I’ve about had it

Ok, I’ve gone 5 straight weeks applying for positions in…upwards to 20 colleges and universities for international positions. Out of those I’ve applied for, I received two interviews, but (as the title of this blog entry hints at) they didn’t work out. The rest…well, there are some I could still hear back from, but I’ve also gotten a fair amount of “thank you for trying” letters.

As I mentioned two posts ago, it is a good sign that I’m getting interviews at all. It means my resume is catching people’s attention. Perhaps I just need to work on my interview skills a bit more. I did learn a lot from the two interviews I’ve had. I may just need that “third time’s a charm” interview.

I’ll keep a finger on the pulse of…not sure that analogy is working quite the way I want. Anyway, I’ll check periodically for new jobs in the international field, but I think I’ve about exhausted that option. I’m going to start looking at other options that may be more pragmatic and help keep me in this area.

I mean, here’s one of the problems. When I applied for the JET Program and applied to teach in Taiwan...even when I applied for the teaching program here, I was applying for high demand areas that had an insatiable need for people to work in those fields. That is not the case for the positions I’ve been applying for since I left the teaching program. Lot’s of people are qualified and there are only a few positions open.

So, now looking at that reality...well, I kind of did see that reality already, which is why I’ve been applying nation-wide, not just here in Washington. But even so, it’s starting to look like I may not get in, so I’m going to start looking for other options.

Which options? I don’t know. Neither of the temp agencies I’ve applied for have had any work for me, which kind of surprises me since when I worked for one of the companies in Bellevue, there was plenty of work in the summer. But it seems there isn’t much going on in Olympia.

I left a message today with a job placement agency that does instant placement. I’ll try calling them back tomorrow. Maybe I can see if they can place me in a job up in Seattle. I mean, if I can’t get the job I’ve been looking for, maybe I can at least get the location. We’ll see. I guess it wouldn’t be terrible if I were stuck here, but now that I’m not in the teaching program, this area doesn’t seem to have much opportunity. But I could be wrong.

Well, that’s my update of sorts. Hopefully I’ll find where I belong or at least fit in.