Staying Optimistic Post-Graduation
“Go to college,” they said.
“You’ll be more likely to find a job with a better salary,” they continued to say.
“It’ll be EASY once you have your degree!”
That’s what I kept reminding myself anytime I contemplated dropping out of school. I would just have to make it through a few more semesters, then as soon as I graduated I would jump straight into my career in the fashion industry. I was under the impression that, at this point, I’d have interviews lined up and I would be receiving offers out of the ass. I mean, I do have over four years of experience in fashion retail, a great skills match with most entry-level fashion merchandising jobs, and a degree that I was willing to acquire 50k in debt for. It never crossed my mind that the job hunt post-graduation would actually be difficult … but BOY, I have been woken up, slapped in the face, and STUNG. I began applying for jobs in March. I figured since so many other people had jobs lined up well before graduation, I might as well start putting myself out there. I was invited to interview for a Visual Merchandiser position with Bloomingdales at one of their stores in New York. Their only interview slots were during the week, so being that I was in the middle of a full-time internship, I wouldn’t have been able to make it. I still set up an interview though, and I just hoped that someone would reach out to me before that date and offer to do a virtual or phone interview. Then it actually happened! Long story short, the interviewer reached out to me and asked if I could come in at another time or have a phone interview the following day. Of course I chose the following day, but she never confirmed it. And I never got the call. There have been a couple of other companies that’ve reached out to me to schedule an interview, but they all wanted to meet within a few days and that wasn’t something that I was able to make work. So after that I slowed down on applying, and I told myself I’d start again toward the end of April when I completed my internship. And that’s what I did. I was excited when I was called to interview for the Visual Merchandiser position with Target, being that I’ve heard they’re a great company to be employed with. The first interview went great, I just had two more to go through which would have been with the Store Manager and then the District Manager. I never got the call to set up an interview. Instead, I received a call about an offer for a position that I didn’t apply for. In all honesty it just seemed like I would be a sales associate, and I wasn’t impressed so I declined the offer. Don’t get me wrong, I thought about it, I just knew I would feel even worse if I settled for a job doing the same type of work that I had been doing since my first retail job in 2014.
So here I am, unemployed. I feel like I spend hours a day researching jobs, applying to the ones I feel qualified for, and tweaking my resume and cover letter depending on the company and position. I haven’t reached that post-graduation depression stage, thankfully, and I feel that’s due to the fact that so many new jobs are posted each day which allows me to continuously apply. I applied to a job today that I felt confident that I could succeed at, but then an hour later I got an email saying that they wouldn’t be moving forward with my application. Not going to lie, that shit hurt. However, I do appreciate the companies that do keep you in the loop instead of just leaving you to wonder if your application was lost in the abyss of other applications. I guess it is worth the bruised ego to have that closure.
Staying Optimistic
As I said, I haven’t hit that post-graduation depression stage, but I do have my days where my current reality hits a little harder than usual. I don’t have a job, I’m living with my parents, and I wake up everyday with not a damn thing to do. It’s not the end of the world, but it definitely sucks, so there are a few things that I find myself thinking about that always works to get my spirits up. One of the main ones being that for once in my two and a half years of blogging, I can actually focus on being consistent. I almost feel like God is testing me right now, like “alright girl, you said you wanted this, so I cleared all of your obligations so that I can see how bad you really want it.” I honestly have a ton of ideas, and being that I’ve expanded into lifestyle blogging and blogging about wedding planning, it’s a lot of things I’ve thought of that I’m really excited to share. I’ve mentioned before that my goal is to post at least twice a week, but even more than that, my goal is to get so in the habit of blogging, that even once I do have a job, posting at the same consistency will be a breeze. They say it takes 21 days to form a habit, right? So in that 21 days I’m going to brainstorm at least one new idea a day, and begin working on the post. By the end of these three weeks, I’ll have at least six new posts live, but I think I’m going to aim for ten. That’s three this week, three next week, and four on the last week. I already have my three posts for this week, so I just need to finish them up, and then I can start thinking of next weeks posts.
When I’m in my feelings about living with my parents, I remind myself that I don’t have to worry about paying rent or utility bills right now, so my financial obligations are just my credit card bills. I also never have to worry about what I’m eating for dinner, because my mom is either cooking or my dad is ordering something. If it wasn’t for that, I’d for sure be broke right now, then I’d most definitely be depressed. I would have accepted the job offer from Target, then I’d feel defeated because I have a Bachelors Degree and I’m working a regular job. However, if I don’t get a real job offer in the next few weeks, I will just have to swallow my pride and find a temporary job while I’m on the hunt for something that satisfies me. This post is all all about optimism though, so we’re not even going to talk about what if I don’t get any job offers, because I will. Let me speak it into existence RIGHT NOW - I will get multiple job offers, all from great companies. AMEN.
The last thing that helps me get out of a funk isn’t really something that I necessarily think about, it’s more of something that I plan to do, and that’s starting a workout routine. Ever since I’ve lived in Statesboro, I’ve always had free access to a gym, but now that I’m not in Statesboro, I really hate myself for not taking advantage of the RAC and the 24-hour gym that was at my apartment complex. But I’m not here to cry about what I should have did; we’re only moving forward from here on out, so in the upcoming days I’m going to put together a full workout routine to follow from Monday to Friday. I haven’t decided if the weekends will just be an easy day or my off days, but by the end of the week I’ll have it all figured out. My original intent was to join a gym, but since I don’t have a steady income, I may just do home workouts and buy a few pieces of equipment. Nothing too fancy, probably just a medicine ball, a resistance band, and maybe a set of dumbbells. My mom has a treadmill that I can put to good use, but since I’m more interested in muscle-building workouts versus cardio, I may only use it to warm up. I’m thinking one of my blogs for the next few weeks will be one dedicated to my entire workout routine, so if you’re interested in that kind of stuff, be on the lookout!
