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Health & Fitness

Hunting For A Job

This past week, I spent my time and effort attempting to find a job at a local restaurant. Believe it or not, despite sending out resumes and applications to a myriad of magazines and newspapers, I have yet been unable to find employment as a writer. It’s discouraging. That doesn’t mean I’m giving up on my dreams, but it does mean that I need to start considering other options to support myself on my way to achieving them. The money I saved up while working in college is starting to dwindle. My mom provides rent-free housing and does more than her fair share to help me pay for food and bills, but I feel like a leech not being able to contribute more. She supports me, reminds me that finding a job is tough for a lot of people right now, and assures me that it will all work out. It’s nice to hear, but I’ll feel better when I know I’m employed.

 

Ideally, I’d want to find a job as waiter. It’s a job I could see myself enjoying. I’ve heard people say that the hardest part about working in the food industry is that no one is ever satisfied. People want their food to be perfect and when it isn’t, they’re often ready to fight about it. If that’s the worst part, then I would love the job. Working as a tele-fundraiser for SUNY Albany, I’ve heard it all. Not only am I used to being berated by customers and prospects, but I also see it as a challenge. It’s my job to turn the situation around. Some people just hung up as soon as I said hello. There was no opportunity there. But when people are upset, it means that they care and that they want to be heard. As I talked to many of these people, I became skilled in resolving their conflicts. I realized that when I take the time to truly listen to people and focus on what they are saying, it becomes easy to connect and communicate. I realized that I need to react differently depending on the words and tone a person uses. I realized that arguing with people never works while seeking to understand their perspective almost always does.

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In my opinion, all of these skills should transfer over seamlessly to a waiter’s job. Not only did I excel as a caller, but I was eventually promoted to supervisor. Waiters need to be able to maintain an awareness of multiple tasks and integrated operations. As supervisor of a call center in charge of twenty-five employees who need to be monitored, evaluated, and mentored, I believe I’ve gained some skill in that department. So not only do I feel that I would enjoy the job, but I also believe I have many of the qualifications. Unfortunately, after stopping by a few restaurants and speaking to some hiring managers, I’m told that despite my explanations of how the skills are transferable, it doesn’t matter. I’m still lacking the most crucial element that everyone is looking for: previous restaurant experience. So basically, when it comes to looking for a restaurant job, everything I have done up until now doesn’t seem to count. Or if it does, barely at all. Again, this is discouraging. From what I understand, my best opportunity would be to seek employment as a dishwasher or food runner and try to work my way up from there.

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If that’s the best path to lead me to where I want to go, then that is the path I will embark on. In life, we must work hard to achieve success. Sometimes that means starting from the bottom and climbing your way up. I understand that. But I would be lying if I said that I wasn’t frustrated with the obstacles and difficulties I’m encountering along the way. It is my expectations that have betrayed me. I’ve spent most of my life believing that if I worked hard in school and always maintained an A average, I would end up where I needed to be. Well, I performed outstandingly in terms of academics, graduated with an honors diploma from both high school and college, and it’s difficult to see how all that work was worth it now. I have the receipt from the thousands of dollars my family and I have spent on college as well as the debt we racked up. Now where do I go to cash in my honors diploma? Is it worth the thousands I paid for it? Is it worth the countless hour spent writing essays and doing homework assignments for the past four years of my life? Don’t get me wrong, I had a phenomenal college experience, but I just thought I was doing it because it would connect me to a job when I finished. Did I benefit from all the wisdom and experience I gained in college? Yes. Do I currently see it helping me to find a job? No.

 

Whatever. I’m frustrated, but as Buddha says, “Holding on to anger is like grasping a hot coal with the intent of throwing it at someone else; you are the one who gets burned.” All I can do is release the anger I am feeling and continue to strive for the best future possible. Despite what happens around me, I believe in myself. I believe that I will always find a way. It’s okay if life isn’t happening the way I thought it would. I hear it doesn’t for most people. Rather than be frustrated for what I do not have, I must remember to be grateful for what I do. Even though I may be starting from the bottom in a new field, I am still rich with personal experience that will help me to excel and succeed. I am surrounded by a support system of friends and family that believe in me. I have delicious food to eat and a comfortable bed to sleep in. So while I acknowledge the feelings of stress and pressure of knowing that not finding a job means not making money, which means not buying food and healthcare, which means death, I do my best to release those anxieties. I focus on building my strength and I strive towards the future. I strive towards achieving my dreams.

 

This week, let’s meditate on overcoming obstacles. Life is not always easy. Life is not always fun. But we must persevere. We must search for the strength within ourselves to journey on. This week, think about the struggles that you face. Realize that if you so desire, you can triumph over them. This week, think about any anger or frustration you might feel towards life. Think about any friction you have experienced in moving forward. Release those negative feelings. They do not serve you. Life may be challenging but it is futile to resist. We cannot resist life. We are life. If we do not seek misery and death, then our only option is success. So whatever it is that’s been holding you back, take now as your opportunity to transcend it. Climb over it. Dig under it. Go around it. Smash through it. Whatever works for you, do it. Because if you don’t, there is really no other option. 

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