Disclaimer!: This post is not an attempt to cover everything there is to know about the "gig economy," but rather to relate my personal experience in the hopes that you may be inspired to keep pushing. 😊

We've all had the desire to work from home. The current global situation with the pandemic and everything that has been going on since then has shown us that the world can and will find a way to adjust.

The pandemic brought a slew of changes, some good and some bad. Yet, we've all strived to adjust our lives to our new reality, however tasking.

During this period, amongst other things, we have also witnessed exponential growth in the gig economy. Owing to a massive demand for services and a rising pool of newly available employees looking for work.

This also means that people with in-demand skills are constantly faced with increased competition in their area of expertise.

Hence, no matter how good you're, there's always someone better, and no matter how many certifications you have, there is always someone with even more.

As a freelance Writer and Data Analyst (still in the works 😁), I'm sure we have a lot in common in our effort to make money with our skills -- whatever that might be.

We work hard to improve our skills to get our desired jobs or, at the very least, roles that will allow us to get our foot in the door. With the hope of one-day becoming masters of our craft as a result of our tailored experiences.

So this means that we are all too familiar with every freelancer's nemesis - Rejection.😈👿😈

I just accepted a remote position with a health and fitness firm in the United States as a part of their content team-- more on that later.

I can tell you for free that it wasn't exactly a stroll in the park since, as freelancers (I assume most of us are), we are all too accustomed to rejection😒😒.

Yes, it hurts. Considering the literal sweat and blood that was invested into the process of trying to secure a 'gig.'

Let's not forget the high expectations based on our perceived competencies. And how occasionally, we make it through to the interview process only to receive an email saying- "We are sorry..."

It's not that we're not good enough; we often resort to this line of thought when things don't go as planned. I don't believe it has anything to do with being highly qualified or possessing all the necessary skill sets.

Sadly, you can have all the qualifications and skill sets that there are and still get the R-word.

When we encounter setbacks, there is the tendency to beat ourselves up. It's OK to take some time to pout and lick your wounds but remember not to spend too much time in that headspace.

While I can't say why these things happen, I hope you're kind to yourself because rejection is a part of the process, no matter how you look at it.

At the end of an interview I had a while back, the recruiter encouraged me not to believe I wasn't good enough if I didn't get the position. But think of it as a silver or bronze medal in the Olympics.

It's a funny juxtaposition, but it helped me prepare mentally for the outcome.

And that's how I view rejection generally.

You should definitely do the same. Cause while you didn't get the position, you learned valuable lessons that will motivate you to perform better in the future. This is common information... hehe😁😁

When I set out to write this article, my intention was to talk about the rigorous interview process and the steps I took to land a position that allows me to learn from industry professionals while earning and creating potentially life-changing connections.

Then I thought of the effort I put in and the sheer willpower it took to keep going after receiving over 25 rejections in three weeks and decided to share this instead. Yes, you read it correctly, 25!. In January, I practically woke up to rejection emails almost every day. 🤦‍♀️🤦‍♀️🤦‍♀️

This is not unusual for freelancers, so I'm sure it's not unique to me.

I'm delighted to have finally found some stability in my life so that I can ultimately create the much-needed time to master Data Analytics.

I'll expand on this with time.

So even though it took me a long time to return to Hashnode, I'm hoping I won't be gone for too long this time since I plan on being devoted to this learning process.

I hope you'll hold me accountable for finishing my courses and becoming a master of Data Analytics. 😉😉😉

Thank you for taking the time to read!

I'm delighted to have assisted you in either escaping or re-entering reality. Whichever it was, I'm glad you had a good time!

I'm looking forward to hearing from you!

Best,

Vivian😊