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

Meet Rikki Thompson (she/her/they), the People and Development Manager at Soho House Portland. In this job search success story, Rikki shares how she tackled the complexities of today’s hiring landscape, including the hurdles of AI-driven recruitment and lengthy interview processes. 

What do you do for a career? Who do you work for?

I am the People & Development Manager for Soho House Portland, a new House for a 30-year-old UK-owned private membership club. I started there in July 2024.

What do you like best about your career?

I love finding ways to help people shine at work, partnering with C- and mid-level managers to support them in establishing strong relationships with employees, and developing solid feedback/accountability processes.

What resources have helped you in your career and your job searches? Are there specific tools or tactics that have contributed to your success?

Each role that I’ve had has taught me how to do this work better. In addition, I’ve worked with ROC United on a staff desegregation project, the International Refugee Committee to support immigrant/refugee workers, foster youth programs, San Quentin Cooks culinary program, restorative justice work, as well as many tenured and new HR professionals as we support and mentor each other.

Throughout your career, what obstacles have you encountered when doing a job search, and how did you overcome them? 

The biggest obstacle now is AI. Recruiting has become over-run with auto-generated applications of (mostly unqualified) candidates, which creates a huge burden on the hiring entity’s behalf to sort through to find qualified real candidates. It’s best if you “know” someone — yet many of us are relocating for work, which leaves us in a lurch because we haven’t found our communities/market yet. 

Secondly, if you actually do get a call, the interview process for many businesses is lengthy, convoluted, and inefficient. An employer will never find a “perfect” candidate: we should all be looking for folks who are capable of performing the work well, have a sincere interest in doing so, and ensure they are curious and capable of learning. The rest is icing on the cake! 

I was out of work for seven months and networked in person and online, read books (including Mac Prichard’s after meeting him at an AMA meet-up; so helpful!), and revamped my resume so many times I lost count. It was interesting being in a job search as an HR director, knowing that HR coordinators were likely the folks screening for their future boss, who likely had already left — a heavy lift and tough spot for an employer to be in (because most employers truly do not comprehend/understand the scope of an HR director’s role).

What piece of advice would you give to job seekers or professionals trying to advance in their careers? 

To not become discouraged despite the difficulty of the process. Job seeking as it is these days takes persistence, tenacity and creativity (and often, very sadly, a big pocketbook/source of funds; I was seriously dipping into savings/credit cards there at the end).

At a low point, I was reminded — just when I really needed to hear it — that our future employers should be an “enthusiastic yes” from both parties — meaning, we should be able to see our FULL and whole selves able to be there, and the employer should be able to envision how they see us adding/enhancing/enriching the company culture.