we can finally stop with the hiring bias against folks who are let go through no fault of their own.
An employment gap on your resume doesn’t mean what it might have signaled to a hiring manager back in 1985.
It’s time to collectively wake up and realize that there are a ton of valid reasons why someone may have been let go from a job, and/or have am employment gap.
Many of those reasons have NOTHING to do with that person’s capabilities and job performance (I concede, that yes, in some cases it is, but… look at your LinkedIn feed lately y’all, times sure have changed and it’s time to shed bias and hiring discrimination). ⬇️ Feel free to chime in your thoughts below, as long as it’s kind and respectful to folks currently between gigs ☺️