Overcoming Obstacles with Optimism: Rikki Thompson’s Job Search Success Story

What’s it like when a human resources director, who is used to being on the hiring end, has to look for a job? On this bonus episode of Find Your Dream Job, Rikki Thompson shares her story of being out of work for 7 months, how she created a network in a brand new city, and how she stayed motivated and encouraged through an extended job search. Rikki also talks about why remaining optimistic during your search is key to not burning out. Learn more about Rikki’s career history below in this installment of our Success Stories series.

Transcript

Find Your Dream Job, Bonus Episode 81:

Overcoming Obstacles with Optimism: Rikki Thompson’s Job Search Success Story

Airdate: May 5, 2025

Mac Prichard:

This is Find Your Dream Job, the podcast that helps you get hired, have the career you want, and make a difference in life.

I’m your host, Mac Prichard. I’m also the founder of Mac’s List. It’s a job board in the Pacific Northwest that helps you find a fulfilling career.

One of the best ways to get good at job hunting is to talk to people who do it well.

That’s why once a month, I interview a Mac’s List reader who found a job they love.

Our guest today is Rikki Thompson. She’s the people and development manager for Soho House Portland.

It’s the recently opened location of a 30-year-old UK-owned private membership club.

Rikki Thompson believes in the power of optimism.

In a story you can find on the Mac’s List website, Rikki shares how not getting discouraged helped her tackle the complexities of today’s job market.

Why do you love your job, Rikki?

Rikki Thompson:

I love my job because I have a well-established mentorship built into the structure of SoHo House. I have a director of Human Resources who has helped me refine my approach to Human Resources, as well as a supportive management team.

Mac Prichard:

And what led you to apply for the position there? What made it attractive?

Rikki Thompson:

I was looking to return to the hospitality industry and had recently moved to the Portland area. My previous job had winded down, it was a startup out of California, and I was looking to join an organization that was creative, involved in the community, and had a people-centric approach.

Mac Prichard:

And once you started talking to the team at SoHo House Portland, how did you know it was the right place for you?

Rikki Thompson:

I’ve been a Human Resources leader for about a decade or so. And a lot of that work has been solo. I’ve kind of come up through the ranks of Human Resources on my own, as it were, and really knew that for me to enrich my career, I would need a support structure that was more established.

And what I really appreciated about SoHo House is that, because they are a global organization, they have structures in place that allow them to have a supportive consistency between the houses, as well as a consistent approach to how Human Resources is managed. And I appreciated that.

Mac Prichard:

You mentioned that you’re an HR director. What was it like, as someone who’s done so much hiring in your career, to be a candidate for a job?

Rikki Thompson:

It was challenging. A lot of times in the Human Resources world, the person that is doing the initial screening for resumes is a Human Resources coordinator. They’re just trying to get semi-qualified folks into the first bucket for leadership to be able to look at. And oftentimes, when a Human Resources director role is open, it often is that the director is already gone and left the role.

So it put, it puts the hiring process in a fragile space.

Mac Prichard:

Tell us more about that. When you say it was in a fragile space, what do you mean there, Rikki?

Rikki Thompson:

Depending on the organization, Human Resources does so much in an organization. Not just from a human perspective, but they’re also helping support the operations of the business. Whether it’s led by a general manager or a C-suite.

When that level of knowledge is not in the building, it’s sometimes challenging for the leaders of the building to understand the language of their needs. They’re not quite sure what HR does in totality. And they’re not quite sure how that role helps them thrive in their work as well.

And so when that piece is missing, it can be difficult to connect the dots between, for example, a C-level and an HR coordinator to understand how to fulfill that role.

Mac Prichard:

You mentioned a moment ago that you had worked for a start-up. You’ve had some interesting employers over the years.  You did a stint at the International Refugee Committee; you even worked at Burning Man.

How did these different experiences, working in the private sector, nonprofits, help you during the search that led you to your current position?

Rikki Thompson:

It’s made me very nimble. This is a second career for me, and I’ve wanted to move into a Human Resources role that was still very high touch with employees and staff, and also a conduit for leadership growth and development.

And each of these roles was a step in that direction. They were often very daring leaps from one role to the next. But I feel that each role prepared me well for the next, in how I creatively learned through it, how I established relationships and built relationships, and then the partnerships that I had externally to each of the jobs that I worked through.

Mac Prichard:

You and I met at an event organized by the Portland chapter of the American Marketing Association. Rikki, how did in-person networking like that help you land the job you have now?

Rikki Thompson:

It was very helpful. Being a new person to the Portland area, oftentimes, when somebody is interviewing you for the work, they want to know how you’re connected to the community, and being a new person, I was not.

So as much as we wish to believe that a resume can speak everything about a person, it’s meeting a person that can go a really long way, especially in Human Resources.

Mac Prichard:

Say more about that. What difference did the connections you made at working events you attended while you were looking for work make in your search?

Rikki Thompson:

I had a pretty significant push from my brother, actually, who is a business owner in the Portland area, who is part of the EO group in town. And he sent my resume to, I think, a hundred of the members there. Which resulted in multiple very positive connections, one of which latently connected me to SoHo Portland.

