A New Chapter

Last Friday, I did something I hadn’t done since October of 2015. I woke up knowing I wouldn’t be scouring the job sites for an opportunity.

Yes, you read that right – I have been looking daily for a job since late October two years ago, when I suddenly found myself looking for steady employment while attempting to relearn how to walk again. I managed to get my legs back much sooner than I was able to get back into the PR industry as a full-time employee.

Many of you know I created my own public relations and marketing company in an attempt to market myself for projects while I continued to rehabilitate my legs and back. Some months were better than others, but I learned quickly that I would need more than just the income from my business. So I became a substitute teacher. I became a freelance writer. I became a credit consultant. I became a babysitter. I became a food delivery driver.

I networked. I attempted to take advantage of knowing a lot of people in the business. I became a member of the Public Relations Society of America. None of it led to anything.

I applied for hundreds of jobs – possibly even thousands – and participated in dozens upon dozens of job interviews. I drove to Tulsa several times for interviews. I flew to Dallas for an interview at the airport and flew back an hour later. I interviewed with the same companies several times with the same results.

It was a frustrating period of time. Companies would sometimes ask for me to do work for them and then ignore my followups. Some required personality assessment tests. Worthless. Many asked for a resume and then an application that required me to repeat the same information from my resume. It was a waste of time.

Each and every rejection stung. Even when I was never told I didn't get the job, I would eventually realize I hadn't heard from them in awhile. At least the rejection emails and letters put an end to the process.

I was told several times I was overqualified. I assumed that sometimes I was underqualified, although they would never admit that was the case. It was usually a standard “we chose to go with a candidate that more closely fit our needs” line in an email. But, again, it was still better than those who chose not to communicate with me at all.

Some rejections were tougher to take than others. I missed out on a job with the Putnam City Schools Foundation that I strongly believed I was going to get. I was a perfect fit and a graduate of Putnam City High School. I thought I was an exact match for a job with the Oklahoma Foundation for Excellence. I wasn’t. I was recommended for a position with the Oklahoma Department of Corrections prior to the job being announced. After an early meeting with the person who would have been my boss, I never heard back from anyone despite reaching out multiple times. The person who was hired lacked a resume anywhere close to what I offered.

One job in particular really shocked me. To this day, I have the voice mail in which the recruiter for a job at Petra said I was pretty much a lock for the job. He said they were going to check references and that was the last step before making an offer. Despite calls and emails to follow up with him, I never heard back. It was a very curious ending to an otherwise normal hiring process.

With nearly three years of success working at a PR agency, I thought I would have a relatively easy time getting a job with one of the PR agencies in the metro area. For the most part, I couldn’t even get interviews with them. In one case, the owner of the agency said she and I had almost identical paths and that she would want me to do freelance work for them if I didn’t get the job. I never heard from her again. Some of the agencies where I applied for jobs are run by people I know personally. I never got an interview with any of them, which certainly sent a message to me.

I was particularly distressed with my inability to get a job in higher education given the time I spent at Langston University. I applied at the University of Oklahoma – where I attended college for a year and where I had legacy established – at least a dozen times and probably closer to a couple of dozen times. Not one interview. I applied several times at my alma mater – University of Central Oklahoma – and only managed to get a pair of interviews a couple of months ago. Not one offer, however.

I applied a few times at Oklahoma State University with low expectations and actually received interviews for three separate jobs there. And for those of you who don’t know already, that is where I have ended up as the Publications Coordinator in the Office of the Registrar.

Yes, that means I will be commuting to Stillwater each day. Yes, that means I will be in a position to promote OSU to potential students. Yes, I will give it my full effort and do great work for them.

For all those companies who didn’t recognize me as someone who would have been a great fit for them, I intend to make sure they realize what they missed. I am more motivated than ever to be the best employee possible and I am looking forward to the next chapter of my career. Finally!

The American Pipe Dream

When I was growing up, it was often said and repeated that the “American Dream” could be achieved by anyone willing to put in the work. It sounded great and was a driving force in getting me through college and attempting to move up the ranks in whatever industry I happened to be in at the time.

The thing is, the American Dream is really just short of a nightmare and is not something that can just be achieved through hard work.

This is something we don’t want to have to admit and, as a white male, it is assumed that I should never be in a category of someone who would say this publicly. But it is true.

Take, for example, a scenario where you have 10 people living on an island and the only currency is the food found on the island. Those who can have the mental and physical capacity to immediately locate and retrieve the food are going to start out as the wealthy people on the island – the most successful. Those who are slower in recognizing what they need to do to get ahead are going to immediately fall behind with little to no options in moving forward.

This is how real life works. Some people are born with abilities that just allow them to succeed at a higher level than others. I can assure you that my experiences tell me that people who are charismatic and good-looking have a much easier time getting people to give them chances than do people who lack personality, charm and natural beauty. It is just how the world works.

Don’t agree with me? Would Donald Trump be working outside of janitorial services if he hadn’t been born to a multi-millionaire? Doubtful. His statements may seem charming to some because they view him as a self-made success story but anybody with that level of arrogance should have an impressive background to show for it. He doesn’t.

I don’t want to pick on just one guy, because the world is full of them. Guys born on third base who claim they hit a triple. The Paris Hiltons of the world who think they actually did something other than just be born.

