After college I was finally able to exhale, well that was until those student loans started rolling in. It wasn’t even 3 months yet until I got my first call from Navient. Luckily, I was able to push it back another 3 months. I had a vacation planned 2.5 months after I finished school. I decided to start looking for a job as soon as I got back. There was no rush because job searching with a degree would be much easier though right? …….. Wrong!!! I don’t know why I thought job searching would suddenly become easier. I knew it wouldn’t be instant, but I thought it would go a lot better than my last job searches pre-degree. I applied to a job that I thought would be perfect for me. It was somewhat in my field. It was walking distance (literally down the street and around the corner). I thought it could be a good start because I had no previous working experience that was related to my major, so this was a good entry position. There were no requirements, so I thought with me being so close and having a degree in that field maybe I would be a shoe in. The position wasn’t perfect. I got a callback for an interview and I was told that the job paid minimum wage. It was disappointing, but I figured that I needed to go for it anyway. It seemed like the best option at the moment. I decided to continue and to go ahead with the interview. The interviewer didn’t understand why I wanted the job when I had a master’s degree. It was a job that any high school student could do, but I needed a job and the fact that it was so close made it even more appealing. I was supposed to be called in for a second interview with the person who was higher up. I never got that call. Months later I was told that it was because I had a master’s degree and I was aiming too low.
Over the next few months I applied to multiple places around me and once I didn’t get a response I broaden my search. I wasn’t getting any callbacks. I didn’t understand it. I started to apply for online jobs as well, and jobs that I wasn’t qualified for in the slightest. I end up seeing a job ad for one of those escape room places. It was down the street from me, which made it even better. It wasn’t the ideal job, but location is an important factor. I got a callback for an interview. It was my second interview in 5 months of job searching. I arrived at the interview early and everything went well. They told me it was two positions they were trying to fill and to me that was even better. I felt like I had a better chance. Everyone seemed nice and I left thinking I had a good chance. A week went by and I didn’t hear back from them. The week after that I received an email stating that they went with other people and I didn’t get the job. I was a little shocked. I’m not even going to pretend that I wasn’t. The job search was back on!
A couple of months had past and I see a job in retail. I hated retail and promised myself that I wouldn’t go back to it, but I figured maybe this would be different from past experiences. It had nothing to do with my field of study, but I had over 3 years of retail experience. The job required 1-2 years of retail and an associate degree was preferred. I had 3.5 years of retail at one company and 1.5 years of retail at another. I had a bachelors and a master’s degree, so I figured why not apply? I’m more than qualified. Why not go for it? You might be thinking why apply if you hate retail? Well to answer your question there were 3 reasons why. The first reason was location. It was less than 10 minutes away. The second reason was I knew someone that worked there. She was a past coworker from my last job, and it’s nice to work with someone who you already know and like. The third reason is that it’s a smaller shop. I previously worked in a large department store, and I figured a small shop would be less hectic. My old coworker was so excited that I was going to apply she mentioned me to my boss and put a word in for me. In this city who you know plays a huge part in getting a job, so I figured I had a great chance. I got an interview and it went well. A week went by and my old coworker would text me frequently and asked if I’ve heard anything yet and was confused when I told her that I didn’t. I think she thought I was a shoe in, and I thought I was too. What really confused me was finding out that there was three open positions and the interviewer only interviewed 3 people. I didn’t know what to think at this point. I just didn’t get it. I don’t have a past record. I’ve led a pretty squeaky-clean life, and never crossed the line so why was it so hard to get a job. I applied to over 100 positions and only got 3 interviews. After awhile it takes a toll, and you second guess yourself. You start to take it personal and wonder if there’s something wrong with you. Nine months of job searching and this is where I’m at. To make matters worse, Navient will be calling me soon, and I hope I will be able to push it back for the third or fourth time.
JustGottaMakeIt 