Job Hustling: The Hustle

So, it has been more than 2 months since I left my job in the civil service. 

I am still unemployed.

Oh, I've applied to many jobs, even before the day I officially left. I never heard back from most of the places I applied to. Some have progressed to the next stage of the hiring process, and have resulted in either rejections or are still pending. I actually did manage to clinch a contract job, only to have to leave in about a week because it turned out to be a big mistake.

I could turn this post (or subsequent posts) into a rant about how the competition for jobs is tougher these days, the sting of being rejected or the disorienting feeling of being unemployed. All of which are pretty legit. Some days, I just want to throw my hands in the air, yell "fuck it!" and just give up.

Yet, somehow, in the end, I just soldier on.

I decided that I'd rather talk about the things I have learnt while job hunting. One of the most important things I have come to realize is that the job hunting process is essentially a journey of self-discovery. It is a search for one's professional identity, one's place in the working world. I also find myself having to be brave and step out of my comfort zone, because job hunting involves putting myself out there to compete with other similarly (or even better) qualified candidates for those coveted jobs.

That brings me to the title I used for this post: job hustling. As opposed to job hunting.

The first time I came across the concept of hustling was when I watched the movie American Hustle a few years back. Though I did enjoy the hilarious parts, I did not really get the whole point of the movie or why so many reviewers were making a big deal out of it. Fast forward to 2015. I visited a couple of friends, who are older and wiser than I, and told them I left my old organization. They were surprised, and somewhere further down the conversation, they brought up American Hustle. I said I did not really get the movie. They incredulously  exclaimed that the movie was popular because it was essentially about the art of hustling. People in real life hustle to survive and chase their dreams, and the movie explores the motivations and desires that drive people to hustle in various ways. "Errr, I thought hustling meant to do things illegally?" I asked. Nay, according to my friends. There is a more essential meaning to the word "hustle", one that my friends struggled to pin down exactly so they described it simply as being "able to get things done". I was still bemused and asked for an example. "Say, you are an event organizer who wants to pull off a successful event. Your rival has invited a few celebrities to turn up at their event. Despite knowing that these celebrities have been invited already, how do you convince them to come to your event instead?" I didn't really know what to say to that. Before I left, they emphasized that the secret to a successful job hunt (and any endeavor in life) is to know how to hustle. I spent my journey back home Googling American Hustle reviews to find out more.

I understand a lot better now. Hustling really is about the ability to get things done. It is about the desire and motivation to chase dreams. It is about being bold enough to step outside one's comfort zone. It is about survival in a tough world where working hard alone, contrary to conventional wisdom, actually does not always get you very far.

So, while I am still unemployed and have quite a bit of free time on my hands, I figured I'd share more on my hustle to seek my professional identity. See, loads of job search advice out there come from the pros: career coaches, counselors, recruiters, HR managers etc. How often do you hear from the job hunter himself/ herself? Well, this job hunter hustler has about 8 months (from before I clinched my first job out of university) plus the current 2 months of experience, and I have learnt a lot along the way. Some lessons were learnt the hard way, while others were gained through talking to lots of people. I don't have all the answers to help or advise people (hey, I haven't even found a job yet!) but at least I can share my learning experiences.

Tune in again soon, folks, for more job hustling stories. Peace out!

Image from EPIC Inspirational Quotes