Growing up in Fishkill, New York, I remember the New York Lottery commercials from the 1990s. They always ended with a simple line: “Hey, you never know.” It was catchy, memorable, and a reminder that opportunity often shows up when you least expect it.
Last year, I had my own “hey, you never know” moment.
I had signed up to attend an Industry Day at Andrews Air Force Base. The plan was to meet contracting officers and program managers, hoping to build connections in the TAP (Transition Assistance Program), which supports service members preparing for life after the military.
But as I moved from table to table, I realized quickly that no one was looking for career coaching vendors. Instead, everyone wanted construction, IT, or maintenance services. After a full morning of polite rejections, I was frustrated and questioning why I’d even bothered showing up.
Still, I told myself, since I was already there, I might as well finish the loop. Table after table, still no luck. Then, at the very last table, I met a representative from the National Contract Management Association. We chatted, and when I explained what I did, she asked: “Would you be interested in going to Seattle this July?”
That single conversation led to me speaking at their World Congress, a massive event with 8–10,000 contracting professionals. From there, it snowballed into multiple conferences, workshops, new relationships, and nearly $40,000 in revenue over the next 18 months.
If I had left early, cut my losses, or decided it wasn’t worth it, I would have missed it entirely.
📣 The lesson: Opportunity hides in unexpected places. Your job search doesn’t only happen in interviews, it happens in every conversation, every handshake, and every room you decide to walk into. Even when it doesn’t seem like the “right place,” you never know where the last table might lead.
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You got this! 👊