I stood in the pit of despair among skyscrapers, dressed in a frumpy green dress from the previous summer. Young urbanites surrounded me in their latest fashion work clothes. Tiny computerized cell phones in hand, laptops at hip, brief cases over shoulder, they were infinitely more prepared for the world at large than I.
That is how I felt, in despair. I had been looking for a job for 6 months and the light was nonexistent at the end of the tunnel. I was underdressed, and under-prepared for the job market. My skills, though current, had not been applied in a “work” setting for over two years. I had just graduated from college, but employers knew they had pick of the litter with high unemployment.
The worst part was that even the employers didn’t know what they wanted or why. I looked through ads requesting the presence of a secretary with 20 years experience and a 4-year degree; office workers with close and personal relationships to Jesus; and 30 years experience in MS word. I explained to one employer to asked about my web credentials that you could have a validated web page without Dreamweaver or Frontpage and he look at me funny and said: “Not in my 2 months experience as a web designer.” I swear I thought I would faint.
I’m one of the lucky ones. My grandmother bought me some new “work clothes” and the first interviewer I wore them to hired me. I thought hey, I can tough it out as an office assistant for a while, but when I showed up for work I found a diamond in the rough. As office assistant I am in charge of website maintenance, data entry and retrieval, account management, and the updating and creation of menus onsite. Boom! I was doing what I wanted. Sure there is more to the job than that but so far it’s fun and challenging.
I got myself where I wanted to be by pure luck. For those still jobless out there I feel for you and wish the best of luck there is.
© Michelle Norton
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