I am, thankfully, embarking on my last co-op term of my degree in the summer term. After the freedom of not having to use Jobmine for more than a year, my adventure back into Jobmine reminded me what a nightmare it can be. To illustrate, here's my shortened version of One Month in my life as a Jobmine student.
January 9:
Thankfully, in my rare moments of non-procrastination, my resume has already been completed. Looking ahead in the coming weeks, the weekend of the 16th is when Round One of Jobmine opens, and the week after just looks awful, I figure this is my only chance to take some time and get a new suit.
3 hours later: While my wallet is $260 lighter, I am consoled by the fact that at least I'll look damn good when interview season comes around.
January 16:
Round One of Jobmine opens. (Again, for those not from Waterloo, Round One is the first time jobs get released for applications. The majority of jobs are released now, if you don't get a job in Round One, it means many more months of painful Jobmine sessions.) We have 4 days to scan through jobs, add some to our shortlist, and then finally apply.
They always tell you to start early, in case something happens and you can't access Jobmine later on in the period. So I start on Saturday night, 9:00pm. Considering I thought that other people had lives, I didn't expect the servers to be that busy and I could go through all the jobs that night.
It was awful. Clicking on a job description - 3 minutes for it to load.
Clicking "Next" - took 1 minute to load.
How many jobs to go through? 1360.
ARGH. I went until midnight. If that's how long it takes all weekend, it doesn't matter how early you start, 4 days to apply is not enough time.
January 17:
Thankfully, today wasn't as bad. I was able to shortlist 13 jobs.
January 18:
While in my painful CS 371 class (where the professor thinks 12 is the same as 1), I managed to write up most of my cover letters and submit. Now the waiting game begins...
January 20:
As usual, I get an e-mail, Jobmine had a nervous breakdown the night before with the number of students who were trying to apply the night. As a result, deadline is extended one more day. Glad to know that I submitted early enough to avoid this rush.
January 22:
A few more jobs get posted. I find one more, and apply.
January 25:
I slowly start to develop OCD, as I check Jobmine 3 times a day to see if I got interviews for any of my jobs. Nada.
January 26:
I am slowly going crazy.....no interviews. I got my first rejection =( I ponder why I got rejected...I have more than a year's worth of good solid experience in the field I applied for. Oh well, there's always one that gets away.
January 27:
Rejection #2. This time, I don't even remember applying for this job, so I don't feel bad about it =)
January 28:
Officially, this is the first day of Interviews. I am really starting to get nervous now, with only 2 rejections. My OCD starts getting full blown - I have the urge to check Jobmine every 20 minutes or more. Basically, if I am near a computer, I will check. And check often. ARGH.
January 29:
*contemplates leaving the computer at home, so I don't check Jobmine so often. Na.* People around me getting interviews left and right - or have already done an interview. In a word....depressing.
Febuary 1:
The interview session is only 2 more weeks at UW. I get rejected from one more job. Now...I'm getting really antsy. At least more so than before. My thought process:
"Why does no one want me - especially in marketing? Come on, I helped with a freakin national commercial. That's got to count for something. "
"What if I don't get a job? What are my options? I could go home for the summer. *thoughts of boredom* Hmm. Maybe not the whole summer."
"Wait a minute, who needs jobmine? Psssh. I'll google jobs. *30 minutes later, and no good results later* Er.....crap."
"What's wrong with my resume? What about my cover letters? *I ask a friend. After finding out that I have 3 different resumes depending on what position I apply to, and write individual cover letters to all of them...he's at a loss.* Argh shit. I could go back to school in the summer...but I don't really have the money for that. Hmm."
4:00 pm, at the end of the day: Got my first interview. HUZZAH, I am NOT un-employable!!!
*sigh*
Excuse me...while I check Jobmine again.
- S
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