March 23rd 2018
A type of prey that I have very little skill in hunting….
I hate job hunting…like… to an extreme. I dread it and the thought of sitting down and writing a cover letter makes my skin crawl. The job hunting process doesn’t lend itself nicely to anxious and introverted people. It requires you to always be the most “on”, social and ambitious version of yourself even when your entire body is filled with stress and self inflicted emotional pressure.
My experience with job hunting has been a bit unique because it has been rather on and off. When I first graduated in 2017, a company (who shall remain nameless), scooped me up at a job fair, had me work part time over the summer, told me I would move to full time by the fall, then hired someone under my nose who had 3 more years experience than me and flat left me without even a day’s notice. I know that wasn’t my fault and it was just shady business practice to keep someone working while they looked for someone who was slightly above entry level, but it still stung.
After that experience, aside from being a bit scarred from job hunting a bit, I also had just started my RYT 200 hour Yoga Teacher Training which, as you would expect, took up a lot of my time and as a result, delayed my search for full time work for a little while.
However, I had a really stable part time job (that I still have) so I wasn’t completely unemployed and was gaining valid and valuable experience. At the start of the new year, my boss at this part time job found me a freelance gig at a museum in the city that allowed me to earn a full time salary between two different part time gigs. I knew the freelance job would be short term, however it only lasted a month when the organization originally told me it would be 2-3 at the least, so I was sort of flat left again.
This brings me to the current day, where I still have 1 part time job that pays decently but I am in need of full time work. And, honestly, all I can say is that job hunting is a terrible process, especially in a field like social media marketing where I actually have to be somewhat knowledgeable and interested in the product or service I am promoting.
Some would say I’m picky in regards to the jobs I look for, but I say I’m being strategic. Finding a job I’m interested in means that it would be less of a transition into a new working environment, better productivity, higher quality work, and better opportunities for advancement as a result of the previous 3 things I stated. I just can’t see myself doing great work for a company that sell shipping materials or equipment to construction sites.
As a highly creative individual, the idea of a desk job sort of just bores the heck out of me. I really can’t see myself spending my whole life in an office, working a 9-5…at least not in the standard cubicle way. For example, my job now is super great and if they can get me a full time position then I would jump on it because it is a relaxed and social environment with a lot of task variety and opportunities to break away from my desk to do other things.
I figured I would use this post to give a bit of background about my experiences so far as a new college grad, as well as open the floor for people to discuss and give bits of advice in the comments for myself and others who may need the advice. To end this post, I am just gonna give 3 tips I have for the job hunting process (especially if you’re a new college grad like myself):
- Don’t feel discouraged, no one truly has their shit together so you’re not alone.
- Don’t be afraid to flaunt yourself a little bit. Don’t be pretentious, just be confident.
- You will hear a few no’s…or you won’t hear anything at all and THAT IS OKAY! It doesn’t mean your application sucked and that you’re not good enough. You may not have been what they needed and that is completely okay. Everything happens for a reason.
Jess~
JessofEarth 
I m with you. I absolutely hate job hunting. I can’t blv they just hired someone else even though you were working for them. I hate those kind of ppl. They will definitely not see a good end to this. Anyways, I don’t really have much advice. It sucks to have to prove yourself to people but as they say, fake it till you make it. I used to hate interviews coz I had to be a like totally cool, social n skilled person at them but after being to like over 40 interviews in my life, I have somehow become more relaxed and more detached. Before I used to take it personally if it didn’t work out and get really sad especially right after I finished my degree. But now i hv bn in the workforce for almost 5 years and have gained more confidence (thanks to a boss who really believes in my capabilities). I think if you find a supportive team and company, it really helps change you as a person. For starters, I’d say pick any job but pay attention to what kind of people you are going into and how supportive are they about your career goals. I think people matter more than the field of work you pick. If they are nice and supportive, everything will work out in life. If they are selfish like the ppl who hired another persom, quite honestly they are not worth working for anyway.
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For me, I feel like, although environment is a huge part of my happiness at work, marketing things I care about makes finding a job suck. But its good to hear that you found a good job that has helped you feel confident and such, I’m hoping for the same myself
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