The Job Hunt

You dread it.  You wish it was like pulling off a band-aid: a quick pull, slight stinging, but over as soon as it started. 

Unfortunately for you, that's not how it happens.  There are hours upon painstaking hours spent filling out applications, perfecting your resume, reciting the answers to questions that most employers ask. 

This next prospective job is it, you just know it.  They'll love your resume; how can they turn it away?  You wait impatiently by the phone or staring at your email inbox, anticipating their response. 

You wait.  And wait.  And wait.  You finally call them, to see if the position is still available.  They tell you they are reviewing resumes and will contact you if they think you fit the bill.

You never receive the call.

This is my life currently.  This is what I spend all day doing.  My resume is posted on ten different career finding sites, and yet I'm still waiting for one callback.  I've had several leads, more than a few interviews, and still I'm stuck in a ten hour a week job, struggling with bills and rent.  At this point, I'm getting desperate.

I can probably say this honestly without much research- most people hate job hunting.  It is stressful and time-consuming.  Every employer you go to seems to have a hundred more applicants that they are going to interview.  The wait seems to last forever, only to find out they won't hire you.  At least, that's how it seems to me.  I have had phone interviews, in-person interviews, and even webchat interviews!  I do not know exactly what I am doing wrong, being as I've NEVER been turned down for a job up until recently, but for some reason, I am just having no luck.  Maybe it is my over-powering personality.  Maybe it is because they feel I just do not have enough experience.  Or, most likely, because I am asking for too much money.

I know the economy is slow right now, but there is no way I'm going to work for under ten dollars an hour.  I think it is reasonable.  I have management experience, I have worked at several retail stores, I've ran front desks at hotels.  I have only been let go once (and it was due to absence for medical reasons), I have terrific references, and none of it seems to manner!  Here in Phoenix, though, I've learned that you have to bargain with employers when they can hire Mexicans under the table for less than minimum wage.  Why would they hire someone legal that expects a high wage and benefits?

It is so frustrating.  Even with college credentials it has made no difference.  I'm still stuck in the same position I was when I first got out of high school.  Except I can't get a job at Burger King because I have too much experience.  NOT JOKING.  Managers these days fear hiring employees that could potentially snatch their jobs up.  Not in a million years would I want to manage a fast food joint, but I have to pay bills, just like everyone else.

I hate job hunting.  How about you?