Thursday, December 1, 2011

If Only We Got Paid To Apply For Jobs...


Two days ago, I had a promising interview for a creative development position.  I woke up, drank some coffee, got my hair all did up, tied my tie in a perfect Windsor Knot, threw on a borrowed sports coat, and walked out the door with the one thing in mind: total interview domination.  I waltzed into that office, sat down with the interviewer, nailed every question, and by the time I got back home I thought it was only a matter of time before I was back for a follow-up interview.  All my problems were solved.

Fast-forward to today.  I wake up with a smile on my face, whistling as I open my computer to check my email and there it is.  Suddenly, my future is staring back at me in the form of a highlighted email. 

“Mr. Hascall. 

Thank you for your interest in our company.  Unfortunately, we have decided to go in a different direction.  We will keep your information on file for future consideration.  Good luck in your job search. 

Sincerely, HR.”

Welp, there goes the fucking neighborhood.  Once again, I had placed all my eggs in one basket.  That basket was then subsequently thrown into a flaming vehicle and pushed off a cliff.  Get out of bed today?  Nah, I think I’ll pass.  Apply for jobs?  Yeah, go ahead and fuck that too.  Smoke some cigarettes and feel sorry for myself? Perfect.  Cue the montage of me sitting around eating hot pockets in my underwear as the sun stretches across the sky behind me, turning day into night.   Yes, I had pretty much come to the conclusion that no one was going to hire me, my degree was worthless, and every prospective employer was a vicious bastard who’s only goal in life was to watch me run out of money and crawl back to my parent’s basement. 

It’s now eight o’clock at night and I have finally put myself back together.  I have checked the job boards and even applied for two available positions.  I am ready to wake up tomorrow and get a job.

Sound familiar?  If you are like me and have spent the last few days or weeks or even months trying to scratch together money for rent while applying for jobs, this has likely happened.   You have put so much time and energy into getting your resume together and writing cover letter after cover letter that when something actually comes down the pipeline, you feel like you deserve the job.  Which in turn makes it even worse when you find out they have “gone another direction”.

I guess the point I’m trying to get across is the fact that there are going to be good days and then there are going to be bad days in this seemingly never ending quest to find a good job.  There are going to be those days when the last thing you want to do is fill out another application or submit another resume.  Some days, the idea of getting shut down by another employer will make you physically sick.

It is easy to let yourself fall into self-pity and anger.  The important thing is that you pick yourself back up and find the motivation to start over again the next day.  Try to come to terms with the fact that you probably aren’t going to get the offer for every job you interview for.  Understand that getting kicked in the testies every once in awhile comes with the territory in job hunting. 

Don’t worry though; someday soon we are all going to have amazing jobs.  We will have so much money we wont know what to do with it.  Yes, someday we will be able to go out to eat again or go to a movie.  We will be able buy stupid shit, just because we can.  Heck, we might even have some money in our savings account someday.  Until then however, it’s cheers to hot pockets and the Dollar Tree, hurray for the roof over your head and the friends in your arsenal, and wahoo for still having an Internet connection.  The Unsuccessful.

Written By: Adam E. Hascall

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