How my 14 Month Sabbatical helped me land my New Job!

Story Time for #TransformationTuesday after Labor Day Weekend. I was able to celebrate this holiday again because I began working as a Process Improvement and Analytics Advisor within CVS Health.

For multiple reasons in 2019, I took a leap of faith and moved to Phoenix, AZ from Atlanta, GA. This move ended up being transformational. I found a temporary job but was laid off because of COVID. I worked a total of 11 days in 2020 and was unemployed for 14 months. I began volunteering in February 2020 to stay active in the world of doing some kind of work and any kind of work. This was not originally my plan.

But instead of saying I couldn’t find work, I started telling myself and everyone I was on sabbatical. My sabbatical helped me realize the many gifts I was given in my time off. Such As:

• I was surrounded by family and love.
• I lost weight but not the roof over my head or my car. 
• I started a garden and taking care of house plants.
• I am helping my family.
• I spent time with elders in my family and then celebrated the lives of those who passed.
• I was in my feelings at multiple points (feeling sad, alone, undeserving, ).
• I sought help from friends, family, counselors, and career coaches.
• I did meditation challenges over and over again.
• I got back up each day and tried again.

After multiple interviews (Dating back to May 2019), I had to do some soul searching. Was I an imposter or was I very qualified? How did my value translate from the public to private sectors? What is my value? Where do I go from here, in both life and career? 

So I sought help. I interviewed resume writers and hired Richard. I contacted all my family and friends who were managers and/or in HR and asked them to help me practice interviewing. I contacted career coaches like Laticia and Nakisha to reaffirm my worth, not just in the workplace but in the world and in my skin. I focused on my transferable skills and education to determine what work I wanted to do. I contacted friends for referrals. And I kept applying.

When I started getting 3-4 or more interviews a week, I knew I found my path. And I kept applying. As a result, CVS Health hired me within a dynamic team. For that, I am grateful! 

The original purpose of my transition and transformation was motivated by wanting to help my family (and now I can include myself). Now I get to add that I will be “helping people on their path to better health.” Thank You CVS Health!