The Adventures of Captain Jobless

A turn for the worst, a hope for the best
But going in blind, and damn under-dressed

I started the job search this week. Had some kind of "epiphany" or something to that effect, whereby I decided that it might be slightly foolish to put every single egg (or at least, both of them, because I only have two: med school and grad school) in one basket (or two...but whatever, now I'm just confusing myself). So...I figured that the most wise thing to do would be to use up whatever spare time I did have left and devote it, not to saving the world, nor to sleeping away my life, but instead, to searching for a job. Hopefully one that is not dead-end, and hopefully one that is interesting.

I'm starting to turn into something of a realist these days (which means more pessimism I guess, and the nagging sensation of wanting to roll my eyes in the face of encouragement and optimism), but I'd like to know that there is a backup plan to the backup plan. We all know that the Plan B rarely works out. So I'm counting on the Plan C instead.

Which is not to say that it hasn't had its perks. While job searching/medschool applying/grad school researching does take a lot of time, at least searching for a full time job puts food on the table and pens in my backpack and drinks in my tummy. You wouldn't think so...but when companies come to campus to recruit and offer to feed and drunkify you (at their expense), you go. And you let them bribe you with pens and calculators that look like cellphones and gum and chocolate bars. And business cards. Oh, it's all about the business cards. They're like the freaking holy grail of the job search. The kids are fighting over them.

So while I'm not really sure where I want to be next year (other than thinking that Plan A is definitely the only plan in which I would be totally happy -- and that may be too much to ask), I think I'll keep attending these appointments at the Faculty Club. Remember, if a company offers you time at an open bar, it is very very VERY impolite to decline. Drink like a fish and even if you don't get a job, you're drunk -- do you really care?

I mean really...Deloittle had free drinks...Deloitte had a huge audience. Enbridge had pizza...Enbridge had a small audience. Correlation? I'm no math genius but...

Also a snag in my job search plan: the lack of any nice clothing. Neglected to bring anything other than t-shirts and jeans to the apartment...and having to go to all of these things, terribly underdressed, seated beside students in shirt-and-ties...sucks. Will have to go shopping. YES. Good excuse.

But in all seriousness, this is perhaps the most stressful time I've ever had to go through. Having to pursue five million different avenues at one time, sending out application after application and having no idea if you're good enough for any of these things you're applying for...knowing that your career rests on these first fews steps...it's a lot to take in. Add to that the fact that you're supposed to be working on thesis, and schoolwork, and your extracurriculars...and that, my friends, is why the open bar is so damn popular.