Amber Langston

Be patient and understand that you're not going to start at the top. You're gonna start and you have to work your way up. Don't job hop. Learn as much as you can from one job that you could take to the next. And if the job that you have isn't satisfying, find what satisfies you and learn to love it. That's why banking and insurance, health insurance, I enjoyed both of those equally. I stayed longer in health insurance than I did banking, but am eagerly seeking both of those for my next position. Really find a passion, because at a young age, I didn't know what my passion would be. Find your passion early and go for it. Like I said, you know, mine was weather, but at my age, that's just really not something I can go back and relearn. And had I stuck with it, I would have known that, but unfortunately, I don't anymore. But I still like it.

I think in this day and age, you really have to get out and network and know people. Get to know them, get to know them on a personal level, get to know them on a professional level, because that's what brings you in, and if they get to know you, and they know you understand and you know things, you're more likely to get a job if you're in, like, a transition, a flux, like I am right now. You have people you can go to, and you have people that you can reach out to to see if they have any ideas. So, I think that networking and trying to go to, you know, as corny as it is, even job fairs, things like that. But you have to be able to - it's not just written on a piece of paper anymore. Your resume, because if you don't have just the right wording, the AI will kick you out. There have been - I have probably over 150 applications out right now and I get turned down because my AI description, or the description the AI had, kicks me out. I know that I am absolutely qualified, but I also know that what we used to do in the old days was, you know, pick the paper up and circle the, you know, I could do this, and you went in for the interview. Now it's a Zoom interview, followed by a follow-up with another team and a follow-up by a 3-panel.

I never liked anybody to call me their boss. I was a co-worker, even, to my team. We were a team, and every team has a captain, and that just happens to be me. But I could probably tell you more about their lives and what is going on with them, because I knew each one of them very well, very closely. And we were remote, so you have to get to know people by phone. I did not - I knew a lot about everybody, and I really wanted to go back. They were a family. They were my family. And I hated leaving. I have such a soft spot for older people and the animals. When I worked for Meals on Wheels, I delivered meals, I would get out and actually get into the communities, meet my clients, deliver their meals, talk to them. I remember sitting one day, I delivered a meal to a lady, and she was in tears. She had all of her family pictures sitting out, and I sat with her for about 2 hours, and we went through her stuff. I eventually want to rescue the oldest animal in a shelter and give it its last home, you know, because older dogs are left in shelters. I have such a soft spot for that, and so I want to be the person that walks them over the bridge, I guess you would say. When my father was sick, I noticed a lot of people didn't have visitors. He was in a rehab, and I would sit and talk to them or their families, so I kind of have a soft spot for the older people and the animals.