"Things don't get easier, you just get better", a candid chat with Emma and Elle Marie that can change your perspective towards life .

During one of our online sessions with Wendy Greenwood I got an opportunity to meet Elle M. and Emma Lauermeier , two wonderful souls who are making a mark in this world while doing what they love and following their passion.

Emma Lauermeier currently working at MLSE (Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment Partnership) as a Digital Content Coordinator - Music & Live Events, covers all live events in Scotiabank Arena and Coca-Cola Coliseum, creating amazing content which is shared on all of their social media platforms. Emma graduated from George Brown College 's Digital Media Marketing program in 2020.

Elle M. on the other hand is a Digital Content Director in her venture Elle Marie Creative Services. She provides customized branding and marketing services to her clients along with an entire suite of content creation with her in house photography and videography services. She graduated from George Brown College 's Digital Media Marketing program in 2021.

During the session Emma and Elle Marie shared their life experiences, be it personal or professional and how these experiences helped them reach where they are today. My learning from this session is as follows:-

1. No job/experience is too small - as Emma and Elle said, one should never treat a job small, be it a part time job in a retail store or a receptionist or be it a job at a fast food restaurant. Whatever skills you learn from these jobs are critical and can be applied directly to anything and everything.
2. Don't ever give up no matter what life throws at you - In spite of all the medical and physical challenges, Elle Marie was able to succeed and do what she loves. It took time, but she was able to accomplish what she wanted and excel at her job.
3. Have a Yes Man attitude towards life - Life has its ways to take you through a journey and give you what you really want, you just have to be receptive and have to be at the right place in the right time. How do you get there? You get there by saying a resounding YES to opportunities and experiences, big or small. You never know, when that 'small coffee meeting with a classmate' or 'chatting with a stranger in a marketing conference' or 'replying to that LinkedIn dm' can lead to your next big opportunity.
4. Slow Down, Just Don't Stop - a steady 75% effort is better than short bursts of 100% followed by no efforts at all. It might work for HIIT workout, but atleast not in life. As Emma said, it is important to be consistant, there will be days or even months where you wont have the motivation to do anything at all, but then you need to remember and keep in mind your end goal and keep at it. Just don't quit, Half assing it is better than no assing at all.

As a result of this excercise, these are the things I shall start practicing for my job hunt :-

• Utilize my network, let people in my network know what I am looking for and being receptive to all the opportunities that come my way.
• Building my online portfolio, consisting all my projects, and things that I work on. It will be like an online resume that I will be able to share with people.
• Be ready with a Rejection Toolkit - a wonderful idea by Emma. I personally think that we can not avoid rejection, but we sure as hell can manage them better. To avoid being off track after a rejection, I would prepare a rejection toolkit. For me it might be a list of quotes, list of places that I can go to relax and calm myself, It will surely be a list of places I would go to do some street photography and a list of songs that I would learn on guitar.

Now, here are some things that I am gonna stop doing :-

• Being rigid during your job search - No job will be 100% aligned with your hopes and dreams, the key is to look for opportunities that are closest to your ideal job.
• Stop selling yourself short - You should know your worth, and you should fight for it. If you think that you are not being treated the way you deserve to be, say it and fix it.
• Stop taking rejections personally - One should never take a job rejection personally. Stop thinking of it as if you were rejected from that job and you are not capable of doing it. Instead, think of it in this way; that job and I were not a good fit, and thats why I was not selected. A small perspective change can save you from a lot pain.

To set myself up for success, I shall start dedicating a fixed amount of time for my job search every other day. Build a resume and cover letter template that I can then customize based on the job. Connect with more and more people and concentrate on building relationships.

In terms of networking, listening to Emma Lauermeier and Elle M. motivated me to always be ready, never say no. Good things will come to you when you are receptive. If you stay in your bubble, good things that life has planned for you won't reach you. It is important to stay positive, being positive will attract positivity in your life.