I Am Unemployed
A Second Wind... This situation isn't easy, it's very tough, I have no real identity, and questionable value. I feel comfortable with who I am but at the same time I don't feel all that I could be right now. Anyways about two weeks ago, I started pushing myself to approach my current situation more seriously.
At the moment I've had this plan to try and look and apply for things more diligently, to the point of keeping a log of where and when I applied for places. Logs are important, not just to prepare yourself in case a call comes, but it's a good motivator. Nothing feels more satisfying then completing a page listing everywhere you've left your mark. Almost like a game. Part of the game of life?
I get to oh my 2nd-3rd day of doing this and get a response from someone and had my hopes up that it might pan out, even got to a phone-interview stage. At this point I am really excited, they're a great company to work for and everyone's heard of them. I really put some effort preparing and boning up and this sort of thing is rare even for me. Seriously most of the time I phone it in or wing it.
Of course despite my best preparations to be honest I am very rusty at this, and I know I did badly at this interview. On the other hand every failure is an opportunity and an illumination of where your blind spots are and how you could do better. So I moved on and meanwhile I spent the better part of this week applying to more places, and slinging my resume further along, and tweaking it, and writing cover letters every step of the way.
Today I finally received conclusive word from how my interview went and it wasn't what I wanted to hear, but honestly when you spend 40 hours a week looking for work without hearing a peep from anyone you're sending your resumes to, it's nice to hear back something. Again every failure is an opportunity so I sent a thank you note asking for feedback on how I did, and areas to improve... I figure I didn't get the job what else could I lose right? Either I learn something out of this or I carry on.
Through all of this I can't help but get struck by how impersonal the world of job hunting can be though, looking for jobs on a screen, sending resumes through a screen. Only for them to be parsed by a machines for keywords, to be seen by some anonymous person who has the power to put you in a maybe pile or trash bin. Even then either a robot sends you a rejection letter or one of those eyeballs actually decides to act like a human being and sends you a genuine rejection letter.
So at the end of the day what bothered me more wasn't so much as getting rejection letters, it's the idea that there's so few companies out there that seem to care so much as to say anything... the hunt continues.
****** Update *****
I've since found a job a few months ago. It took some creativity on my part in reaching out to employers in unconventional ways...making connections with people... but my sentiments about being unemployed remain and I hope if you're reading this get comforted by the fact that you aren't alone good luck fellow EPers :)
At the moment I've had this plan to try and look and apply for things more diligently, to the point of keeping a log of where and when I applied for places. Logs are important, not just to prepare yourself in case a call comes, but it's a good motivator. Nothing feels more satisfying then completing a page listing everywhere you've left your mark. Almost like a game. Part of the game of life?
I get to oh my 2nd-3rd day of doing this and get a response from someone and had my hopes up that it might pan out, even got to a phone-interview stage. At this point I am really excited, they're a great company to work for and everyone's heard of them. I really put some effort preparing and boning up and this sort of thing is rare even for me. Seriously most of the time I phone it in or wing it.
Of course despite my best preparations to be honest I am very rusty at this, and I know I did badly at this interview. On the other hand every failure is an opportunity and an illumination of where your blind spots are and how you could do better. So I moved on and meanwhile I spent the better part of this week applying to more places, and slinging my resume further along, and tweaking it, and writing cover letters every step of the way.
Today I finally received conclusive word from how my interview went and it wasn't what I wanted to hear, but honestly when you spend 40 hours a week looking for work without hearing a peep from anyone you're sending your resumes to, it's nice to hear back something. Again every failure is an opportunity so I sent a thank you note asking for feedback on how I did, and areas to improve... I figure I didn't get the job what else could I lose right? Either I learn something out of this or I carry on.
Through all of this I can't help but get struck by how impersonal the world of job hunting can be though, looking for jobs on a screen, sending resumes through a screen. Only for them to be parsed by a machines for keywords, to be seen by some anonymous person who has the power to put you in a maybe pile or trash bin. Even then either a robot sends you a rejection letter or one of those eyeballs actually decides to act like a human being and sends you a genuine rejection letter.
So at the end of the day what bothered me more wasn't so much as getting rejection letters, it's the idea that there's so few companies out there that seem to care so much as to say anything... the hunt continues.
****** Update *****
I've since found a job a few months ago. It took some creativity on my part in reaching out to employers in unconventional ways...making connections with people... but my sentiments about being unemployed remain and I hope if you're reading this get comforted by the fact that you aren't alone good luck fellow EPers :)
36-40, M
