Man, November 2022. That was a time, wasn’t it? For me, specifically, it felt like a real turning point in my career. Before that, I was just kind of chugging along, you know? Doing the work, getting by, but not really feeling like I was making any big moves. I was definitely a bit stuck, feeling like I was worth more than what I was pulling in, but not really knowing how to go about changing it.
I remember one night, probably late October, I was staring at my bank statement, and then at my to-do list for work, and it just hit me. This wasn’t cutting it. I was putting in crazy hours, trying my best, but the numbers just weren’t moving up. I felt that squeeze, that constant worry about bills, and it really started to grind on me. My partner was pregnant then too, and that just amplified everything. I needed a change, and I needed it fast.
Realizing the Grind Wasn’t Enough
So, I started with the obvious. I polished up my resume. I mean, I really polished it. I spent evenings after work, digging through old projects, trying to phrase things in a way that sounded less like “I did this” and more like “I achieved that.” I focused on numbers, on impact. I remember spending hours just trying to quantify stuff that felt impossible to quantify. Like, how do you put a number on “improved team communication”? I struggled. I googled a lot. I watched those cheesy YouTube videos about resume writing. It felt like a chore, honestly, a real drag, but I pushed through it.
Then I hit the job boards. LinkedIn, Indeed, all of them. I started firing off applications like crazy. Day in, day out, I’d apply for a handful of jobs. I typed out custom cover letters, trying to make each one sound genuinely interested, even when I was just utterly exhausted and feeling pretty hopeless. I got some bites, sure, a few initial calls, but nothing solid. Mostly, it was just silence. Crickets. It was demoralizing, to be honest. Each rejection, or just the lack of a response, chipped away at my confidence.
The Shift: More Than Just Applying
I realized pretty quickly that just sending out resumes wasn’t enough. It felt like I was throwing darts in the dark. That’s when I started to think differently. I started looking at my network – those people I knew, even vaguely, from past jobs or school. I felt a bit awkward about it, hitting people up out of the blue, but I swallowed that discomfort.
- I reached out. I sent a bunch of “hey, how are you doing?” messages, just checking in. I didn’t immediately ask for a job. I just tried to reconnect. I asked about their work, their projects.
- I listened closely. When people responded, I didn’t just nod. I really listened to what they were saying about their industries, their companies. I tried to pick up on pain points, on opportunities.
- I offered help. If I saw something they were struggling with and I genuinely thought I could offer an idea or connect them to someone else, I did it. No strings attached. It felt good to actually give something.
This whole process felt slow, like building a house brick by brick. It wasn’t instant gratification, that’s for sure. I kept my head down at my current job, still doing the best I could, but mentally, I was already looking ahead, planning my escape, so to speak.
November 2022: The Payoff
Then, around mid-October, something clicked. A friend from an old role, someone I’d helped with a tricky software issue a few months back, called me up. He mentioned an opening at his company, a role they hadn’t even advertised yet. He said, “Hey, I thought of you because you’re always so meticulous, always spotting the small things that others miss.” That really stuck with me.
I went in for the interview, and because I had been so focused on articulating my achievements with numbers and impact during my resume revamp, I felt much more confident. I could actually show them what I brought to the table. I talked about specific projects, how I organized workflows, how I dug into data to find efficiencies. I even showed them a simple spreadsheet I’d built to track my own progress and tasks, just to illustrate my approach. It wasn’t about being flashy; it was about being thorough and reliable.
By early November 2022, I had the offer. And it wasn’t just an offer; it was a significant leap. Like, a proper, “wow, I can actually breathe” kind of jump in salary, plus better benefits, and a role with real growth potential. It wasn’t just about the money, though that was huge. It was about feeling valued, about seeing that all that grinding, all that self-reflection and careful planning, actually led to something tangible.
So, those “big gains” for me in November 2022 weren’t some magic trick. They were the result of getting real with my situation, painstakingly detailing my worth, stepping out of my comfort zone to network, and then just being consistently myself – thorough, detail-oriented, and reliable – when the opportunity finally came knocking. It really showed me that sometimes, the biggest gains come from the most careful, consistent effort, even when it feels like nothing is happening.