I also worked with a number of recruiters, which I contacted and spoke with on a weekly basis, letting them know of jobs I had found interesting in my search. And they were also able to help connect me with humans.

Mac Prichard:

When your brother sent out that communication to members of EO, which I believe stands for Entrepreneurs Organization, right?

Rikki Thompson:

Yes.

Mac Prichard:

And it is actually a global group. But when he sent your resume to his colleagues in the Portland chapter of EO, what kind of follow-up did you do? And how did you most effectively leverage those introductions?

Rikki Thompson:

I wasn’t really quite sure initially how to go about doing that. I was so humbled and appreciative of somebody willing to take a step out into the local community for me. And I wasn’t quite sure how to go about that.

But I, initially, to be honest, sat still because I didn’t know what was to come of that. But about a week after that, I was like, well, maybe I should start researching some of these folks and reaching out to them.

And so I did some cold calling as it were, to see who I was speaking with, and I connected with several people in nonprofits, business entrepreneurs, some well-known folks that have been a source of connection since that time. And again, one who also was latently connected, we connected while I was interviewing here.

Mac Prichard:

Many job seekers struggle with leveraging those connections. When you made those cold calls, how did you identify the people you wanted to approach? A list of a hundred names is a big one.

Who did you decide to reach out to first, and what did you find most effective in making those requests? What worked and what didn’t work, Rikki?

Rikki Thompson:

I found over the years, as I’ve honed my own professional desires, is I want to surround myself with people that I want to work with. And so I looked for folks who were in creative spaces, creative arts. I looked for people who were in hospitality. I looked for people who may have had external connections that were familiar to me.

And started there. And for example, I spoke to a person who did environmental restoration, and we had the opportunity to meet at a vegan restaurant. And so, those were kind of very personal things that then allowed me to meet a person who had a like-minded lifestyle that I resonated with, that also helped me connect with like-minded professionals.

I see my work as an infinity loop between myself and my profession. There’s not a lot of difference between the two. And, for me to have that balance and display authenticity, I have to start there.

Mac Prichard:

So you knew where you wanted to go and the values that were important to you in making that outreach.

And when you sat down with people, whether it was over a meal or perhaps in someone’s office, what did you ask for exactly? How did you run those meetings, and how did you know they were successful?

Rikki Thompson:

Oftentimes, they were just a connection, a human person. And I had to remember that it didn’t guarantee a job at the end, but rather, who am I meeting? And who are they in the community? And just to be able to build a community of folks.

Similarly, with my work with recruiters, understanding that just because they are a recruiter does not guarantee employment. And so it took just, it took more than just a meeting, but rather a cultivation and a continuation of connection.

At the end of the day, when I found this work at SoHo House, I actually did a blind reach-out to another Human Resources person on LinkedIn, who I had searched and found was a connection in this area for SoHo House. And fortunately, she was able to then connect me to the hiring manager. And I got an interview.

Mac Prichard:

In your article for us, you mentioned that you had a long job search. You were out of work for 7 months.

How did you stay motivated during that period?

Rikki Thompson:

It was hard. I was very fortunate in that I had low expenses and a savings account. And to be honest, it was very hard. I was very nervous at the end there because I was running out of money.

I did a lot of positive affirmation work. Interestingly, I had a tarot experience that a card came and was served to me, and said to really think about enthusiastic yeses.

And that was at a moment where I was pretty low. I had applied for hundreds of roles. I had interviewed at multiple places, and I just wasn’t getting any traction.

But the reaffirmation of enthusiastic yeses slowed me down and allowed me to recognize that I needed to continue holding on to my values with what I was looking for and not trying to just find a job.

I wanted a place that it was an enthusiastic yes from both me and from my hiring employer. And that helped me realign and reset expectations to continue the search. And it was about 3 or 4 weeks after that when I landed the role.

Mac Prichard:

Well, congratulations, Rikki. I appreciate you sharing your story.

In conclusion, what’s your number one job hunting tip?

Rikki Thompson:

Be creative. I even reached out to AARP, which is an organization that has so many services available to folks who are older than 45. And they had a wonderful multi-week training course on job searching in today’s day.

I also recognize that AI has really inhibited efficient hiring, and so I think part of this is also to be very patient. And continue to stay current on hiring trends. Continue to network. And be really creative in the process.

Mac Prichard:

Well, thank you again, Rikki, for sharing your story.

To learn more about Rikki Thompson’s job search, visit macslist.org/stories. 

And check out the Mac’s List website for dozens of other success stories.

On the second Friday of every month, we add a new interview with a Mac’s List reader who has found a dream job. Go to macslist.org/stories.

In the meantime, thank you for listening to today’s bonus episode of Find Your Dream Job.

This show is produced by Mac’s List.

Susan Thornton-Hough schedules our guests and writes our newsletter. Lisa Kislingbury Anderson manages our social media.

Our sound engineer and editor is Matt Fiorillo. Dawn Mole creates our transcripts. And our music is by Freddy Trujillo. This is Mac Prichard. See you next week.