My story isn’t unique.
I’m not claiming it is. I’m merely writing these blog entries to keep my mind
entertained and to prove to myself that, perhaps, I am not a total loser.
I grew up believing (and
being told repeatedly) that I could “be anything I wanted to be.” I still kind
of believe that—or I just really, really, want to believe it, because my
cynical brain screamed at me instantly when I typed the part of this sentence before
the dash.
I digress.
Anyway, I graduated in
May from a tiny liberal arts college in Vermont where I had in-state tuition. I
was accepted into “big-name” colleges, but didn't have the grades for
scholarships that meant anything (what’s a 10,000 dollar scholarship when
tuition is 50,000 a year…eff that) and I definitely didn't possess the athletic
skills (four years of basketball only gave me two broken wrists and a hatred
for sprints). Plus, “it’s the experience you have that employers look for after
you graduate” not the school you went too, silly.
Well, four years, one
internship, a 3.5 GPA, four jobs, two editorships, and countless empty bottles
of wine and tequila later, all my hard work paid off with a wonderful full-time
position at a successful business that really appreciates my talent,
motivation, and snarky sensibilities.
Just kidding! I am
working part-time, as a bartender (a job that, though I have roughly four years
of experience doing, took me 5 months to find). Not for lack of trying to find
a better job. Not for lack of talent. Not for lack of effort (please see
previous parenthetical notation).
I’m not complaining.
Okay, maybe I am a little bit. But, I’ve decided I need to stop being so damn
self-conscious about my job situation (I have literally become the dreaded
“English major who majored in bartending” cliché) and embrace the fuck out of
it.
I will be blogging about
my continued job search, though I won’t be naming specific companies, and
telling all of cyber world about this terrible post-grad, pre-employment time
in my life. All the articles I read about job hunting suggest that I am a total
moron for doing it, but what the fuck, I’ve been doing everything they tell me
I should do and that’s not working so I might as well be myself.
Welcome to my bitchfest
everyone. I hope you find it mildly entertaining. If you’re a hiring manager, I
suggest focusing on my ability to tell a story and attempting to not hold this
against me.
