Your support makes Blue Moon possible (Patreon)
Raivh
Old dog
- Joined
- Jul 21, 2011
It's only Tuesday.
That's what I keep telling myself. I have to remain positive. And what if I don't? I will. Go. Insane.
The one aspect that I hated about my university in particular was its lack of networking opportunities. As an 18 year-old kid, I didn't know squat about networking. Heck, I didn't even know about it until one of my professors brought it up, saying she'd hoped we'd built a strong network that could help us find jobs after graduation. Almost everyone stared at her with blank expressions.
Networking might have helped, considering I'm still unemployed. I've successfully scored interviews with 5 companies out of just over 100 that I've applied to. Of those 5 companies that interviewed me, I made it past the first round, and once past the second round of interviews.
Today, I received another rejection, the dreaded, "Thank you for interviewing with us, but we've decided to pursue other candidates for this position. We encourage you to continue to watch our employment board for other opportunities."
I suppose that's not all bad. At least they want me to keep applying? Or perhaps they're just being nice? Or maybe it was just a template. Probably just a template. A template that said, "Sorry, we just didn't think you were good enough right now. Maybe you'll be good enough if you try again. Then again, maybe not. Who knows. I don't know. I'm just the messenger, and this is a no-reply email so I can keep my sanity while slowing chipping away at some discouraged college grad. Man, this job stinks, but at least I've got one!"
I have to say, I've definitely learned why all of the HR people I've encountered appear extremely worn down. Telling people they're not good enough has to be incredibly draining. Truly, I feel for those individuals. I still wish I'd been hired, but I don't feel any negativity toward any of the companies I've interviewed with. Well, one. I feel negativity toward one. But that one company lied in a job posting, made me wait an hour before the interview, and then tried to sell me on a sales position.
Anyway, that's 0/2 this week. I had a second interview with another organization on Monday. I was unintentionally 30 minutes late to that interview. The lady was very kind, though. Very understanding. I'd left early to get there early, but my GPS took me to the back side of the campus. She had to direct me back to the front. I then followed the map she'd sent in a contact email and still managed to get lost in the caves.
At this point, it's 15 minutes past my interview, I have no cell phone signal, and I'm incredibly stressed out. By the time that I finally find my way out of the caves, another 15 minutes has passed, and I call her again, apologizing profusely for the delay. I really felt like hiding in a hole and dying or never setting foot into the light again.
She simply laughed it off, asked where I was, what building I could see, and then told me to go find the front desk and she'd meet me there. She did. It was a nice interview, despite the delay. She asked when I could start, said she had a few more interviews to conduct, but would get back to me either by phone or email before she went on a trip next week.
Just as I was about to leave, she decided to show me around the office. She was going to introduce me to a potential coworker, but she was taking a call. Then, she showed me an empty desk, and while talking about it, kept saying "When you..." which was kind of encouraging.
Of course, I was still stuck on being 30 minutes late. By now, I know that "I'm still conducting interviews" is a death sentence. At least, that's what my experience has been so far. I'm hoping it will be different, but at the same time trying not to get my hopes up.
Ah, thus is the life of the job-hunting graduate!
End.
That's what I keep telling myself. I have to remain positive. And what if I don't? I will. Go. Insane.
The one aspect that I hated about my university in particular was its lack of networking opportunities. As an 18 year-old kid, I didn't know squat about networking. Heck, I didn't even know about it until one of my professors brought it up, saying she'd hoped we'd built a strong network that could help us find jobs after graduation. Almost everyone stared at her with blank expressions.
Networking might have helped, considering I'm still unemployed. I've successfully scored interviews with 5 companies out of just over 100 that I've applied to. Of those 5 companies that interviewed me, I made it past the first round, and once past the second round of interviews.
Today, I received another rejection, the dreaded, "Thank you for interviewing with us, but we've decided to pursue other candidates for this position. We encourage you to continue to watch our employment board for other opportunities."
I suppose that's not all bad. At least they want me to keep applying? Or perhaps they're just being nice? Or maybe it was just a template. Probably just a template. A template that said, "Sorry, we just didn't think you were good enough right now. Maybe you'll be good enough if you try again. Then again, maybe not. Who knows. I don't know. I'm just the messenger, and this is a no-reply email so I can keep my sanity while slowing chipping away at some discouraged college grad. Man, this job stinks, but at least I've got one!"
I have to say, I've definitely learned why all of the HR people I've encountered appear extremely worn down. Telling people they're not good enough has to be incredibly draining. Truly, I feel for those individuals. I still wish I'd been hired, but I don't feel any negativity toward any of the companies I've interviewed with. Well, one. I feel negativity toward one. But that one company lied in a job posting, made me wait an hour before the interview, and then tried to sell me on a sales position.
Anyway, that's 0/2 this week. I had a second interview with another organization on Monday. I was unintentionally 30 minutes late to that interview. The lady was very kind, though. Very understanding. I'd left early to get there early, but my GPS took me to the back side of the campus. She had to direct me back to the front. I then followed the map she'd sent in a contact email and still managed to get lost in the caves.
At this point, it's 15 minutes past my interview, I have no cell phone signal, and I'm incredibly stressed out. By the time that I finally find my way out of the caves, another 15 minutes has passed, and I call her again, apologizing profusely for the delay. I really felt like hiding in a hole and dying or never setting foot into the light again.
She simply laughed it off, asked where I was, what building I could see, and then told me to go find the front desk and she'd meet me there. She did. It was a nice interview, despite the delay. She asked when I could start, said she had a few more interviews to conduct, but would get back to me either by phone or email before she went on a trip next week.
Just as I was about to leave, she decided to show me around the office. She was going to introduce me to a potential coworker, but she was taking a call. Then, she showed me an empty desk, and while talking about it, kept saying "When you..." which was kind of encouraging.
Of course, I was still stuck on being 30 minutes late. By now, I know that "I'm still conducting interviews" is a death sentence. At least, that's what my experience has been so far. I'm hoping it will be different, but at the same time trying not to get my hopes up.
Ah, thus is the life of the job-hunting graduate!
End.