By now I’ve applied for somewhere between 50 and 100 jobs, possibly more, but I’ve really lost count. I guess some people might say that’s too low, but I’m targeting the areas I’m interested in instead of anything at all (like gas stations and restaurants, like my dad wants me to do). I’ve applied at colleges, universities, amazon, google, AmeriCorp, phone sales, multiple companies doing various things. The colleges and universities, it seems, really want someone with a master’s degree, which I am not prepared to go back to school for 2 more years and $30,000+ more debt. I’ve applied for 5 jobs with Amazon, as a German speaking customer service rep in various positions. The latest was yesterday, and I was not selected for all 3 within 3 hours of submitting my application. Very discouraging. It is especially frustrating because I have the language skills they are looking for an am trainable for all the other skills, but they would rather overlook me for a person who, I suppose, already has the needed skillset.
This seems to be a common issue many people my age are having. We are being rejected from job applications outright because, while we have a degree that says we can put up with structured learning environments, we don’t have the experience necessary to do…well, anything. Essentially companies now want a person who can be hired and walk in and do their job, something my friends have confirmed as well.
I really miss the days of job hunting while I was in high school, when I could walk into a place and fill out an application. No more. Now it’s all online, with no human interaction, making it much easier for your application to be dismissed with no face-to-face contact.
I applied at the University of AZ in Tucson for a position as an International Student Advisor but was not selected for that position, even though all they required was a bachelor’s degree, and that was one of the better options I had. Even the AmeriCorp, where young people go to gain experience, chose someone with more experience.
A friend back in Seoul has told me that the school he teaches English at is hiring, and this is good for me for 2 reasons. 1: I will make more money being hired directly by the school instead of by a recruiter and 2: they only require you to have a bachelor’s degree. I’ve already spoken with him about the atmosphere of his school and it definitely seems like a better place than my last school there…no candy is passed out to the kids every day, no games are played. Learning seems to be more important there which means I would have an easier time. However, there are some drawbacks. The location is 1.5 hours from Seoul, so I wouldn’t be able to go to the city on weeknights (missing German nights). This will, as with the first time, be my fallback job.
The most recent job I have applied for is as a data specialist with the admissions department at Alfred University (I’m an alumnus), which I just sent out today. It may be a bit boring living in Alfred, but the University definitely has a lot going on, plus COLLEGE GIRLS. But in all seriousness, the lack of things to spend money on would allow me to save money and pay off debt rather quickly. Rent is also relatively cheap there.
That’s all I have for now, sorry for the long post.
I’m off to write another coverletter.
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