Finding the ideal job is no easy feat. And with the pandemic rapidly shifting the job market, landing the job of choice has gotten more complicated. This narrative couldn’t be more accurate for people like 26-year-old Elijah Wallace.
An accomplished graduate of Northwestern University in Chicago, Wallace landed his first post-collegiate role with JP Morgan – staying there for about two years before venturing off to pursue entrepreneurial endeavors as the founder of a watch company. However, Wallace found out what many other start-up founders already know – entrepreneurial life is a real grind and hustle. With profits taking too long to come in from his business, Wallace started exploring the job market again.
As many know, Wallace admits this search was definitely a “process.”
“[Applying for jobs] was a full-time job in itself; I networked on LinkedIn every day and applied for 100 jobs in finance and received rejection after rejection,” according to Wallace, as reported by Metro.
“I thought I would be a great candidate, but I kept getting rejections. I had a few interviews, but nothing materialized, or they hired internally,” Wallace continued. “It was very stressful. At one point, I had to decide whether I would move out of my apartment and have to move in with my family.”
Persistence Pays Off
Although the rejections kept piling up, Wallace did not let that stop him from finding the right job. Keeping at this pace for about four months, someone Wallace reached out to a contact from the beginning of his search. The contact was an investor that backed Wallace when he attempted to launch his watch company. After learning about Wallace’s situation, the investor (owner of an emerging travel company) offered him a job as a program manager.
After 99 rejections letters, Wallace’s proactive persistence made the 100th opportunity the one he needed. Wallace now has what he believes is his dream role.
“It’s fully remote, and I even get to travel to Europe for the job. It’s really flexible and allows me to work on my business at the same time. It worked out better than any job I had applied for, so it was meant to be,” Wallace explained.