Sign on the Dotted Line. I Got the Job
The Space Between Chapters.
This week, I signed on the dotted line and officially secured a job.
It feels good to write that.
For me, employment marks a milestone in this chapter, a new journey after five months of uncertainty. Some days have been full of light, while others felt like I was standing in the dark. Finding myself having to dig deep and out of the trenches, being careful not to get stuck in my head and calling it self-reflection. A love, hate relationship with hope, wondering if I’ll find something right for me.
At the beginning of 2026 when I arrived in Australia, I jokingly called this my ‘No Plan, Plan’. I may have named this phase in jest, but it was the truth – a classic, all the gear but no idea and each day when my mind would run ahead, I reminded myself, ‘one foot, in front of the other’.
I purposefully went against my default mode of having a plan, structure, supported by a 3yr strategy. A personal challenge to test whether I’d be okay to just look at the step directly in front of me, into the unknown and this approach has worked on some days and not on others.
I had a few ideas and goals but if I'm honest, I had more questions than answers.
Questions like;
What would work look like? How long will it take to secure work, will my skills be recognised?
Where would I fit, do I want to fit in? Have I made the right decision, to move?
What am I thinking? Am I, in over my head?
Is this what you really want, Zee?
From what I’ve experienced. When you decide on change and to do something different, there are feelings of excitement mixed with doubt.
The process of looking for work began in November 2025. Firstly, getting advice on my CV and the job market. My biggest challenge was trying to figure out what kind of job I wanted to do next because nothing jumped out at me.
I’m grateful for my new role and excited by the opportunity but it’s the space in between that has me thinking about the waiting, wondering, sitting with myself on the days where it felt like nothing was happening.
I applied for up to 50 jobs, received a healthy number of rejections (universe redirection) and ghosted (didn’t hear back) by a fair few, managing to lock in 4 job interviews, who all moved to reference checks and offers in the end.
So, going from feeling like I’m at a standstill to multiple offers, deciding which direction to go, it’s a bloody awesome feeling!
What I realised was how crazy it is on how much, we can miss, discount or underestimate the lessons within the journey. Being so focused on the destination, when in the end, we’ll get to said destination, only to be looking at another horizon.
We're encouraged to celebrate the milestones but rarely the micro steps that lead up to them. The constant balancing act between staying optimistic and realistic.
As much as I want to run ahead. I realise that not every chapter is designed for speed. The whole reason I am here is to gain another perspective and rebuild, taking myself out of my comfort zone. Reconnect with parts of myself again, observe and enjoy the moments.
In this 5months, I was reminded that who we are is always bigger than the role we hold. A job doesn’t define the entirety of who we are.
With each rejection/ decline aka redirection that landed in my inbox. I kept thinking the “Job market has messed with the wrong person because I am determined AF!”
Remembering my skills, experiences, qualifications and most of all who I am as a person. So, to me even though I ended up applying for a raft of roles, in search of what would capture my interest. Job hunting really is a numbers game with hope the conveyor belt with each movement forward, even when it felt like I was moving backwards.
The space between chapters.
The chapter between leaving something familiar and building something new, where confidence is tested and patience is exercised.
Looking back, the hidden gift of this transition was about learning to become comfortable with uncertainty. Testing and adopting my own advice of Adaptability, a me vs me situation.
The observations I'd like to offer from my week:
The space between chapters, teaches us more than the chapter itself.
Progress doesn't always look productive from the outside.
Patience is easier said than done.
Reflective question:
What if the chapter you're trying to rush through is the very chapter preparing you for what's next?
What you can visibly see is also working alongside what you can’t. I believe it’s where ‘hope’ sits, in between.
As I walk into a new organisation tomorrow. I will be trusting myself 100%, backing myself 110% and not trying to force a timeline as I take in the learning because surrendering to uncertainty is the simple part of the process.
Until next time, speak soon.
Zee
Move with Confidence
