Introduction

I’ve been waiting to share this story for a while, but was hoping to release it under the pretense of a successful testimony.

As a brief background, I landed a role through Generation after AWS re/Start [my referral links]. However, I didn’t go into the details on my blog, as I didn’t want to jump the gun and jinx anything until I was physically in the building working – I’m sure you can relate. But here is a transparent look into my employment journey.

Back to Square One

To continue, I was able to receive 2 job offers within a month of graduating – both Generation provided employers. So after a thorough deliberation process, I accepted one of the offers in Late October – a Junior Cyber Engineering position, with the ability to train for the DevSecOps route from day 1. A great additional opportunity made possible through negotiating and connecting well with my interviewers.

However, this was a conditional offer upon passing a rigorous 2-6 month clearance process which I was 110% confident that I’d pass, since I’ve passed them in the past. I also didn’t mind the waiting time, as it would allow me time to recharge and upskill substantially while I waited.

As late February came around, I started feeling anxious about the process, as I wasn’t sure if there was an issue or not. But I remained confident, hoping to get an update in March… I was correct about March, but unfortunately it wasn’t the update I expected. I found out that I didn’t pass the checks. This news crushed my spirit in ways that I could not have prepared for. 

The disbelief and disappointment was so overwhelming, especially because it was for reasons out of my control. The opportunity was so perfect for me, and it felt like all my hard work and waiting was fruitless. I regretted not looking for a placeholder tech job in the meantime, and wondered in regret about what my life would be like if I took the other job offer.

So with all these thoughts circulating in my mind, there was an inevitable element of shame attached to it. On-top of all this, the reality of being 5 months removed from the job-search grind had me feeling out-of-touch. But regardless of all these feelings, I knew I had to get back on track ASAP, and the support of my friends was instrumental.

“Operation Bounce-Back”

Day 1 of ‘operation bounce-back’ was dedicated to allowing myself to fully feel my emotions, reflect on my decisions, and do some light scoping of the job market. Since I had a meeting with my mentor the next day, I needed to have a plan of action for my job-hunt. 

It would eventually take me a month to fully mourn the anticipated career trajectory I had pictured for myself. It’s a process that takes time, but one thing about me is that I never let an experience go unlearned from – good or bad. Some of the lessons I learned from losing this job opportunity were:

• Don’t get too comfortable – Until you start, you need to keep working as if you haven’t got the job yet.
• Anything that can happen, could happen – Plan for the most difficult outcomes so it’ll be manageable or better yet, a non-factor.
• Always have a flexible back-up plan

After an energising meeting with my mentor, and a much needed same-day response from a prospective employer, I came up with a set plan.

• Created a table to keep track of all my applications and their progress.
• Updated my CV and created a new upskilling plan.
• Ensured to apply on the company websites when possible to increase my likelihood of being seen.
• Contacted companies/hiring teams I had previously interviewed with.
• Gave myself a solid month to find another tech job before I would start working in hospitality again.

My upskilling involved reverting back to more standard DevOps technology, as opposed to learning cyber security for my past job. I aimed to bolster my projects portfolio as this was a successful strategy for showcasing my passion and competency in my last job-hunt.

I received many rejections, as well as a few psychometric test shortcomings. A notable one was for a graduate job where I passed 2 interviews with only a test and the final interview left. I failed that test by 1 mark on week 3 of ‘operation bounce-back’, which was especially tough because I was so close, and the opportunity was great. But on the bright side, it allowed me to make the necessary improvements that would later pay off.

I received many rejections, as well as a few psychometric test shortcomings. A notable one was for a graduate job where I passed 2 interviews with only a test and the final interview left. I failed that test by 1 mark on week 3 of ‘operation bounce-back’, which was especially tough because I was so close, and the opportunity was great. But on the bright side, it allowed me to make the necessary improvements that would later pay off.

“Operation Bounce-Back-to-Back”

7 weeks on, in late April, I landed a DevOps Engineering role as a Junior consultant. The hard work had paid off, and I was looking forward to it. However, with a few weeks until my start date, my employment was retracted due to internal company changes, which expectedly gave me an intense feeling of déjà vu.

I have to admit, this second time round wasn’t as heartbreaking, but I felt way more anxious because there was, and still is, more at stake this time. The fact that it’s not the first time I’ve been through this, and the fact that I have to start over AGAIN… It was disheartening and I felt deeply exhausted. But in true ‘glass half full’ fashion, I can say that I’ve started from zero once before, so I can do it again.

Key Plans for July

Twitch streaming

After a recent conversation about a step-by-step coding tutorial post with my uncle, he suggested I start a Twitch to accompany that type of content. This idea was the one of the best ideas, because it would allow me to connect with the community, troubleshoot with a live audience, and it would be a great audit trail of my progress. 

With all that said, the only things holding me back from streaming at the moment are my hardware limitations. Purchasing a new laptop has been on my radar for a while, but I will make that a reality sooner rather than later. So if any readers have connections or know some good deals, please message me on LinkedIn. I would really appreciate it.

Solutions Architect exam

I have my Solutions Architect Associate exam coming up in August, so I will be busy studying for this exam. Although the theory will be important, I’ll definitely be placing a heavy focus on the practical application.

To earn this, the resources I have been using are Stephane Maarek’s Udemy course, and Adrian Cantrill’s SAA course. Stephane has concise, flash-card-friendly, and exam-focused content. Whereas Adrian has more detailed, practical-competency focused content.