Recent reads: "Wild" by Cheryl Strayed
I've been in Wisconsin for about 4 weeks now. It's been very cold, with record-breaking lows and snow earlier than previous years. I don't leave the house without being bundled up in my hat, scarf and gloves but I will say that the snow looks beautiful while I am indoors. Pretty much every Monday, Tuesday and Thursday I go to the local coffee shop (there's only one in this small town) to search and apply for jobs. Applying for jobs is a job in and of itself, after all.
First I contacted previous employers to get something going. Then, I tweaked my resume and worked on cover letters. I started applying to a few of the big hospitals in the area, companies that are well-respected and would have growth opportunities available. Then, I searched job openings with companies based in San Diego. Then, I started scouring craigslist.
I was hoping to land a medical administrative position but it seems like my resume is lacking some of the minor but apparently critical work experiences. For example, almost all admin job descriptions require "demonstrated prior work experience with Powerpoint." While I used Powerpoint regularly in college and occasionally since and know I'm capable of using it effectively, I don't have a specific work-related Powerpoint project to cite while other candidates do. I have expanded my job search to now include entry-level, patient care coordinator or receptionist positions that can lead to admin roles.
At this point I have applied for 65+ jobs. Of that, I have had four phone interviews, two additional calls to set up interviews (but I was in Wisconsin and they wanted to fill the positions ASAP). Of the four phone interviews I've taken, I have two second, in-person interviews for next week when I am in San Diego.
All this makes me wonder what the trick is. I have applied to 10+ jobs within a hospital network. There are tons of jobs postings on their website daily and I am qualified for all the positions I applied for but I have yet to hear anything. Is applying to several positions within one company a detriment to my chances? The first company that called me for a phone interview didn't even have an option to attach a cover letter on their website. How crucial is a cover letter anyways? And then there are postings for the most specific job ever with a laundry list of random qualifications and a paragraph of needed info for the application and then the job pays $10/hr! I've seen resumes and a person who pays enough attention to detail to follow this list of application directions alone deserves at least $11/hr. And by $11, I actually mean $20. Such is life.
Job search aside, I've gotten to spend time with my parents, making our favorite meals, doing local activities and marathon movie watching. I do miss the excitement of traveling, always a new city to see but it's been a good transition here from backpacker life to real life.
One of the highlights was going flying with my dad a couple of weeks ago. Since his plane isn't quite done, he rented a plane and we landed several times and airports in the area so he could practice his take-offs and landings. We stopped at the airport in exotic Iola, Wisconsin for their Friday lunch extravaganza. An early Thanksgiving feast, it was a Wisconsin cultural experience at its best. The infamous Paul Johns was in attendance. Paul, inducted into the Wisconsin Aviation Hall of Fame in 2009, is now 101 but was a pioneer pilot for Pan Am, flying from the US to South America countless times. It was a beautiful day for flying and I was actually warm and cozy inside the plane!
Getting to see family and friends has been great fun so returning to San Diego on December 10th will be bittersweet. But life must go on!
