Thursday, June 18, 2009

A JobSearch Update: Happy 100 To Me!

It's been a while since my last update, so here are some statistics for you:
  • I have been unemployed for exactly 16 weeks.
  • I have applied for 101 jobs.
  • I have interviewed with 7 companies, for 9 jobs.
  • I have received 2 offers, neither of which I could accept due to too-low pay and lack of healthcare.
  • I have started 1 volunteer project, and may soon start another.
So, happy 16-week-anniversary to me. I have officially passed the 100-applications mark.

And yet, I feel pretty good. I came to the not-so-startling realization that one of my dearest friends will be free all summer (she's a teacher - duh, Kim), and the 3rd piece of our little friend puzzle will soon be moving up to our neck of the woods (just for weekdays, but still). So while I was really hoping I'd get a job before The Boy leaves for his 2-month adventure quest, I know I'll be able to find ways to fill my days, sans job.

Of course, I am not going to stop looking. I will be on a mission to find That Just Right Job until I land it. In case you are wondering, here is what I am looking for:
  • Something where I can have some control of my work day. I don't want to be someone's assistant, chained to my desk, with no real projects of my own (booking travel does not count).
  • Preferably, a company that does some sort of creative work. A theatre, art gallery, museum, symphony hall, new media agency, animation studio, etc. Something where even if I am not doing the creating, I can be involved with the creative process.
  • OR, a company that does work I can feel good about. An environmental agency, a program working to improve literacy in schools, etc. And no, "Earn $$$ To Save Marriage" doesn't count. Because...
  • I am looking for full-time, benefited work. That means healthcare, dental, vision. 40 hours a week. No part-time, no internships, no "great opportunity that may eventually lead to a full time job." I'm living on Unemployment Benefits here...I can't take a part-time job, even if it does pay a whole, whopping $10-12 an hour. I would lose Unemployment AND not be able to pay the bills. Hilarious.
  • I would like to earn enough money to pay my bills. For me, this means ~$40,000 a year. Why are there so many Bay Area companies who want to hire people for under 40k? And who are these people jumping at the chance to work for $32,000 a year? I mean, I could swing $38 if I didn't have to commute...I don't have an extravagant lifestyle or anything, but I like living without ramen and roommates. Sorry. Enough money talk. It's not ladylike.
  • I would like to not commute. I have applied for a few jobs that involved a commute of ~45 minutes, and after going to interview, have seriously doubted that I would actually be able to handle it. I commuted for a year and a half at Google, and that wasn't so fun - even with a door-to-door luxury shuttle with wifi. I know a lot of people in the Bay Area think 45 minutes is acceptable, but I just don't want to do it again. So there!
Anyway, in the meantime, I'm going to ease up a bit. Stop stressing out. Stop getting emotionally invested in applications. Stop blindly applying for things on Craigslist (I'm convinced this is the worst way to apply), unless I can somehow find a contact who knows someone at the company and can give me a recommendation. Out of those 7 companies at which I interviewed, 6 contacted me because of a personal connection/recommendation. The 7th found me on Monster, but even they only brought me in because the recruiters had also previously worked at Google.

Clearly, Personal Connections Are The Way To Go.

So we'll see. I'm going to try to start focusing more on figuring out what I want to do, and less on just Getting A Job. Luckily, my unemployment pay is enough to keep me afloat, with a little help from my savings account. I think now is as good a time as any to (as my 20-year old sister put it) "Find My Passion."

Any thoughts? ;-)

4 comments:

  1. I think you're on the money. Most of the jobs we'll get in life come from someone we know, or someone who knows someone we know. And I think we're all trying to find our passion. In the meantime, just do exactly what you want to do with no expectations. Just enjoying all this time to do exactly what you want. That's my 2 cents!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Thanks for the vote of support, Elissa. No expectations! :-)

    ReplyDelete
  3. You sound like you know what you want. Too bad you can't take a part-time or commission only job ;) I think you could land a lot of spas for our company in Cali!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Thanks Jo! I could actually do some commission-only work...I'll email you. :-)

    ReplyDelete