Hello everyone.

I want to share some hope this Holiday/Christmas/New Year's season. I was a high-flyer Senior Product Marketing Manager in Silicon Valley until I got pretty sick physically. We decided to move back home to Austin (where we own a house), and on the way I was stricken with Diverticulitis that perforated my sigmoid bowl and upper colon. I was rushed to a hospital and spent 3 weeks there. They gave me a colostomy, but they saved my life. The pain was absolutely extraordinary and brutal.

So, my wife and I flew home to Austin, and I recovered enough after 4 months of "being on the colostomy bag" to get re-attachment surgery (re-hook up my plumbing). That operation took over 10 hours and I almost died, but my surgeon in Austin is really good, and he saved my life. Back to sitting in the hospital for another 2 1/2 weeks, and then the day I got out, that evening, I suffered a hernia that popped right through the surgery location. Painful? You bet! Back to emergency surgery, 3 hours .... stayed another two weeks .... then got out again, but had to come back in for one more surgery to fix infection that had again set in. I had to wear a wound vacuum for two months, but it worked! It really helped heal the open wound.

All during this time, while I was recuperating, my health insurance paid for most of the expenses - but the same company, Cigna, denied my short term disability even though the State of California had approved it. Short term disability insurance is a scam, folks.

I occupied myself with looking for work, but I was very weak. I looked online, sent out resumes, talked to recruiters, even managed to go on some in person interviews (not easy with a colostomy bag, then a wound vac). It's embarrassing, and there are other aspects that make it a daunting task. Including just being very, very weak from having 4 surgeries within 6 months.

THINGS STARTED IMPROVING when I reached out to my LinkedIn network and started talking to my friends, asking for job leads, getting my resumes out, circulating a little bit. Also, I started talking to more recruiters, and even though recruiters have not been useful in finding work (the entire industry has been overwhelmed with people who treat "the talent" like garbage, it seems - no old time Agents are left - it helped me practice interviewing.

I also applied to a temporary agency and lo-and-behold, I got a one week contract to do some Lean Six Sigma swim lanes and process mapping work. It didn't pay nearly what I make per hour, but it was WORK - and I could do it from home. I can't tell you how happy I was that my customer not only accepted the work I did, he loved it, said so, and paid the agency immediately. I was back to being productive!

So: answer the ads, follow up with phone calls, work with recruiters (even if there is little hope they understand your skills or experience, or indeed if they even read your resume - most don't it seems), get out and network network network, contact temporary agencies to keep your hands warm, and yes, pray, too. I just prayed to be able to (again) take care of my family.

I got a contract position with a good company who allows me to work from home or come into the office as I see fit, and the rate is very good, Someone in my network talked to Human Resources directly, I did a bunch of interviews, and while they did not offer me full time/perm. work, this contract is a blessing. I like the people and I love the work.

The only antidote for constant rejection is ... keep at it. The best revenge is to keep applying, keep talking, keep circulating, keep moving.

Good luck everyone, and Happy Holidays!