A Watched Pot Never Boils

This wasn’t supposed to happen. I was supposed to be writing an update back in February announcing my awesome, new job and all of the amazing perks to come with it.

Reality check.

Instead it’s April and I’m here to talk about the stressful, emotional rollercoaster I’ve been on these last few months.

Not long after my last post I was contacted by a company in NYC called The Dodo, a website dedicated to writing on animal issues/promoting animal rights. It seemed like a great fit for an animal lover like me. I went through two interviews and multiple writing tests before being paid $100 for a half day of remote work (as part of the hiring process). I was crushed to find out the day after my birthday that they decided to hire someone else, but said they’d like to keep me in mind for their next hiring round in a few months.

At the same time, I was busy taking multiple aptitude/writing tests for another NYC company called Law360. That opportunity fell through, as well.

So at this point I was pretty much about ready to crawl into a hole and never come out. I had spent nearly three months working with both of these companies and honestly thought I had a shot with The Dodo.

I was back to square one.

I may as well have been bawling in the fetal position after that. It’s amazing how emotionally unstable one gets during this whole job search process. One day I’ll be dancing around the room because I found a quarter, and the next I’ll be ready for bed at 6 p.m.

I’m exaggerating, but you get the point.

Much to my surprise, things quickly turned around. The very next day after my depressing email from The Dodo, I was offered an interview for First for Women magazine (NYC/NJ). Later that week I was offered a phone interview for a NYC event website/publication called Biz Bash. To top it all off, the following Monday I received an editing/writing test for American Greetings in Cleveland.

Hooray for progress!

Or so I thought.

I’ve been obsessively refreshing my email all week for any sort of update, response, or acknowledgement of my existence. After submitting two editorial tests* with no responses as of yet, I feel like I’m a tiny ant in a bustling metropolis yelling, “Notice me!”

No, I’m not desperate at all.

*Just when I thought I’d never take a test again after college, here I am spending most of my time taking editorial tests. Oh, the irony.

I’ve forced myself to apply to smaller journalism markets (newspapers) around my state with the hopes of increasing my chances for an interview. Apparently Ohio hates me.

Whatever, Ohio….I never liked you much anyway.

So after almost 300 cover letters since the process began, I feel like I’m going crazy.

And it’s only April.

I haven’t even been out of school for four months.

That’s why I’ve been trying to maintain my sanity with my oh-so vigorous schedule: weightlifting, sky-diving, spinning, and writing the next great novel.

Okay, I’ll admit that at the end of the day when I’m drained from all of the cover letters and tests, I’ve been doing my best to mentally relax by reading, taking walks outside and enjoying my favorite TV shows.

They say a watched pot never boils, and I’m secretly convinced that’s why my inbox has been so stagnant this week.

I guess I just have to be patient. I’m starting to realize that you can put forth your best effort in every step of the job application process, but at the end of the day, it’s out of your control. If it’s meant to be, it will be.