Has anyone been on the job hunt lately?
It is not for the faint of heart.
I have been trying to find the humour in searching for a full-time job but the truth is it is not really that funny.
It is tiring and depressing and takes a toll on your self esteem.
I’ve been on the hunt for a while now and I understand that it is sometimes a slow process to find the right fit.
From what I have learned, the new way of looking for a job is checking online ads, sending a cover letter and resume to a nameless person and then sending it into cyberspace. You are likely never to know if they received it, read it, scoffed at it or sent it to the blue bin. Very impersonal.
If you read the online job opportunities closely and take them at their word you will feel you are not qualified for anything.
I assume companies put everything out there like a “wish list” hoping the right candidate will have most of the qualities.
I hope so because I have seen some ads wanting a receptionist who must be a computer genius, graphic artist preferably with a background in law and finance and as social and perky as “Flo” from those insurance commercials.
Some say things like 'must be able to lift 40 pounds and stand for long periods of time. (That sent me searching for my Dr. Sholes cushion inserts)
One job opportunity literally called for 23 qualifications. I don’t have 23 qualifications for life.
There was one ad for someone to handle the complaints department of a firm. It actually said the person would need to be able to handle verbal abuse. (I’m going to need to be paid extra for that!)
I applied for a job that suggested there would be an “exercise assessment” during the interview.
I panicked. I had no clue what that meant.
Exercise? For an office job?
If that meant they will want me to 'drop and give ‘em 10,' I am doomed.
Thank goodness for my google machine which said that an 'exercise assessment' meant they will give you a scenario and see how you would handle it.
Oh, and the pay? That will be the absolute last thing discussed. Really, shouldn't it be the first? Top 5? That would save a lot of time.
If you get an interview and you don’t get the job… it is not going to feel good. You will feel exactly the way you did as you waited to be chosen, back in elementary school, for that sports team and were overlooked or even worse picked last. It is going to feel really, really bad and lead you to question your worth. Then you are going to have to get back up and apply again and again and again – until!
No matter how many times your family and friends tell you how great you are, the people with the hiring power didn’t think so and it is going to sting.
If you are lucky the potential employer will make a call and explain why you didn’t get the job. I fear this is rare but it seems the right thing to do.
When you don't have a job, it will take over your daily thoughts and your dreams but somehow you can't let it consume you.
I don’t know the answers other than to keep reaching out to friends, acquaintances and to network.
Take temporary work to keep some money coming in and make you feel useful.
Find a good employment counsellor who can guide you and keep you motivated.
Remember, it only takes one call, one email, one offer to change everything.
I'm counting on it!
