Preparing for re-entry.
A spacecraft re-entering the earth's atmosphere uses heat shields to protect the craft and its’ astronauts. Unfortunately these heat shields are not available for grad students, and are not fundable under ‘other educational expenses’.
My voyage as a graduate student is coming to an end in a rather typical way, i.e. not on time, having taken more classes than planned, a MESS of a thesis, growing cynicism, ulcers; however, it was also filled with unanticipated experiences and opportunities that now contribute in my all-important C.V. The thesis void is now filled with the worry of finding employment and re-entering the Real World. As much as I gripe about grad student life – the stress, the (relative) poverty, the ivory tower mindset, and the administrative red tape – part of me is now clinging to the familiar problems of grad student life in favor of ‘real’ adult life and adult decisions (Sorry, mom, no grandkids, yet - I have to finish grad school first!) But the time has come, the degree is coming soon *fingers crossed*, and I can finally take that step I’ve been working towards and become a real working adult once again.
Plunging towards planet earth. Drifting, falling. Coming home. (Queue Peter Shilling’s ‘Major Tom’. ”Send me up drink”, indeed).
In order to exercise some control over the situation, I set up a spreadsheet in Excel to keep track of job leads. It is essentially a chart where for each potential job lead I log the company, job name, website, link to job description, salary info, location, and my personal rating ( on a 1 thru 10 scale) and my progress (the date I sent my resume or applied for the job, or sent out a letter of inquiry) as well as a rather empty column for when I heard ANY response (well, other than the generic ‘bot response “Thank you for application, If you do not hear from us within 60 days please visit our website for other job openings, blah blah blah). So far, my return rate is between 10%-25%. 10% if I count only strong leads, i.e. a phone call from them, or, setting up an interview. 25% is the more optimistic rate that includes pretty much any non-automatic contact from a real person at the organization, even the “we are reviewing the current applicants and will contact you in a few weeks”, or, “you forgot to include your salary requirements”…if they personally wrote me an email with a staff person’s contact info included, I counted it as progress. Given the depression-era economy, I think my track record is fairly good in terms of responses. Also, by tracking my resume sent date and response date I was able to calculate an average ‘hear back’ time – 24 days. (yes, I’m that person.)
Fear is setting in. I am hearing horror-stories from my program cohorts of 50+ jobs applied for, without even one interview. I read their Facebook updates on the remote far-away locations they applied to, marveling their willingness to move so far (and to someplace so rural!). Meanwhile, my assistantship stipend is coming to a screeching halt frighteningly soon. And my partner, ever my practical half, suggests I start looking at barista or bookstore clerk jobs to tide us over with SOME sort of paycheck. My pride and self-esteem bristle at this suggestion. After these long hard years that put us both in debt, years that aged my body at 3x’s the natural rate with worry lines and tense shoulders. Though a retail gig is practical, a job that I could have had back in high school seems like defeat, at best. And at worst, it would be like admitting to all the naysayers and that negative voice in my head that grad school was just a waste of my valuable youthful years.
My mind races to find an answer. Maybe I could stay? My final approval sheet isn’t turned in, I could ‘miss’ the graduation deadline and thus delay the inevitable. And my assistantship would surely keep me another semester, right? That’s guaranteed income, and the safety of telling people “I’m in grad school…you know how it is”. But, I’d know that I was just being chicken. A very cautious chicken, but a chicken with food (well, ramen noodles) on the table. But, I have not worked this hard to be a chicken confined to the student coop. I was gonna bust this joint. I am not going to slow down this re-entry. The heat shield and my nerves may be shaken or melt. But it’s Earth or Bust. Join me on this voyage of navigating re-entry into the work force in this crazy economy.
This is such a raw reflection of grad/post-grad school experiences! I can definitely relate to your post. I'd like to know more about your Excel spreadsheet. Perhaps you could post the file along with a how-to guide. It sounds like a great organizing tool, but could also help move the focus away from the depressing lack of job offers to feeling you're actually doing something productive towards finding a job. Whatever works right?
ReplyDeleteThanks for the feedback, srb199!
ReplyDeleteHaving a chart in-progress gives me some immediate gratification in seeing how many applications I have completed. And confirming to myself that I am trying and working hard.
Also, it's super helpful for when an employer calls you, say FOUR MONTHS after you sent your resume and you need to scramble while you are on the phone with them to figure out what position you even applied for! =)
Any tools that make you feel more confident and keep you organized can only help, but do what works best for you.