Blog

Each month La Clé will be featuring guest bloggers and our first “Share Your Story” is from Caro Strachan.  Hope you enjoy!

I recently graduated college (literally walked the stage three days ago) and I have already been hit with the “what are your post-grad plans” about a million times. I started having a mental breakdown right after the 19th person asked me where I was working - BIG FAT NOWHERE! I don’t have a job yet, lady!! Get off my back!

What did those interactions lead me into? A downhill spiral of wondering what is wrong with me - why do companies not want me? What do other graduates have that I don’t? WHAT am I not doing correctly? Is my resume really that bad? I could go on…..

Well, my friend, I am an over dramatic person, so when I am stressed, small things can set me off pretty easily (I get that fabulous personality trait from my father). I mention that because this morning I was scrolling through my email and it took 12 “we appreciate your application, but have decided to pursue other candidate,” emails before I lost it. I sat on my bathroom floor and cried. Pathetic, right?

The negative self-talk started flowing, and after 6 minutes of tearing myself down, I remembered the Refocus Band around my wrist. This was the reason I wore it - for situations exactly like this! I flipped it over and the words “Speak Kindly to Yourself” looked back at me. No, I didn’t magically feel better, this isn’t a Disney movie. BUT, what I did do was say 5 nice things to myself.

1. You work really hard.
2. You care about the people you love.
3. You always do a great job sticking to your skincare routine.
4. You make people laugh.
5. You can put away a pizza like no other.

I didn’t say they were all super deep or meaningful, but they made me remember it isn’t the end of the world just because I can’t land a job yet. Once I took a step back, I remembered this is such a magical time in my life. I CAN DO ANYTHING - literally anything - I WANT. I no longer have assignments to do, I don’t have to stay in one place, I don’t have club meetings or people to get back to. I am a free bird. My sole focus is ME.

Take a second to say 5 nice things to yourself. Seriously, it works.

My Refocus Band called REFRESH reminded me to do just that - refresh my mindset. Stop focusing on the negative and be my own hype woman. I have decided to take rejection from all of these companies as redirection. I’m driven as hell and passionate about what I want to do, so yes, I will find the right job eventually.

I think as a society we always want things to move quickly, and if something doesn’t go to plan, we go crazy. Or maybe I’m just that neurotic, IDK. Either way, I am grateful I have this time to think and process what I want my next step to be. If I had a job lined up, I don’t think I would work as hard as I am on my own brand and business. I don’t think I would be putting this much thought into my future career and what my options are. Sometimes, not having a plan is the best way to get where you want to go.

Okay, now that one isn’t true. Having a plan is important and organization is my absolute BEST friend. Not having it all figured out is what I am referring to. You don’t have to have every step planned out in order to be successful.Plus, this time in my life is essential to my success story. These are the difficult times. These are the years I am going to talk about when I have achieved my goals and people are interviewing me for their podcast asking how I got where I am. It’ll go a little something like this….

“Well, you see Karen, I was having a mental breakdown in a Starbucks one day because I was unemployed after college graduation. There I was, sobbing into my Venti Iced coffee no classic syrup two shots of sugar-free vanilla with light ice when a woman came up to me. She asked me if I was okay because I was disturbing her while she was on a conference call, so I explained the situation. She nodded, asked for my resume, and then offered me the CMO position at her fortune 500 company!! Totally crazy, I know.”Maybe that’s a bit far-fetched, but like…..just go with it. Also, if anyone reading this is looking to hire - hit me up. Shameless self-plug, I’m sorry. Just think, YOU could be a part of my success story one day! How fabulous would that be?

On a more serious note, it all comes down to how you treat yourself. If you don’t believe in yourself, how can you expect someone else to? Why would someone hire you if you don’t believe in your own abilities? I feel like that applies to any situation, even relationships. You can’t expect someone to love you if you haven’t learned to love yourself.

You spend every second of every day with the same person – YOU. Become your own best friend. Learn to enjoy your own company. Treat yourself with love, just like you would anyone else. Know your worth.

The key takeaway here is this: embrace your inner boss chick. YOU DESERVE THAT JOB (or whatever it is you are working towards) HUNNY!! Speak kindly to yourself, and if you can’t remember to do so (like moi), buy a Refocus band to remind you.

I hope you all spend a little time today giving yourself a pep talk – I know I will.

Xx Caro

*If you would like to be featured in our "Share your Story" Series please email me at mandy@shoplacle.com