My husband was unemployed for 10 months. He finally landed a job when he turned up at an office with a box of doughnuts.

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figcaption>The author’s (right) husband (left) used a unique strategy to get a job.

Making things personal opened the door to his new role

Unemployment isn’t for the faint-hearted. It chips away at your confidence and finances while escalating life’s stressors. I feel for anyone currently on the hunt when I look back at those 10 months of uncertainty.

What I love about the story is that showing up with a box of doughnuts is a very “him” thing to do, and it was when he let his personality shine that he finally got recognized as a person instead of just another applicant in their email inbox.

As a former HR professional, the job market and hiring process can feel brutal and impersonal on both sides. He forced it to be personal, and that’s when things clicked.