This decade has the tendency to feel like you’re teetering in limbo, and part of this uncertainty is the job hunt (ugh) and the search for your other half (bigger ugh.)
Objective: Find that one person who you actually want to be around everyday and a job that you don’t dread going to every morning when your alarm clock starts to sound.
Qualifications: Heartbreak specialist. A hand-full of high school/college romances gone wrong. Trial runs with internships and grabbing that all-so-important coffee. Hey, it’s a skill!
Ability to withstand countless friendly lunches, and clever responses to “where did you grow up?”
“No way! Your town really has more cows than people? Tell me more!”
Searching for your dream job can be almost as exhausting as trying to find your dream person. And the similarities between the two are becoming way too difficult to ignore. Let’s take a look.
Application process
Today, many people are participating in online dating. Whether you sign up for Match or try your luck with OkCupid, your “profile” can be pretty similar to a resume. In both scenarios, how can a person summarize their personality on one short page of paper?
So, you go ahead and shoot your resume/dating application off to the black hole that is the Internet. Somewhere there are loads of resumes hiding with those socks that seem to disappear from your laundry – one of life’s greatest mysteries!
Finally, you get that reply email or phone call! Sometimes I wish I grew up when you just had a house phone. That’s it. Only that one form of communication. How much easier would that be?
Now, try to minimize your excitement and respond like a rational human being.
First date and first interview:
With both, the inevitable, “What do I wear?!” question races through your head.
You tear up your room in search of the perfect outfit only to make a mess and settle on the shirt and pants you began with. Anxiety engulfs your throat; heart rates increase and sweat starts to gather.
If you love pregnant pauses and empty, “Where do you see yourself in five years?” questions than this is a treat for you! If not, be prepared for some awkward moments, but hope that you power through.
Then comes the waiting game. Will he call? Should I send a follow-up text? Or an email? The clock starts to move slowly while you wait to see what will happen next. Trying to juggle the delicate balance between following up and becoming the dreaded stage-five-clinger (gasp!) can really start to feel like a circus act, but you don’t want to sabotage your chances!
Congratulations! You made it to the second date/interview!
Ah, taste the sweet victory of making it past round one. Now, the pressure is really on. Questions get more intense and in depth. Both parties start to become invested in one another. You start to wonder, “hmm is this going to work out?”
With a job and a relationship, it’s quite an investment. Time, money and feelings are involved so audition number two is a crucial event. The time when you find out if you might (fingers crossed,) be a good match.
Round two is coming to an end. Conversations taper off and it’s time to say goodbye. Time for departure, promises to “get in touch.” And you’re back to waiting for the phone to ring.
Third and final round
Now, here is where dating and job hunting start to differ. Typically jobs only put you through three slow-torture interviews before you find out your fate. And with dating, well your guess is as good as mine. (I’m certainly no expert.)
All we twenty-somethings can do is keep our heads held high and our hopes up that eventually we’ll find that perfect match both professionally and personally. So start with the right attitude, pull through those awkward exchanges and in the end hopefully we can all find the end result we’ve been waiting for. It’s almost a certainty that you’ll get some funny stories along the way!
