One of my main worries about moving to a new city to start a master’s degree is that I won’t be employed enough when I arrive. The first on-campus job I applied to seemed like an okay fit, but a combination of unrelated events pre-interview ended up with a sweaty, rambling mess (me) trying to nail a Zoom interview I’d been dreading, absolutely dreading more than anything, in a too-humid room with a cat banging on the door asking to be let in (that last part is pretty normal, though).
But as time passed — it’s been over two weeks since the interview now — I realized part of the reason I was a mess for this interview was that I really actually probably didn’t want the job? That this job is considered a good get for first-year students, but it doesn’t really align with my long-term career goals? And sure, money is money, but did I want to lock myself in for two years doing one thing when I could be carving my niche in jobs I want, or at the very least, jobs that are much more readily available to students on campus than working professionals?
I told a few people recently that I was finding myself hoping I didn’t get this job, that the interview really did go as badly as I felt it did, because since then I’ve applied to a couple of positions that are a little more in my wheelhouse. And so today, when I got the email that I didn’t get that job, it was a relief. Like, yes, fantastic, now I am fully cleared to focus on something else.
In short: still unemployed come August, but boy, I think I really dodged an unpleasant thing, and that has to count for something. Go Badgers (unless Iowa is the opponent).
This is an entry in my 30 Day blogging challenge. Read the first post explaining it here, or see all the posts in the challenge here.
Onward and Eastward 