Being By Believing

This morning I received another job rejection. What made this one different is that the hiring committee had already told me I interviewed well and had strong experience for the role. But like several other interviews over the past few months, the result was the same. It’s hard not to start asking bigger questions about what is happening in the hiring process today. Many companies and organizations are now using AI-driven tools to filter applications before a human ever reviews them. These systems are designed to increase efficiency, but they also raise an important question: what happens when algorithms start deciding which candidates are “ideal”? I’ve also had conversations with several friends and colleagues over 40 who are experiencing the same pattern. Strong resumes. Positive interviews. Then a final rejection after in-person meetings. It makes you wonder if we are unintentionally overlooking one of the most valuable assets in the workforce: experience. Experienced p...

I reread the story of Pandora’s Box this week, and for the first time I noticed something I had never seen before.  In Greek mythology, Pandora’s Box refers to a jar that contained all the evils of the world, released by Pandora, the first woman created by the gods. Pandora was created by Hephaestus, the god of craftsmanship, at the request of Zeus, the king of the gods. Her creation was part of Zeus’s punishment for humanity after Prometheus stole fire from the gods and gave it to mankind. Each god bestowed a gift upon Pandora, making her irresistible. She was given to Epimetheus, Prometheus’s brother, as a wife—despite Prometheus’s warning never to accept gifts from the gods. Pandora was left to care for a sealed jar. When she opened it, sickness, death, and many other evils escaped into the world. Though she quickly tried to close it, only one thing remained inside: Hope . For much of my life, I have described the trauma I carry as the devils inside my own Pandora’s box. When t...