Sometimes it’s too bad you can’t turn to a judge and ask them to define you. I suppose it might also be helpful for them to use you in a sentence, sometimes even to tell you your origin. But thankfully for those of you who worship spell check, life isn’t a spelling bee, and we have to define ourselves on our own.
When I got back after graduation, I was spending hours filtering through and applying to job postings. I took breaks to eat, sleep, and occasionally socialize, but for the most part I had a single focus: to get a job. A week later, I found myself grumpy and irritable. To be fair, looking for a job can be enough to make anyone grumpy and irritable. It can feel like you’re just sending information out into the void, waiting for a human being to acknowledge that you, represented by a one-page piece of paper, have some worth.
In the middle of my angst I realized something. Constantly looking for jobs for hours on end was not going to do me any good.
I know, shock. In a way, the job search reminds me of fifth grade. Odd? Perhaps. Let me explain. As a fundraiser, my class was doing a weekly raffle. One week, there was an adorable stuffed puppy. I wanted it, but could only buy one ticket. Other students in my class bought more than 20 tickets for this stuffed animal. I didn’t stand a chance.
Meet Toffee. He’s the stuffed animal puppy I won this one time in fifth grade…
So, who cares about Toffee? Well, Toffee is my reminder that it’s not always about the number of applications you put out there. Finding a job is about a lot of other aspects of who you are and what you are doing. I had to learn to define myself outside of the job search and maintain my identity before being successful in the job search. For me, that means I started biking. I’m far from a professional cyclist, but it gives me a sense of achievement. Staying involved in things that you enjoy and the community around you helps you to maintain some definition of who you are outside of a resume and a cover letter. So whether it’s working out, volunteering, or whatever your passion–find it and make time for it.
June 23rd, 2011 → 1:27 pm
[...] So, now you’re getting out of the house and you’re getting involved in some activities …. Good work. Now that you are in a better state as a person, we can begin to broaden our [...]