Into the Wild...Let the Hunt Begin #6

On the Flip-Side of the Coin: The Waiting Game.

So the great thing about this blog is that you get two different stories. My story may not resonate with some of you readers out there, but perhaps my co-blogger's story will, or vice versa. It is always helpful to see two sides of the coin, and as of now we truly appear to be "heads" and "tails." Alas, I have not heard from any of the positions about interviews yet. So my story is THE WAITING GAME.

My area is very specific so I knew it would be a little difficult to find jobs, but I have come across some great postings so far. I think I will hit the big 1-0 over the weekend when I put in some more applications (that's 10 applications so far). I try to be optimistic, though, because this means that there actually ARE a lot of good jobs in my area out there and I have a few months until I graduate so I have time to keep applying. But it sure is hard to keep the "what if" bug from biting... What if my cover letter wasn't good enough? What if the design of my cover letters is flawed to begin with? What if my resume design is off-putting? What if they didn't get the notification that my materials were uploaded into the system? What if I made a grave spelling error? Etc..etc..etc..

Doubt. It can eat you alive. But here is how I try to get rid of the What If Bug. The other night I went through all of my files/folders for job applications on my computer. I printed out each job description, cover letter, and version of my resume that I submitted (sorry, trees!). I keep these organized by date of submission in a pretty folder titled "JOBS 2010." I have this folder in my bag just in case I get a phone call for an interview. When a majority of the job descriptions are the same for the positions you're applying to, it's hard to remember the details of each school!

This folder is a good way to review my cover letters, too. It also shows me how much I've accomplished with this hunt. It does come easier now and I can bang out a cover letter like nobody's business. Even though I get the doubts, I like my cover letters and I like my resume--my professors seem to agree, but I still can't help but wonder what these search committees think...

When the comfort of the tangible folder doesn't settle my nerves, I use logic. It takes a long time for committees to go through applications and many jobs that I applied for won't start reviewing applications until the end of February. Now, when it's mid-March and I haven't heard anything, these tricks may not keep the doubt away, but for now, it works. But you know what? It's silly to think that all of these jobs that I've applied to will want me. I am not naive. And I usually have a way of finding the right fit at the very end of the race...so maybe it will be the same for the job hunt.

The never-ending job listings really does help too. As draining as the search is, I love that there is no limit as to how many jobs you can apply to. I was talking to a friend of mine who is in his first professional job and asked him if I was overdoing it. His response? "There's no such thing in the job search." Thanks, buddy!

Now I can just keep going like the Energizer Bunny. I wonder if behind those cool sunglasses, that Bunny has incredibly bloodshot eyes, because man, my eyes are always hurting after hours of computer searches and cover letter writing....