So my aunt called last night about my resume and other job advice stuff. She was going on about "selling yourself" and "the cover letter must be wonderful" and "don't get stuck in clerical because it took me six years to get out" and "call everyone a bunch of times to show you REALLY want it" and "put an objective on it about your career goals" and "don't settle for low pay, and be picky about what you take."

And, well�

1. I hate the idea of "selling myself." Or selling, period.

2. I have no frigging clue how to write a cover letter.

3. Being stuck in clerical is just what I'm afraid of, but at this point I have no choice. On the other hand, how do you get out (without going back to school like Aunt Susie did) once you get in?

4. I don't really want anything I see available. At least, not like THAT. Not enough to "push, push, push." There's nothing I'm on fire on for to push.

5. I don't have a career goal any more that I'm shooting for in employment. My career goal NOW is not to be an eternal secretary and to just be able to not move home, but I can't put that as an objective. What I actually want to do in life no longer has relevance to my job hunt.

And how can she talk about not settling for low pay and being picky about jobs? This is not a climate in which I can be picky! You have to settle, and raises are a thing of the past. Stuff like Christmas bonuses a la National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation are quaint.

I don't think the older generation is really getting how dire the unemployment situation is for those of my generation. They're acting like this is during a normal time, and they don't get how I've seen people out of work (in ALL fields) for a year now and am just not feeling all that optimistic and hopeful that I, who have a lot less experience than almost everyone I know out of work, can find a job. I talked to Denise today and she said her mother bitched her out last night for having "hobby"-ish jobs (she works as a yard duty and a tutor at a few different places because that's all she can get) instead of an actual career. Hell, Denise is doing pretty damn well for our recently-graduated generation. Actually, of the three of us recent graduates, Jackie's doing the best because she has a full-time job, even if two of her co-workers have a crush on her (one of them's her supervisor) and things are generally horrible and one of her friends there is likely to get fired.

I am so putting off stuff today. Here's a list of what I HAVEN'T done today:

1. Gotten dressed.

2. Rewritten the resume with all the corrections.

3. Figured out how to write a cover letter.

4. Paid my phone bill.

5. Taken some books back to the store.

6. Worked on anything to do with packing.

7. Eaten lunch. Only by now it's more like dinner time.

What did I do instead?

1. Surf the web.

2. Update the weblog.

3. Gossip with Denise for hours.

4. Work on Dad's Christmas present.

Okay, I did ONE thing I need to get done this week! Hooray! It's going slowly to sew, though. That really is the one thing I'm actually getting done this week out of the list.

I need to kick my own ass into gear. I was all on fire to do the resume stuff yesterday, and now the cover letter fear has made me not want to deal with anything. It's hard to get motivated to work on the job stuff now, though. As my aunt put it, "nobody's hiring this month." And technically, nowhere I'm applying for is reading applications until January, so I could do it later� it'd just be harder.

Sheesh, it's hard to justify procrastination when you have nothing else to do all day long. I need the date-free nights just to get sewing done.

previous entry - next entry
archives - current entry