Interview 101

I've been meaning to write this for a while now. Everything I felt during my job hunting season. The things they don't tell you in college interview tips articles. The emotional roller coaster you will ride just trying to find a job. Here's my personal account. 

Don't judge a posting by its title. Just like don't judge a book by its cover, don't judge a job posting that you see online by its title. So you got a degree in so and so but you can't find a job with that exact title. It's ok to apply to jobs that you think are "beneath you" because sometimes you have to start at the bottom all over again to start climbing to the top. I graduated with bachelors in applied legal studies and applied to a TON of "paralegal" postings. One Saturday, I was applying to jobs at 10 o'clock at night and applied to one that was titled "administrative assistant" and it was probably the best decision I ever made. My initial thoughts were negative, but I'm so happy I applied. This company is filled with all great people and I couldn't be happier. Within one month I got offered a greater position and I extremely thankful. I'm going to keep on climbing! 

Don't let the interviewer throw you off. In one interview, this guy played on his phone, yawned, and even rolled his eyes. He was completely condescending and tried to make me feel as though my paralegal degree was nothing spectacular. You have to play it cool. What ever they throw at you, throw it back harder and by the end of the interview you're going to figure out that it is all an act and a completely scary but weird interview technique. I still laugh at that interview to this day. 

You have to keep your faith and believe in yourself. You'll have friends and family telling you how amazing you are and that you're going to find a great job. At first you believe them and you're in great spirits, but eventually it starts to get harder and harder to believe them when you're not getting callbacks. For me, I had a bunch of people cheering me on but I grew to hate myself. I thought maybe I wasn't good enough because I probably applied to around 60 jobs, it was hitting the third month mark and I still had nothing to show for it. You just have to keep telling yourself that you're worth it. Be patient. It will come. There's a reason why you want to leave your current job for a new one right? There's a reason for all this headache and heartache and that reason is that you know you're worth it and more. You know you deserve better. 

The long stem rose Justin got me the day I told him about my promotion. 

He said "Congrats baby! I'm so happy for you! By the way, did you know they charge more for a long stem? What the heck!"