OP-ED: Desperately seeking work

By: Crystal Truelove

Posted: 5/20/08

A year after my Brandeis graduation, I finally believe things just might work out after all.

I graduated last May and remained unemployed for a while. At first I felt little anxiety about that-I felt there was a lot to celebrate. I had completed all my coursework, finished my thesis and made it through a couple of graduation speeches. I said good-bye to my new friends and headed back home to the West Coast with soaring optimism.

I had two new degrees, after all. I assumed that would make me immediately employable. I polished up my résumé, adding those degrees with pride to the top of the "education" section.

Next, I became very familiar with online job advertising and application Web sites. I found that employers rarely give out a street address or phone number. They do not want to meet you, gauge your gregariousness, test your handshake or hear your voice. Employers frequently have a fill-in-the-blank sort of application form online. The Web sites actually state, "Do not attempt to contact us." When you are ready, click the "send" button.

For a couple of months, these Web sites are sort of fun. Filling in the blanks was like completing those Facebook mini-surveys. I surfed for hours-I had plenty of time on my hands-to discover new job sites I could join.

By the end of August I was worried. I had applied to over 40 jobs and had received two callbacks. That's right, just two.

I had been frequenting the likes of Monster, Craigslist, JobDango, USAJobs and CareerBuilder. I had my login names and passwords memorized. I signed up for a dozen automatic mailing lists, the ones that jet out an e-mail whenever anything promising pops up complete with a handy link that takes me directly to that friendly "send" button.

It turns out that while the Internet allows for more applicants to apply more easily, it also makes it easier for employers to blow applicants off. Weeks and weeks of completing applications provided only the minimal satisfaction of hearing a tiny "click" when I hit the "send" button. I rarely saw the reassurance of messages such as "Your application was received" or "Thank you for your interest in our company."

The two callbacks I did receive both resulted in personal interviews. It took me weeks of maddeningly frustrating failed attempts to contact the woman who gave me the first interview. When I finally had her on the phone, she told me the job would be left unfilled due to budget cuts and that she was sorry for not getting back to me sooner.

The other job interview, for a position as a greeter at a health clinic, went well, and I was asked back for a second interview with-the Board. The Board's main concern was that I might not be able to handle the job due to my lack of medical background. I assured them I could learn the job, and quickly. I volunteered to learn Russian-a local target population for the clinic. They said, "No, thank you."

My Brandeis degrees are in anthropology with a specialization in conflict resolution, so why was I begging for an opportunity to make $11 an hour in an unrelated field? Because I wasn't as employable as I'd imagined. The anthropology jobs I found were not local, not unless I'd studied archaeology, which I hadn't. The conflict resolution positions I found were for volunteers, and I needed to pay off my student loans. I widened my search field and considered other jobs, like a secretarial position at a hydroelectric dam, manager of vacation and sick leave for a school district and a hospital X-ray technician. Responses from all of these? Big fat nothing.

I was nearing panic in September when I received a general e-mail to Brandeis alumni. It said something to the effect of "Hey! We want to know how great your summer was. Tell us about your new job and how Brandeis helped you get it!" I replied instantly and with passion-you should never do this-saying how awful my life was, how I was on the brink of catastrophe and beginning to think attending Brandeis was a giant mistake. However, my outlook soon improved.

I was hired in October, and then promoted in November. I love my job; I have a great supervisor, great benefits and a flexible schedule. It's not anthropology or conflict resolution, but some of my student skills do apply. Right now I'm using my Brandeis-sharpened skills of organization, discipline and the ability to read tiresome things and get the main points out of them.

So it turns out that a Brandeis education is good for something after all, even if it did take me five months to figure out what. Besides, looking back on my jobless stretch, it doesn't seem so bad. Things seemed bleak for a while, but I need not have worried. If nothing else, I got to be unemployed during the five best-weathered months of the year.