Saturday, July 09, 2005
Young 'n Unemployed Part 2
Although I might be thanking God for forcing me into unemployment this summer, this whole job-searching process I undertook for the first time taught me a lot. With no big regrets about the situation I'm in now, I'm digging a bit deeper into how I landed an amazing jobless summer.
I learned that employers today are flaky as hell.
Some of the big corporate summer internships I went for only had online applications. How's that for shady? The worst was one company that had me submit my resume and cover letter through online forms. Runner-up worst were two other companies that had me e-mail them all that stuff. Don't get me wrong, this online thing could be really convenient, but it takes two to tango. They had me dancing on hot stones while they stood still. In all three cases these companies used their online applications as a substitute to any other communication. No contact name, no phone number, no personal e-mail. If I did some digging I could possibly find a mega-HR department that has no clue what's going on anyway. It was flaky because in two out of three cases I didn't even get confirmations for my applications. The problem was there was no one I could call or e-mail to follow up.
In another case I applied for a summer teaching position. That actually went really well... for a while. I inquired, they replied. I applied, they offered me an interview. I was feeling good about that one until I replied with times and days I would be available to interview, per their request. Suddenly, the hiring woman who had been so great at responding to me didn't write back. I thought that was unusual, so after two days of waiting I sent another e-mail. No reply, again. Geez, thanks for the polite rejection?!
Then there are the big retail stores (this is when I was getting desperate). I wandered into one with a friend with no intention of job hunting. I couldn't resist, though, once I spotted a huge NOW HIRING sign posted inside the store. I got a bit excited, and my friend urged me to see what's up. I approached one of the assistants, "I saw you have a now hiring sign up, and I wanted to know if I could apply for a job."
The lady did something really funky with her eyes, gave me a squint, a sigh and then, "Well, it's really complicated." Oh boy, but I listened, patiently. "It changes all the time. Our hiring manager is out of town for the whole week. You could try later." She gave me an application. I politely thanked her and was out of that flip-floppy store. What kind of genius place posts a huge NOW HIRING sign when their hiring manager is out of town and they have no clue if they're even hiring? They're not doing anyone a favor by posting NOW HIRING when they're not.
Apparently the ethics of a job search are a bit different than the ones we learn to follow in every day life. Following the procedure and politely waiting won't get you very far. On the one hand we have to be pushy and aggressive on the other hand we have to be super cautious of annoying the potential employer. It's not a two way street either. Although employers need employees, somehow the applicants are put in a much more desperate position because so many employers don't even having the courtesy to respond, confirm, or politely reject.
My whole super-superfluous job search, which drove me up the wall, is also a product of living in a hypercompetitive culture. Everyone around me is hypermotivated to make the most of their time, terrified not to miss out on any opportunities. Growing up in a world of opportunities doesn't mean it's easier. It just makes people crazier. For some reason, we coming-of-agers in the first decade of 2000 have been sold on the idea that we need to go go go. We've been hypnotized into thinking that enough is never enough; there's always more to do, to accomplish, to prove. In college we hear myths about students taking 14 classes in one semester, making us feel like lazy bums in comparison. Also, breaks aren't holy. We can take classes over winter and summer break if we want. Even our one week spring break is loaded with opportunities sacrifice more of our precious time whether it be volunteering, shadowing professionals, or playing the endless catch-up game with classes. We're addicted to beefing up our resumes, mortified to think that one day we might not get a job because someone else was better. In this hypercompetitive culture, we spend these tender college years wrapped up in a rat race, always living for tomorrow.
I, too, got caught up in the rat race and, unfortunately, when all you're thinking about is how to run faster and better in order to finish first later on, there's little time or mental energy left to think about the now. Now that the pace of my life has slowed down about a couple thousand miles-per-hour, I see the insanity we're living. It's hard to remain confident about something no one else is doing, so every so seldom I feel pangs of anxiety about taking this summer off when so many of my friends are "making the most" of their summer in some kick-ass internship or whatever. So yeah, this time off isn't adding anything to my resume today. But in the end, this is probably the best investment I could have made for myself and my future.
