It has been a long time since I last earnestly applied for a job or worked on getting the requirements for one, and I must say that I am thankful I'm doing it right now. There are things that I have forgotten about life that I now need to remember. This activity has helped me recognize them, so even if I don't get into any job just yet, I will still have some takeaway from this whole process.
As I've figured this would take a while if I turned it into one long post, and by then it would lose relevance for me or I would forget to include things, I decided to break these up into smaller posts. Also, if I do it this way, I wouldn't feel so obligated to make each point shorter and sacrificing any important points that I could make.
So, yes, let's get into the thick of things, shall we?
One of the things that this recent experience is reminding me of is that my past jobs have not been provided to me just because I earned it or I deserved it. Yes, I do recognize that my application to some of these jobs have been successful, and I did do these jobs to the best of my ability (perhaps only limited by my confidence), but I would never have gotten them if not for external factors.
The very first one I ever did was helping out my friends with their party services business. I wouldn't have been there to help them out if not for them actually inviting me to do so. And sure, I only got fare money to go back home, but that was pretty much my first taste of working a job. I was pretty happy.
Then there was my longest stint, which was being a friend's personal assistant. Like with the party services, she had offered it to me. It didn't pay anything, but I did learn quite a few things, like how to cook, how to talk to people, and how to write a little better (although there were some points that we disagreed on) and a little more consistently. Also, from this job I was recommended into several freelance jobs (without actually stopping the personal assistant thing, though), most of which were writing-related.
And there was this one notable job that another friend recommended me to, which is being an admin assistant for a company's finance department. I wouldn't have been there if not for that friend and her friend, who was one of the HR people there, I believe. I didn't even expect to get in, and I was actually embarrassed at the time, since I didn't feel like it was right for my friend's friend to be so impressed because of the school I came from. But there, it was the very first one that had an actual salary, and the work wasn't too taxing, either. I also learned to budget, since my pay was on the low end.
That one startup company thing I got into was also because of my friends. While it didn't really take off like we thought it would, I did get to learn about what it's like trying to run a business. I'm not sure if the information is ever going to be useful, job-wise, but it does inform my current perspective on businesses and companies.
I don't have a job right now, as I'm writing this, but it is comforting to be reminded that getting a job is not all dependent on me and my efforts. As Picard from Star Trek: The Next Generation says, "It is possible to commit no mistakes and still lose. That is not a weakness. That is life." For the most part, there are things that are beyond my control, like the weather, the people who are inside the companies, my fellow applicants, and even my previous actions, employment-wise. I cannot change them.
After I've done my due diligence and put in my best effort, all I can do is trust that God will provide.