I haven't been depressed, dear readers. I have been unemployed.
For nearly six months, to be exact. With a full 8 months of job searching. So basically I'm right on target with the rest of unemployed America.
You would think that being unemployed would give you MORE time to blog. It sounds right in theory - don't you have nothing else better to do? But the state of being unemployed takes up a surprising amount of your time. Whatever time you aren't spending scoping Idealist and Craigslist posts is spent crafting targeted resumes and cover letters, and whatever time isn't spent crafting targeted resumes and cover letters is spent preparing for interviews, and whatever time isn't spent preparing for interviews is spent woefully eating Ben and Jerry's Oatmeal Fudge Chunk in front of a Parks and Recreation marathon on Netflix.
Having eight months of job searching and half a year of earning no money (but still receiving money due to systematic privilege - see below) under my belt, I learned a few things. One is how to get really good (or at least marginally better) at applying for jobs. The proof is in the pudding - in my first round before I moved to DC, I sent out 120 applications in less than three months. I had eight callbacks, three of those regarding unpaid internships I applied for after I realized I wouldn't be finding a paid job, for a record of 6%.
Resigned to committing myself to breaking through the insular DC employment world, I accepted two of those part-time, unpaid internships and took a brief respite from applications. Two months later, however, I was back, but more targeted, wiser, and careful. In the past three months, I applied to 23 positions, with 7 callbacks (so far - if I hear from others, I'll update this stat), for a record of 30%. Whoohoo - nearly a 25% improvement! But the best part, of course, is that I actually got a job - this week, in fact - and thus concludes an epic race to beat the averages.
So here I'll share the answers to what I wish I knew then, for all the poor under-compensated grad students out there who are thinking about, oh, I don't know, moving a couple hundred miles south to move in with their girlfriend and make an industry shift. These are my gems of semi-obvious wisdom:
- De-emphasize where you live, especially if it's not in the city where you want a job. No one needs to know you live far away, as putting that on your application implies that you will require moving expenses, special accommodations for interviews, and general all-around more hassle. So if you don't live that city, try not to include your address at all.
- De-emphasize your education, especially if you are looking for a job that is not in higher ed or not connected to higher ed. There is a thing in every other field but the academy called "being too academic." You don't want to be that. Also, there is the perception that what you were doing in the academy is "not real work." Even though this is clearly not true (teaching sure felt like real work to me!), you need to play by their rules and minimize the role your education plays on your resume and cover letter. This means putting education at the bottom of your resume and eliminating any degrees you are currently pursuing (so no "Phd in Chemical Engineering - in progress"). Don't use professors as references, even if they were your direct supervisors. Actively include work you've done that isn't related to education. Which brings me to my next point...
- Before applying, make sure you are doing a range of work that doesn't limit you to higher ed. I was very luck to have been passed the baton on a small part-time job at a non-profit for the last two years I was taking graduate classes. This helped me immeasurably in ways I couldn't have foreseen. Knowing what I know now, I wish I had been able to do other internships, part-time work, or volunteering outside of academic life. Inside the academy, however, there is an overwhelming pressure and expectation to keep it all inside the academy, so if you know you want to move beyond it, you will have to work hard to actively create opportunities for yourself.
- Be selective in where you apply and realistic about whether you will be invited to an interview. I thought I was "flooding the market" when I was sending out ten or more applications a week, but really I was setting myself up for failure. Once I figured out what I was actually qualified for and what I could most successfully market myself for, I received a much better response. This means you need to know (or, in my case, have a vague idea of) what you want to do and be able to talk about it. "I don't know" is not rewarded in job searching. Don't apply to just anything you can do or are able to do - apply to the things you actually want to do.
- Tailor your cover letter and resume to the particular job. This will take a lot of time - it should. If you aren't spending at least an hour on it, you are probably going too fast. I had different resumes I sent to different kinds of jobs that emphasized different applicable skillsets, and then the cover letters usually included similar things about my experience and background, but I tried to include a line with each paragraph that directly addressed the skills requested by the organization, in the language the organization used. When you send in your application, direct it to someone - anyone is better than no one - especially to whoever you would be working for if you got that job. If you know someone who works there, or know someone who knows someone who works there, be shameless and see if you can talk to that person. This is no time for holding back.
- Prioritize relationship-building. You may want to hide under the covers, but meeting people is really important. You can start small - create a LinkedIn page and connect with all the folks you recognize. LinkedIn is good because you can put everything you've done on your page without the page limit of a resume, and employers can search for you (or you can include the link with your application) and see that you are a real person. Go to happy hours (bring a friend - it helps) and events. I disliked informational interviews, but they were the only times I really felt like I was getting anywhere. Even if no one was calling me back, at least I was talking to folks about my search. Email folks you know in fields you are interested in and offer to buy them coffee, and bring pointed questions. Remember that all occasions are possibilities, and you are always in interview mode - be kind, be polite, be assertive, and be direct. Be the kind of worker you'd like to work with and the kind of friend you'd like to have, and people will want to help you out.
Of course, there were people that told me these things, and places on the internet that give great career and job searching advice. But I really did have to learn the realities and nuances of the market for myself, and perhaps these are things you think you know, but you will have to learn the hard way, too.
But such "wiser now in hindsight" advice is a little too simple. There were other things that weighed heavily on me, dear readers, and I doubt I am wiser now, and my ego has been run through an eight month car wash. For the past few months, I haven't been much fun to be around. Pressure, expectations, and high standards. Proofing tests. Writing samples. Form rejection emails after in-person interviews. Assured job searches were on hold when they were suddenly filled a few weeks later. Weeks of waiting for no answer at all. Informational interviews with predictable career advice that were only further evidence of my failure (I should be GIVING the career advice, dammit!). Hearing "oh, I'm sure you'll find something soon" or "I'm sure it will all work out" just one more time and wanting to punch the kindhearted person in their fully employed mouth.
Endlessly performing. Selling yourself as anything, able to do anything, willing to do anything, an expert in anything. Losing what it is you really want in all of the pretending and the crunch for something, just something. Anguish. Doubt. Self-blame. Self-pity. Which sounds a lot like someone else I know...in fact, it is the common state of the unemployed. I have barely scraped by with my dignity intact.
And while the pain I felt was real and difficulties no joke, my race and class privilege still served me well through this long, frustrating period. I had savings to sustain me. I had Cobra I could extend so I would not be without health insurance. I had a partner with a respectable income who could cover rent, which kept my monthly expenses around $1,000, which is rare in a place as expensive as the Metro DC area. If you remember, I had a grandmother who gifted me $2,000 in July, and I also had parents who, wanting to not play favorites when my sister's car required a $1,000 repair, sent me a check for the same amount in October. These might have been unasked for, but systematic privilege accorded to my social location is granted regardless of whether I seek it out.
My unemployment situation was also probably the best possible of situations. I have no children or other dependents. I have a small amount of student loans, but otherwise no debt, and even then my loans won't be collected until I complete my degree, so no creditors have been calling. I have no mortgage. I'm young, educated, and in good health. I'm white. I have no criminal record. Although humiliated and downtrodden, I am not desperate. There was no chance of me being homeless, or losing my children, or declaring bankruptcy, or racking up credit card debt. In the end, I was going to be okay.
The fact that I am the picture of an ideal job seeker and unemployment was STILL the Land of Great Misery, Insecurity, Doubt, and Shame speaks to the real toll joblessness takes. I hope that I remember these lessons, that I remember just how difficult it is to get a job and how bitter and taxing it is to be without one.
And I hope it is a long, long, loooong time before I have to do this again.
