I am in the full swing of my post-graduate job search and have experienced the range of the process. From getting rejection emails, doing interviews, and never hearing back, I am in the middle of the ups and downs. Through the mass applying and questioning what I want to do with my life post Furman, there is one connection I continue to think about. The job search process is like online dating. Maybe I am just a jaded senior who is knees-deep in the process, but hear me out.
First, you and the company build online profiles to appear as your best self. The hottest app for all companies and people to be on is LinkedIn. Anyone who has any hope of finding a job is active on that app. Work history, awards, and projects need to be displayed for prospective employers to view. Now, sometimes those profiles are a little over-inflated. The profile only has the best pictures and polished sentences to show. Rarely do personal or company profiles go as far to catfish viewers, they are well-polished and manicured.
Like the whole page, job postings themselves are painstakingly written to come across a certain way. The job postings we see are written for the ideal candidate. As some of us might have a type or “ideal” partner when it comes to who we look to date, these companies have their ideal employee. Several professors here have said “even if you do not match 100% of the qualifications, you should still apply,” and the reason for this is companies aim high and get who they get. The “qualifications” section of the job posting can be a laundry list of skills, experiences, and requests that we, as the prospective employee, try to match. Entry-level jobs are looking for four-to-five years of experience, advanced degrees, and familiarity with computer software. Companies, like some of those on dating sites, set seemingly unrealistic standards that very few potential employees can meet. Nonetheless, you “shoot your shot” and hope for a response.
Like online dating, sometimes you just hit it off with the job online and once you get to that in-person interview, the sparks do not fly. Maybe it is just the excitement of the email back, the request for an interview or two, but sometimes you put on rose-colored glasses for that one job. Those glasses can come off when you meet the job in person. Meeting the people, seeing the office, getting a feel for the job can reveal that the initial sparks are not there.
Long before online dating became popular, the job hunting process perfected the concept of ghosting. Sometimes it is never hearing about that initial application or having a company not return your calls or emails - either way, you get ghosted. You check your email over and over, hoping for a response and have to come to grips that you just are not going to get one.
Regardless of where you are in your job search process, just hold in there and keep applying. There is something out there for you.