I learned that employers today are flaky as hell.
Some of the big corporate summer internships I went for only had online applications. How's that for shady? The worst was one company that had me submit my resume and cover letter through online forms. Runner-up worst were two other companies that had me e-mail them all that stuff. Don't get me wrong, this online thing could be really convenient, but it takes two to tango. They had me dancing on hot stones while they stood still. In all three cases these companies used their online applications as a substitute to any other communication. No contact name, no phone number, no personal e-mail. If I did some digging I could possibly find a mega-HR department that has no clue what's going on anyway. It was flaky because in two out of three cases I didn't even get confirmations for my applications. The problem was there was no one I could call or e-mail to follow up.
In another case I applied for a summer teaching position. That actually went really well... for a while. I inquired, they replied. I applied, they offered me an interview. I was feeling good about that one until I replied with times and days I would be available to interview, per their request. Suddenly, the hiring woman who had been so great at responding to me didn't write back. I thought that was unusual, so after two days of waiting I sent another e-mail. No reply, again. Geez, thanks for the polite rejection?!
Then there are the big retail stores (this is when I was getting desperate). I wandered into one with a friend with no intention of job hunting. I couldn't resist, though, once I spotted a huge NOW HIRING sign posted inside the store. I got a bit excited, and my friend urged me to see what's up. I approached one of the assistants, "I saw you have a now hiring sign up, and I wanted to know if I could apply for a job."
The lady did something really funky with her eyes, gave me a squint, a sigh and then, "Well, it's really complicated." Oh boy, but I listened, patiently. "It changes all the time. Our hiring manager is out of town for the whole week. You could try later." She gave me an application. I politely thanked her and was out of that flip-floppy store. What kind of genius place posts a huge NOW HIRING sign when their hiring manager is out of town and they have no clue if they're even hiring? They're not doing anyone a favor by posting NOW HIRING when they're not.
Apparently the ethics of a job search are a bit different than the ones we learn to follow in every day life. Following the procedure and politely waiting won't get you very far. On the one hand we have to be pushy and aggressive on the other hand we have to be super cautious of annoying the potential employer. It's not a two way street either. Although employers need employees, somehow the applicants are put in a much more desperate position because so many employers don't even having the courtesy to respond, confirm, or politely reject.
My whole super-superfluous job search, which drove me up the wall, is also a product of living in a hypercompetitive culture. Everyone around me is hypermotivated to make the most of their time, terrified not to miss out on any opportunities. Growing up in a world of opportunities doesn't mean it's easier. It just makes people crazier. For some reason, we coming-of-agers in the first decade of 2000 have been sold on the idea that we need to go go go. We've been hypnotized into thinking that enough is never enough; there's always more to do, to accomplish, to prove. In college we hear myths about students taking 14 classes in one semester, making us feel like lazy bums in comparison. Also, breaks aren't holy. We can take classes over winter and summer break if we want. Even our one week spring break is loaded with opportunities sacrifice more of our precious time whether it be volunteering, shadowing professionals, or playing the endless catch-up game with classes. We're addicted to beefing up our resumes, mortified to think that one day we might not get a job because someone else was better. In this hypercompetitive culture, we spend these tender college years wrapped up in a rat race, always living for tomorrow.
I, too, got caught up in the rat race and, unfortunately, when all you're thinking about is how to run faster and better in order to finish first later on, there's little time or mental energy left to think about the now. Now that the pace of my life has slowed down about a couple thousand miles-per-hour, I see the insanity we're living. It's hard to remain confident about something no one else is doing, so every so seldom I feel pangs of anxiety about taking this summer off when so many of my friends are "making the most" of their summer in some kick-ass internship or whatever. So yeah, this time off isn't adding anything to my resume today. But in the end, this is probably the best investment I could have made for myself and my future.
