I made something that mattered this week and it started with a clusterfuck. See, last week I was supposed to host a webinar about belonging and updating your LinkedIn profile but the internet wasn’t cooperating. After all those months on the road, I should learn to expect the unexpected. But I didn’t. Instead, I was pissed off. Frustrated. I cancelled the rest of the day. Done. 

As I worked on the ideas I wrote about last week that would help me fall back in love with my work during a power outage, I had a different thought for this webinar. What if I could bring together employers and candidates to talk about belonging? There are so few spaces where these groups just get to talk to each other without the context of an interview or the pressure of getting a job. 

For employers, I wanted them to hear directly from real people who want to belong about what’s missing in the candidate experience and what they can do better. I wanted to see employers ask questions of candidates, not just their peers, to evolve the experience for the better. I started by speaking to those recruiters about 3 areas where belonging can be built into the candidate experience. I wanted to teach them how we show instead of telling people they can belong. Your values are great and all but how you behave matters most. (Want to see this session at your event or company? Book a meeting here.) 

For candidates, I wanted them to know this isn’t some nice to have. There are employers that care about building a company where everyone can belong. It’s not some one time headline moment; there are hiring leaders making this a reality every single day. I asked those employers to stay and help me dispel some myths that make the job search even harder. With their confirmation, I could show that I wasn’t just making shit up about the job search. This wasn’t a theory or hypothesis. I know better. They know better. These are the people doing the hiring at companies you want to work for, after all. 

Watching these folks challenge ideas, ask questions, and offer advice lit my soul up. In the checklists and to dos, employers forget just how bad it has to get before we’ll quit. But once you take the leap into a job search, it doesn’t get any better – especially for queer people. I will never forget the crushing sensation of realizing I wouldn’t belong in a workplace. Wondering if they would hire me if they knew I was gay. I remember looking for a job with two tabs open. One, a job board. The other a google search: can I be fired for being gay? 

But in this vulnerable, transparent, and honest space this week, I created another core memory about the power of bringing people together to help each other for no other reason besides the fact that I can. You can watch this magic here.

They were a beautiful reminder that I’ve been blessed to learn in spaces like these filled with smart people who were willing to show up over and over again. To challenge. To question. To support. I was also reminded that community is what makes us better than any machine and that beautiful things can happen, even after a clusterfuck.

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