The Perfect Fit!

A few weeks ago, I got an email from a good friend (who is also looking for work).  He said he had found a job that he felt would be a great match for me.  He was right - I had each of the skills and requirements (and those that I didn't have were easily learned).  He worked with me to craft a great cover letter (arguably the best I've ever written) and touched up my resume to make it agreeable to the job in question.

It should have - at the very least - netted me an interview.

You probably know how this story played out. I got the brush off email.

My reaction?  Frustration?  No.  Disappointment?  Nah.  A philosophical shrug of the shoulders  You bet.

I'm used to this.  There have been too many jobs that I've looked into that have SCREAMED for me to pursue them.  "This job not only should be mine, but it WILL be mine!", I have thought.  In this case, I have inspiration from a great friend who stood behind me.  Through no real fault of our own, I got the heave-ho.

Why?

"Why" is not easy to answer.  The position (Assistant Sports Information Director for a well-known institution) would have been right in my wheelhouse.  Do stats.  Write.  Manage game sites.  Assist.  Do public relations.  Conduct interviews.  Help out with webcasting.  Anybody see anything there that I couldn't excel at?

Without looking too hard at my resume, one can see that I'm no kid, and Assistant SID's aren't usually 44-years-old.  I got my first full-time job before current college seniors were born.  Still, why not?  So it was worth a shot.  But really, the "why" can also be for reasons like there was already a strong internal candidate that the institution was going to hire, and only placed the ad due to Equal Opportunity requirements (aka the real-life "Rooney Rule").

There are a lot of reasons as to why one does not get a nibble on their resume.  There are so many job-seekers out there (despite what the government and media want to tell you).  Supply can not equal demand.  Yet the impression is left that there are jobs to be found.  Just Google it!  Lots of jobs await!

It's just not that easy.  I can only say "trust me" on this.

I've networked - aggressively.  I've blind emailed.  I've applied to things both in and out of my comfort zone.  I have friends who have asked friends.  I already told you about the SID position.  Ryan DeMaria is looking into private school teaching for me (don't need a teaching certificate).  Paul Silverfarb and Ken Borsuk are rooting around for writing (and so many of you have told me that this is the avenue I should pursue).  I have a well-placed friend shooting high for me in radio.  Another radio friend got me a great public address gig for a day (and they want me back).

The point of all of this is that this job market is still frustrating.  And bad.

But there's no point in lamenting the "perfect" job.  It happened.  Brush off the dirt and move on.

P.S.  I wrote this on Monday, and I put it on the shelf, which I rarely do.  I came back and edited it a few times, which I don't often do.  There was a funny, but harsh part to this that I took out.  Anyway, since then I've actually seen an uptick of things.  It doesn't mean the narrative has changed - the job market is still brutal and one still has to think "outside the box."  And that so-called perfect job thing is still annoying (especially to not net an interview).  But...so it goes.

Oh, and if you're looking for jobs, make sure to visit Indeed.com.  I've done it for a while, and the fact that Chris Erway works there doesn't hurt.