Job Searching

Is thoroughly depressing. Before I returned to the U.S. I knew that I would have to start job searching once I got back here. But I didn’t realize just how hard and frustrating it would be.

I have been out of the job market for three years. Prior to that I worked as a New York City public librarian. When I applied for that job the NYPL was in serious need of librarians with degress so I was basically assured a job. Before that my previous two jobs had come through connections I had. So I haven’t actually been seriously job searching since fall of 2000!

Six years of not having to compete with what feels like the whole world. A whole world of people who are better qualified, have more experience and are in a better position to get every job that seems interesting to me.

Frankly, right now it feels like I’m screwed!

A few weeks before I left Romania I saw a job listing for the travel trade magazine Travel Agent. I have previously worked for a travel trade paper and have been freelancing as a travel writer for the past 2 years. I applied for the job with a fair amount of hope. I received a call almost immediatly but when the HR woman found out I was still in Romania she backed off immediatly. By the time I got back to the States, that first job had been filled but another job had opened up. I applied and called to let the HR woman know I was interested. As far as I was concerned I was completely and totally qualified for the job, in every way. The HR woman was friendly on the phone when I spoke with her but never once tried to set-up an interview with me. Nor did she tell me they weren’t interested. Seems to me she was stringing me along, perhaps so she didn’t have to feel bad saying “no”. The job has since be taken down off their job board and I was never called back. I’ve got to admit I’m furious about the whole thing. If I was so qualified for the first job (very similar to the second) that I received a call from them within an hour of getting my resume than why did they suddenly lose that interest. And why when I spoke to the woman on the phone couldn’t she just have been honest and said something rather than let me keep hope alive.

Since being back in the States (just over a week) I’ve applied to 16 jobs and had family members send my resume to several contacts they have. I haven’t had a single bite. Can everyone in the world really be more qualified than me? Do my three years of writing/editing experience mean nothing just because I’ve been living overseas for three years?

When I first began applying for jobs I went through highs and lows of hope. I can now say with a fairly high level of certainty that my highs are gone. I have very little hope.

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