On the hunt

Job searching is an interesting thing. You make your resume, and spend countless time perfecting the margins and the font size and the content. Every word has to be perfectly chosen and appropriate and placed within the perfect sentances, all in the attempt to make yourself look exactly like whatever type of person the employer is looking for. Its a very involved process. Then when you know you have highlighted every strength and tactfully concealed every weakness, the Career Services person marks it up with red ink like she was recreating the 4th of July fireworks show on paper. So you go back to your computer and try to eek out more, from both your resume and yourself.

The whole time you have the questions running through your head: Do you want me?? Am I good enough? Will you have me?? Will you make it worth my time?

Then you apply and wait for calls. They come, and you are respectful and curteous, kind and considerate with a little bit of humor and zest thrown in for flavoring...you want them to remember you, of course. You must be honest about things so they know you are a real person. They like your resume (YES!!...resounds your silent exultation). They seem to like you. All goes well.

The salary topic comes up, as well as benefits. Oh so much delicacy is required here. Careful now, lest they think you are too assuming. But it is a quick conversation, generally. They either offer you what you want, so you are good to go. Or they don't, and you have the choice to politely debate, or turn it down. You can't budge in terms of your minimum unless they thrown in something nice, like extra time off or something. Gas is still expensive, no matter what you say.

Then they say "Thank you for your time, you seem like a great candidate for this position. We will be calling you."

And they do. And they offer you the job.

But I didn't take it. They weren't going to pay me enough. Gas is, like I said, expensive. And they lived too far away.