There were many things that I looked forward to doing senior year, but looking for a job was not one of them. And in a flash, the worries I harbored a year prior about the possibilities of not getting a job in my field, were being realized.
For me, the job searching process can be either daunting or enjoyable but rarely is it ever both or a nice blend of those two. The application process is long and worrisome because I am constantly fearing the worst. However, the interviews are what I often enjoy because you get to interact with people and actually have a conversation with the people who might become your boss, or coworker.
Though I have not been searching for too long, so far, I have found my challenges being in finding opportunities that I am actually interested in even applying for. It isn’t that there aren’t any opportunities, but liking the offers, is a whole different aspect.
Being that I am majoring in Journalism, I have mostly done research into writing, editing, social media, and jobs that revolve around mostly writing. However, unexpectedly, I have been looking more into the content creation aspect of my field and hopefully that is where I will end up.
Although I never expected this process to be easy, I must admit that it has’t been mentally taxing either and I think it is because I am trying my best to use my resources and just as importantly, I been have trusting in my abilities and skills.
In my previous experiences with searching for jobs, I found that the more confident I felt when going into interviews, were the times when I would be more likely to get the job, as opposed to when I doubted myself and my qualifications for the job. It is almost as if the interviewer can smell the fear on me. So in that regard, if I could provide any takeaways, it would be to be confident both in yourself and in the skills that you will provide to that company and in that environment.
In terms of my resources, this time around I have made sure to really use the career services that my school offers. I particularly liked the career coaching that they offer, and the resume and cover letter revisions opportunities that they provide for students.
When I visited a career coach at my school, they were very helpful in that they would ask me questions that I may have not even thought about. That meeting gave me an overview of how much I really know about where I want to go and what I would like to do. It really gauges your job readiness and offers you a perspective on what the next best step is for you to take. It was like a therapy session, but solely on your job and your career plans. So even if you have not yet thought about anything regarding your career, it is still a great tool to use to see what the possibilities are for you.
I would also highly recommend seeing someone to look over your resume and cover letter in order to minimize the errors. More often than not, it will help increase your chances of getting an interview as it shows that you are very attentive to detail.
Overall, I understand that the job searching process is never going to be totally stress free, however, taking some small steps to make the process easier will calm some of the fears that you may have. I think that it is extremely important to keep searching, networking, having confidence, and understanding that just because you may not get the job, it does not mean that you are not a great potential employee. It is most likely that they were looking for a different fit.
With that being said, hang in there until you find a job that is right for you!