It Only Takes One

It’s that time of year again. It’s time for the annual trip to the dry cleaner where college students stretch their budget to get their suit pressed and maybe if they’re feeling fancy, get themselves a new tie.

It’s time for countless applications filling out the same thing: name, school address, permanent address, and job history (even though we already uploaded a PDF file and have probably held a maximum of three jobs thus far).

Yeah, same thing, different day.

This year I got lucky, I got to skip the dreaded career fair because I am in Seoul for the Fall doing some research and taking some courses. I don’t feel too bad because most of the time students wait in twenty minute lines only to be told to apply online. So, basically, we’re all in the same boat, both domestic and abroad.

Can you tell I’m a bit bitter?

The recruiting process is not for the faint of heart. It takes a lot of time and energy, even if it is just entering your home address and uploading your resume sixty different times.

Besides that, the real downer is being sent a generic rejection email after taking so much time to apply. I understand why it’s this way, and why it needs to happen.

But honestly, it has made me feel like a number.

I know, I know, I’m not. I know it only takes one person to take a chance on me. It only takes one person to see how talented, creative, and full of life I am.

I guess the message is: college seniors, keep it up. You’re not alone, because we’re all going through it together.

We all wake up and get nervous to check our school email. We all experience the sinking feeling when we get the generic email of rejection, and we all feel jealousy when that one friend gets a return offer without having to write a single cover letter.

It’s important to remember that this process may take up a considerable amount of time, but don’t let it own you. Apply to jobs you feel you really want and feel passionately about. Stay persistent and understand the value you bring to the table.

We all have countless experiences to draw upon. Be able to convey that in a cover letter, and when you finally get that interview, don’t be nervous, but translate all those nerves into energy. Be excited.

The future is so bright for soon to be college grads, and I am right there with you. I have no idea what I will be doing in a year’s time. I have sent in over fifty job applications, and all I need, and all you need, is one person to believe in me and you.

It will happen, for both of us.

I’m excited to see who that one person is, because I can guarantee I won’t let that person down, and I know you won’t either. We have, very literally, been preparing our entire lives for our first career. Make it worth while. Make sure it’s something you’re passionate about.

Or better yet, make yourself that one person. Do something new. We live in an age where the sky is literally the limit. Hard work is necessary no matter what, as I said before, make it worth while and make sure whatever you do, and whatever you apply for is something you are passionate about.

Let’s do this, Class of 2017.