Trying to find the right job is like trying to find the right man.
The first part of a long and grueling process is deciding precisely what kind of job you're looking for: the job that expects you to do all the work, the kind of job that likes you to dress to the nines, the blue-collar job, the Wall Street job, the job you have to fight to keep, the job to which you think about submitting your two-week notice everyday. The other task in this preliminary step is to determine whether the job you are seeking will be a long-term one to which you will commit indefinitely, or one you'd like to be through with in a couple of months (or weeks...or days...or hours).
If you decide you're just looking for something casual, something that'll at least give you the money to have a few nice dinners out, then there's no real need to be choosey. If, however, you are looking for the real thing then prepare yourself for lots of disappointments, rejections, and humiliations.
The next step is the interview process, and I should note that there are a various different types of interviews, some of which you may be more privy to than others. First you have the informational interview, which is pretty much the speed-dating of the professional sphere. You try to make yourself look attractive and appealing in a really short amount of time, even if you have to tell a few lies. You might pick up a couple numbers, but then again you may get hit with bad luck and go home empty-handed. If the highspeed show-off event isn't really your style, you can always have a casual but slightly more intimate chat over coffee, after which you may or may not get a callback. If you don't, however, don't take it too personally- it's highly likely that the person you're trying to impress has a whole list of other women desperately awaiting an invitation to Starbucks where they'll be eyeballed and scrutinized.
But perhaps you're not in the position to be an A-list worker at the company; perhaps your skills are more appropriate for more modest, less demanding, er- more demeaning positions. Let's face it- in the world of dating, the administrative assistant (or glorified secretary)is the unappreciated woman who tries to do everything, and to whom he gives just enough respect and shopping money so that she won't walk out. No self-respecting woman wants to be an administrative assistant, not if she can help it. She wants to be the CEO, the #1, the one who calls all the shots. But even when she does reach that point in her career when she possesses the amount of experience to finally land that top-notch spot, she's gone so long being underpaid, taken for granted, and overworked that she just assumes that's all she can get- a mediocre position at, very likely, a mediocre place to work. In other words, she's with Mr. Good Enough, who in actuality is probably more like Mr. Oh My God This Is the Guy Whose Genes My Kids Are Gonna Inherit?!!!
That's right ladies, there are a lot of bruised apples out there, so be careful what you pick. I'm sure there's a few golden ones if you look hard enough, but if you really want one, get out there with your brightest red lipstick, your nicest little black dress, and a smile that kills. Cuz you're competing with a whole lot of women who'll do anything it takes to get theirs.
The first part of a long and grueling process is deciding precisely what kind of job you're looking for: the job that expects you to do all the work, the kind of job that likes you to dress to the nines, the blue-collar job, the Wall Street job, the job you have to fight to keep, the job to which you think about submitting your two-week notice everyday. The other task in this preliminary step is to determine whether the job you are seeking will be a long-term one to which you will commit indefinitely, or one you'd like to be through with in a couple of months (or weeks...or days...or hours).
If you decide you're just looking for something casual, something that'll at least give you the money to have a few nice dinners out, then there's no real need to be choosey. If, however, you are looking for the real thing then prepare yourself for lots of disappointments, rejections, and humiliations.
The next step is the interview process, and I should note that there are a various different types of interviews, some of which you may be more privy to than others. First you have the informational interview, which is pretty much the speed-dating of the professional sphere. You try to make yourself look attractive and appealing in a really short amount of time, even if you have to tell a few lies. You might pick up a couple numbers, but then again you may get hit with bad luck and go home empty-handed. If the highspeed show-off event isn't really your style, you can always have a casual but slightly more intimate chat over coffee, after which you may or may not get a callback. If you don't, however, don't take it too personally- it's highly likely that the person you're trying to impress has a whole list of other women desperately awaiting an invitation to Starbucks where they'll be eyeballed and scrutinized.
But perhaps you're not in the position to be an A-list worker at the company; perhaps your skills are more appropriate for more modest, less demanding, er- more demeaning positions. Let's face it- in the world of dating, the administrative assistant (or glorified secretary)is the unappreciated woman who tries to do everything, and to whom he gives just enough respect and shopping money so that she won't walk out. No self-respecting woman wants to be an administrative assistant, not if she can help it. She wants to be the CEO, the #1, the one who calls all the shots. But even when she does reach that point in her career when she possesses the amount of experience to finally land that top-notch spot, she's gone so long being underpaid, taken for granted, and overworked that she just assumes that's all she can get- a mediocre position at, very likely, a mediocre place to work. In other words, she's with Mr. Good Enough, who in actuality is probably more like Mr. Oh My God This Is the Guy Whose Genes My Kids Are Gonna Inherit?!!!
That's right ladies, there are a lot of bruised apples out there, so be careful what you pick. I'm sure there's a few golden ones if you look hard enough, but if you really want one, get out there with your brightest red lipstick, your nicest little black dress, and a smile that kills. Cuz you're competing with a whole lot of women who'll do anything it takes to get theirs.
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