It doesn’t just apply to people who were born with rich parents. Kevin Durant and LeBron James may not have been born into the best conditions, but they were given basketball talent that exceeds what most people have in any other area. They found their niche and now make millions and millions of dollars for playing basketball.

The truth is, there are typically going to be limits to what you are going to be able to accomplish. I was born to working parents in south Oklahoma City as a white male, and I find roadblocks all the time to what I can achieve. And working hard doesn't just eliminate those obstacles. To a female or a minority, that may sound like I am underachieving or making excuses but it is the truth. Life has never been a piece of cake for me, nor will it ever be easy regardless of how much effort I put into it.

So, if life has been an uphill climb for someone with my background and socioeconomic upbringing, just imagine what it is like every day for a person who is attempting to gain traction in a world that embraces the white male as the alpha. It isn’t easy.

In a world where women are paid less than men and where minorities face social inequalities on a daily basis, not everyone has an equal opportunity to make it in this world. Sure, each of us are a winning lottery ticket away from having a special life, but the majority of us work hard and have little to nothing to show for it. For most of my adult life, I have worked two to four jobs at a time. Do I feel successful? I think you know the answer to that.

When someone tells you the American Dream is alive and well for everyone in the USA, just know they are blowing smoke or they caught a lucky break along the way to their path to success. For most of us, however, we can only hope to accomplish a limited amount of greatness through the hard work we bring to our daily lives. In the meantime, having rich parents or being born with some amazing talent seems to be the only sure way to experience success in today’s America.

Time to Talk Some Sports!

Who would have thought a few weeks ago when OU lost its first game against the lowly Iowa State Cyclones that the Sooners might actually have a chance to beat every team on its schedule this year? With OU continuing to win against overmatched opponents and Iowa State continuing to win against teams that were ranked ahead of them going into the season, the Sooners could have a chance to play the Cyclones in the Big 12 title game.

What?

As it stands now, there is a four-way tie at the top of the conference standings with OU, OSU, Iowa State and TCU. Each of those teams has lost once in conference (only Iowa State hasn’t lost to the one of the top four conference teams) and they all have one conference loss. In looking at the remaining scheduling, some of the deadlock will work itself out. OU has road games against OSU and West Virginia as well as a home contest against TCU. OSU still has that home game against OU and a road challenge against the Cyclones. Iowa State already has wins against OU and TCU but does have that game against OSU as well as a game against West Virginia.

In terms of redemption, the same could actually happen for OSU and TCU. The Cowboys could go undefeated the remainder of the season and potentially play TCU in the conference title game. TCU could go undefeated the rest of the way and end up playing a rematch with Iowa State. A lot could happen between now and then, but it should all work itself out somehow. Hopefully.

The college football playoff rankings were announced for the first time this season and the Big 12 has three teams among the top 11 (and four in the Top 15 with the Cyclones making an appearance). Despite a not-so-lofty ranking in the weekly polls, OU comes in at fifth with a road game against OSU this weekend. TCU sits at eighth and OSU is at 11.

Georgia came in at the top spot while Alabama tumbled to number two. The Crimson Tide looks to be the better team to me but at least we will get to see the two compete against each other (barring a loss along the way to the SEC championship game). I’m definitely not sold on Notre Dame (best win is against a questionable NC State team), but I feel confident they will stumble at some point. I feel the same about Miami, and ironically the two play each other later this month. Clemson still looks good to me despite the Syracuse loss, and most of the other teams have some roadblocks in their way (Penn State, Ohio State) or just haven’t played anyone (Wisconsin, Central Florida).

The media spotlight hasn’t been just on college football lately as MLB has had some negative headlines, mostly stemming from Yuli Gurriel of the world champion Astros taunting Dodgers pitcher Yu Darvish with a “slanted eyes” gesture when circling the bases after a home run. Gurriel will be suspended five games next year but wasn’t punished during the championship series. It’s amazing what some people think they can get away with in a public setting.

Houston has a problem in another sport too. Also creating an embarrassing situation for himself was Houston Texans owner Bob McNair, who compared his players to inmates. Especially considering the social injustice conversations taking place throughout the nation and in the NFL specifically, McNair was either completely ignorant or just showing his true colors when he made the statement. After fallout from his players, many across the nation and the NFL itself, McNair backtracked and said he was talking about the owners and the NFL commissioner’s office. Nice try, Bob, but nobody is buying it.

We can't talk NFL without mentioning the lowly Cleveland Browns, who botched a trade for quarterback A.J. McCarron by failing to get in the proper paperwork to the NFL commissioner's office. I realize it looks incompetent, but hear me out on this. What if the Browns were actually willing to look bad just to do something to light a fire under their current crop of signal callers? I think most people would assume long-term DeShone Kizer is a better prospect than McCarron. So, what better way to get his attention than to convince him he was that close to being benched for good. Just a theory ...

The NBA season has been somewhat enjoyable thus far, especially after the Thunder put a whooping on the Bucks. Oklahoma City is starting to come into form sooner than expected while the Warriors and the Cavs are still in pre-season form. I don’t expect either team to continue playing down to a lesser level, but it is nice to know there is tape out there that shows how to beat the presumably two best teams in the league.

Enjoy your sports weekend – it is just starting to heat up!