Published in the Bluffton News -- January 17, 2013
Adolescents yearn for the time when they are treated like
adults. Words like responsibility
inspire hope and excitement in them.
They are encouraged to follow their dreams and are always looking forward
to the next step. It is difficult for
them to relish the present, or the journey.
I speak from experience.
However, experience is exactly what I have been conditioned
to feel that I lack. It’s true, my life
has been spent in experience—each period of my life has been spent in
preparation for the next period. Before
I went to elementary school, I watched educational children’s shows and my
grandfather started teaching me to read and write; then, when I was elementary
I attended an orientation for Middle School that detailed the new concepts of
hallway lockers, scheduling your classes, and making it to the classroom by the
ring of that fateful bell; in Middle School, the class was lectured that high
school would be more responsibility and less supervision—and therefore it was
time for us to “get our acts together”; and in high school, I took practice
ACTs and ACTs, practice OGTS and OGTs, career assessments, PSO courses at the
local community college, and filled out college application after college application. Each period had its own event within the near
future for which to worry and hastily prepare.
When I made it to college, I thought I was on my way to
becoming a “qualified” individual. In
college, I would gain knowledge, skills, wisdom, maturity, a degree, and
experience. Being the first in my family
to receive a college degree, and living within a job market much different than
that of my parents, professors, teachers, and other mentors, I did not
anticipate what I would be met with post-graduation. I could complete many tasks exceptionally
well, but when it came to being qualified for the positions actually available,
and within my area, I came up short.
The “qualifications” section of job descriptions became my
least favorite. On job search engines
like Monster, LinkedIn, Indeed, Career Builder, and Alumni Central, a College
Central Network site that Bluffton University’s Career Development Center
utilizes, I would quickly scroll down to the qualifications section before allowing
myself to become hopeful. I found that
“entry level” did not always mean “fresh out of college.” Oftentimes, there was experience needed even
before one could be qualified for these so-called entry level positions. This did not stop me from continuing to
apply, however, because I remained hopeful that sometimes a good application
was better than having all the qualifications.
I also found that jobs were overall in a scarce
condition. The jobs that I had
researched for fun when I was in college were no longer there. The searches that I conducted, regardless of
how vague I could get them to be, yielded little results. The results that I did end up with were not
full of dream jobs. There were a few
jobs that I thought I could tolerate until I could relocate or perhaps until I
stumbled upon some fated perfect job opening in the future, but most of the
jobs required a higher degree or a degree in something other than English or
Writing (my majors).
After applying to these jobs that I felt I had a chance at,
I waited. I received a few phone calls
from graduate schools or career centers wanting my money, but no calls from
places actually thinking of hiring me. I
started to feel emotionally drained from trying to give every application
question my all, and I even started to forget which jobs I had already applied
to and which I had not.
It is so unfortunately true that the current job market is
very difficult to succeed in, and personally, it is apparent that searching for
a job is one of the most stressful tasks I have had to face yet. In order to persevere, though, I will try to channel
that impending excitement that I had throughout high school and college. I have to continue looking out and not freaking
out. I have to remember how I have faced
difficult times in the past.
Something I learned from the village of Bluffton was to
remain hopeful and patient in the times of quiet. While chaos ensues worldwide, Bluffton
remains calm and collected—its members put their own problems aside to
volunteer their own time and resources to others. I’ve often heard that the minute you stop
thinking about your own troubles, and start to help others, it is then that you
receive what you need. I truly believe
that this is why Bluffton is an area of hope, happiness, and blessing.
When the Riley floods, Bluffton doesn’t stop. When I am full of uncertainty and
discouragement, I cannot stop. I refuse
to let myself accept that I am not qualified for positions available to me
right now. I will keep on searching and
keep on planning. I will keep on keeping
on, and lose the extraneous effects of my own problems while in the pursuit of
helping others.
Would you believe that while writing this article I received
a phone interview?
Believe and persevere.
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