Job Hunting: The Search for Mr. Right

As I was pondering my current jobless situation, I realized that looking for job is like looking for a guy or a date. I know, I know -- it seems silly. Job hunting is a serious endeavor involving decisions about your career path and going on interviews and comparing that to something you would find in an article in Cosmo doesn't seem to relate.

But it does! We sift through countless job ads and postings in hopes to find one that you could see as your job. You look to see if you meet their qualifications and at the same time, you need to make sure that the job is a right fit for you. Finding a guy is basically the same thing. Just like searching for a job, you might know or meet plenty of guys, but you have to sift through the men to find one you could see potential dating. Once you find a potential match, you have to determine if he has what you're looking for and that guy needs to reciprocate interest and see if you have what he's looking for as well -- basically like finding a job match.

Think about interviews: essentially, they're the same as a first date, right? (As long as the interview is only with one person...if you can get more than one person to go on a first date with you, my hat's off to you...) In your interview, you meet with one person and you need to tell them about yourself, sell yourself to them (not literally, of course, as that is considered prostitution.) You need to make sure that they know of your best qualities so that they want to give you the job. That's basically what happens on a first date. You need to let your date know who you are, what you're looking for, flaunt your best assets and prove to them that you want a second date and potentially, girlfriend or boyfriend status.

Now why bring this up? Certainly none of this is to say that if you have a terrible love life you should expect your job hunt to fail miserably... which is also to say that if you are having a fantastic job search you will also subsequently find yourself Prince Charming (note: Cinderella had a terrible job and managed to find Prince Charming, but then again, her circumstances were much different.) Ultimately, I bring this up because it does lighten things up a bit. For those of us who are confident on a first date, maybe trying to bring that same confidence to an interview will help if we stop thinking of an interview as this very serious and scary conversation. It's just a chance to let the company know who you are.

I'm hoping that I manage to find Mr. Right Job as soon as possible. Here's to utilizing my best first date skills and charming the pants off of my next interview-er... minus the flirting and awkward moment when you determine who's picking up the check...