The Job Hunts Ends. A New Chapter Begins. Time to Pay It Forward.

John R. Gagain Jr
2 min readNov 11, 2021

By John R. Gagain Jr.

The author of that famous book for job hunters, “What Color is Your Parachute?,” Richard N. Bolles, says that a job search goes like this… No, No, No, No, No, No, No, No, No, No, No, No, No, No, No, No, No, No, No, No, No, No, No, No, No, No, No, No, No, No… and then the Yes!!! I got my share of “No, No, No’s” to my job applications over the past few months.

I spent 2-years talking to Esri— a multibillion dollar private GIS software company. I applied to two different positions. After several conversations and contacts, I made it to the final stage for one position. This included 6 hours straight of interviewing with 5 different people. I got a “No, and a “No.”

I spent months looking at Amazon. I applied to dozens of positions. I was hoping to work at Amazon’s new headquarters in Arlington, Virginia. I made it to the final stage for one position, which included 6–7 hours of straight interviewing with 6 different people. It ended with a “No.”

I spent a lot energy applying to Microsoft, especially after the enlightening experience I had at my last job as a designated Microsoft TEAMS Champion. I applied to dozens of jobs at Microsoft too. Although I got help and employee referrals from friends at Microsoft, I never made it to any interview. I went through a similar experience with Google. These were some of the companies that I was targeting hard. I was also looking at smaller organizations here-and-there. All in all, those “No’s” that Bolles talks about in his book; well, I got hundreds of them, if not over a thousand.

Why do I tell you this? Because I want you — those out there in the job hunt — to know that I feel for you. And now I am ready to help. I am elated to announce that will be joining Salesforce as Change Management Consultant. There was a “Yes” at the end of that dark tunnel called job hunt. I am ready to pay it forward. I have a few weeks before I start this job, and I am open to speaking with anyone in need of advice, motivation, or direction; or even just to be a shoulder to lean on, or an ear to listen to your thoughts — about your current job hunt.

Salesforce is the best company in the world. I am very happy that I will be joining an extended family — the Salesforce Ohana. A new chapter in my life and career begins. I am very excited.

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John R. Gagain Jr
John R. Gagain Jr

Written by John R. Gagain Jr

I’m a Change professional that loves facilitating workshops for teams looking to be more innovative & impactful; coaching, storytelling, & leadership.