It had absolutely been one of those days. I had checked my bank account balance and had something like 17 cents left in my checking account to last until the next pay day. Then I checked the mail and I had a stack of bills that I sorted through knowing that I couldn't possibly pay all of them. I wanted to curl up in a ball and cry or scream or tear my hair out but I couldn't do any of those things because I had to go to work. So I put on a "brave face" and went into work.
(As usual) I got there pretty early and I was sitting in the break room and there were some other cashiers sitting upstairs talking about when they started working at the grocery store and how long we had been there. I quickly noticed a common theme in all of our cashier stories--everyone thought they would just take the job at the grocery store for just a little while but they had ended up working there for years. Rich had started working at the grocery store at the very beginning of his senior year in high school...now 5 years later he was a senior in college and he was still there. Maria started working at the grocery store when she was a sophomore in high school. It was her first job and she had just sort of stayed. Now, a little over two years later she had graduated high school and still working at the grocery store. Ben said he had been there for six years. He had been going to college for criminal justice but for a variety of reasons he wasn't able to finish school and has been a cashier working nights ever since. He said, 'You better be careful because you don't want to end up being here for six years like me." I think he felt a real sense of sadness or surprise at the passage of time. I myself was amazed at how quickly the time had gone. Like all the others, I assumed the grocery store was a temporary measure for me--it was supposed to be a financial bandaid while I looked ofr a full time job...but it had been a year and counting. I had been there long enough to have an anniversary and an annual review. It got me thinking about how easy it was to become comfortable or complacent in a routine--you just stay where you are and end up in a rut. But I decided that this talk we were having was just the thing I needed to motivate me. Right then and there I decided to put all of my energy into finding a job that would be more like a career!
After sitting there and listening to everyone talk I knew I needed to get off my ass...it was time for me to stop whining about how hard it was to find a job, it was for time for me stop feeling sorry for myself, and it was time for me to stand on my own two feet and find a career. And of course I have been looking for jobs but I had just sort of been submitting my resume into cyberspace without having any idea about where it was ending up. I hadn't really been following up after I submitted my resume and I have been e-mailing a very general resume that wasn't getting responses so I knew I needed to put time in to revising it.
So over the next week or two I decided I would document the ups and downs, the laughter and tears of searching for a job. And I would love to hear from you guys too (if you're out there and reading this). If you have any job search ideas or interview tips pass them on! Or are you already working at your dream job? How did you land it? To those of you out there who are currently hunting for a job (and there are lots of us out there) share your story too!
Wish me good luck on the job hunt--because I know I'm gonna need it!
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