I was going to use the analogy that job searching is like a rollercoaster. It has its ups and its down, and it can be all over the place. But now that I have been job searching for about 2 months (which I realize is a very short time compared to most people) it’s more like playing that computer game Oregon Trail as kid. It’s a long tiring journey. There are a lot of disappointments along the way, but there are those moments of hope and accomplishment as well. I am already making this sound depressing, but I’m actually feeling pretty good about it right now.
Oregon Trail vs. the Israelites in the Desert
If job searching now in LA is like the Oregon Trail, job searching 2 years ago in Irvine was like the Israelites wondering in the desert with Moses. I have noticed a significant difference in my approach to job searching from when I just graduated 2 years ago to now. After I graduated I felt very anxious about it and after 2 weeks I was majorly depressed and convinced I would never find a job. I was moping and complaining like the Israelites, “Lord why did you bring us out here to die?” This time around it has been a lot more enjoyable. Another difference is that it seems there are a lot more opportunities available in LA than there were in Orange County, especially working with children. Although I’m not finding a ton of full time work there is a plethora of part time jobs at afterschool centers working with kids.
Killing the Buffalo- having enough food for now
If you have played the Oregon Trail game, you remember that you often stop to hunt animals to get food. Killing a buffalo was the best because it gave you the most food that would last you a while. So in job searching I have found a buffalo and have some food source, for a while at least. I have part time job, yay! I am working at an afterschool Korean program. I help them complete their homework and correct additional academic work they have as well. The last 45 minutes they have a fun activity if they have completed all their work. Thankfully I have been able to do theatre with a few students during that time. The job was painfully stressful at first, but by the grace of God it has gotten significantly better and I can now say that I am enjoying it. It’s very easy for me to fall in love with any child so I quickly latched on to loving these kids. I am working 20 hours a week so it’s some money flowing in which is good, but not enough to sustain me in the long run so I continue in my hunt.
Casting the seed wide
I can’t think of a good Oregon Trail analogy for this part. My philosophy is job searching is cast the seed wide. I apply for as many jobs as I can. I apply for jobs I am not qualified for, don’t pay enough, maybe are too far away. I’m just trying to throw my resume out as much as possible and see what bites. I have about 10 different templates of my resume that I have for various jobs that I modify a little with each job. The job categories that I grouped my resumes into are teaching assistant, theatre teacher, after school teacher, nanny, events coordinator, volunteer coordinator, and office assistant. So I basically almost all the jobs I apply for fit into one of those categories and I tweak my resume accordingly. I am also very organized about how I track the jobs I have applied for. I have a whole spreadsheet which includes, name of the company, position, email, phone number, contact name, salary, location, when I applied, when I followed up, which resume I used, and where I found the job. So far I have sent my resume to over 100 different jobs. I use a variety of search engines including Craig’s list, Monster, Career Builder, Idealist, Nonprofit jobs coop, Jobing, Indeed, Opportunityknocks, Arts for LA, facebook marketplace. You get the point.
Disease on the Oregon Trail
So you know you’re going along the Oregon Trail and then some member of your party gets struck with some strange disease. Well in job searching you have to beware of job scams that can slow you down. (I know the analogies are becoming a bit of a stretch). I have gotten a ton of job scam responses, most of them are administrative assistant ads on Craig’s list. I even had one send me personal check for $3000 that I was supposed to deposit into my account. Cost me $7.84 to send in certified mail back so I made sure they didn’t think I still had the check. I also applied to a lot of secretarial jobs that turned out to be a secret shopper job. Now secret shoppers are not a scam but it is certainly not a secretary job. Completely misleading add. I had a father respond to me about tutoring his kids but he worked from London. He was going to hire me without ever having met me and send me checks from London for tutoring his kids, way sketch.
Almost crossing the river
In the Oregon Trail you occasionally come to a river and lake that you have to cross. I forgot what factors play into whether you can cross it or not but I think it has to do with how many animals you have and weight. A lot of times you see your little wagon come so close to crossing it but right before it reaches the end, it sinks. I have had those moments in job searching. I came so close to getting this one job and then just didn’t get it. I found this really great job that I was perfect for and was pretty much my dream job for where I am at in my life right now. The job was teaching theatre in public schools. The program was a nonprofit that would go around to different school and work with a class for 3 weeks to put on a one act play based off inspirational biographies. The program was really cool because in teaching theatre they also fostered literacy and wisdom through learning about inspirational people from history. I had done something similar to college where I would create a play with a class based off what the students were already learning. I felt really qualified; I went into the interview really prepared. I read all 5 plays that they produce. The whole process of applying, interviewing, and hearing back from them was about a month. And then in the end they hired someone who had been volunteering with them and spoke Spanish. Nothing I can do about that. So close to crossing the river, and then just drowned at the tail end. Oh Lord please let there be more jobs like that.
Randomness of the Game
So the job searching on the Oregon Trail is chugging along. Some weeks there is a lot of response. One week I had an interview almost every day. And other weeks there is silence and nothing to apply for. I am learning how to trust God to be my provider. I am also seeing that as much as I would like job searching to be a formula, it is not. In the Oregon Trail, even if you are an expert at playing the game, know how to budget your food, and kill the animals, you might still get struck with some strange disease or get hit with some bad weather that will end the game. It’s a bit of a game of luck in some sense. Job searching does require work and preparation, but ultimately it is God who provides and there is nothing I can really do to make someone hire me. I have applied to over 100 jobs now since I started in late August. I have researched and prepared for every interview I have had. But even in the midst of all that it does not guarantee me a job. This has been hard for me because I like to feel like my hard work should produce something. I like to see the results of my labor. But unfortunately God does not always work like that. Yes, he does call us to be diligent and faithful but it does not guarantee the results we want. I am trying to be thankful for this extra time I have right now and see it as a blessing from God. I know I will miss it when I go back to working full time. But the workaholic in me is getting very antsy and wanting to fill up my time. I am always desiring to be productive in some way, it’s always hard for me to just “be.”
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