⬇️I left my corporate job in 2011 to teach job seekers and hiring managers how to interview better. In 2011 I was a Director of Talent Acquisition and for months I ignored a nagging intuition that I should start my own business. I met with the President of the company, and I told him, “I have a dream to start my own business. I am young enough and I don’t have kids, and I have some money saved and I think if I don’t do it now, I will regret it forever.” He leaned back in his chair and put his glasses on the top of his head and said, “You’ve got moxie” but that’s all I had. I didn’t have a business plan, or a client lined up all I had was a dream. You see I had worked in HR for a very long time, and I saw my fair share of job seekers and hiring managers that were unprepared and bombing job interviews. I felt I could make a difference; I knew that I had to leave the comfort of my bi-weekly paycheck and the luxury of the executive suite in order to do what I thought had to be done. Revolutionize how we teach people how to interview. So, I quit. Soon after I was hired by Temple University’s Fox School of Business to teach interview skills. I taught thousands of students, discovered interview styles, wrote a book about my research but I didn’t know how to get a book deal. I had a book but no way to get it out into the world. I was told to get an agent, I sent my book to 70 agents, and they all ignored me, except one. She told me that my book was great, but no publisher would give me a book deal if I didn’t have a social media following. I resisted her advice because I didn’t want to make videos on social media. But then I relented because I really wanted my book to be published. In January of 2022 I made my first TikTok and by March I had 250,000 followers on Facebook. In July I went back to all the agents that had ignore me and 8 offered to represent me. In September I got a global book deal with Harper Collins. Despite all the rejection and failures, I never gave up. I never once questioned my product or my book, but I questioned whether or not I was the right person to be selling them. I felt like I was letting my product down. I felt like I was not enough, and I didn’t have what it took. Until I got on social media and shifted my focus. I started giving free tips, doing what I love but now instead of corporate boardrooms and college classrooms I was doing it for TikTok, Facebook, Instagram, YouTube & LinkedIn. I never imagined that I would be doing this. But embracing something that I never wanted to do was the very key that unlocked my success. It’s because of my followers that I got a book deal. It’s because of my followers that my book has been translated into 4 languages. Thank you! Take it from me, never give up on your dreams. Perhaps all you need is a new focus, a tiny little shift in perspective or a boost in the right direction so your sails fill with wind. Whatever you do-Don’t give up on yourself, just shift. #entrepreneur #journey #failure #author #influencer #motivation #inspirational #rejection #nevergiveup @HarperCollins - @anna..papalia