oh job hunting...

I'm getting tired of this game, losing momentum and enthusiasm. I've already applied for damn near all the jobs in my field/for my experience level that are out there. When I first started job hunting, and I didn't know how long it would last, I wrote down every position title I applied for. Along with that I kept a description of the duties required, the name of the company the position was with, a little of their history, mission statement, and a few highlights of their major projects. I kept these all in a notebook that I kept with me at all times, just in case I got a call, the call, the one telling me that SOMEONE was interested.

That faded, after a few weeks, nearly 20 jobs applied for, and not a single call. So from there I swapped to an excel sheet, with the location, company, position title, method of application, and date of application, for every job. Now on that same excel sheet I keep a tally of the jobs in the same cities, states, at the same companies, and I keep an updated list of which ones have actively denied me, which ones have not yet responded, and if there has been any other contact with anyone/dates of said contact. That has not improved my results, although potentially that is only because employers don't know that (hey everybody! look how organized I am!!) but for whatever reason that excel sheet now contains 33 missed opportunities and I'm branching out.

I'm looking into photography, but that would require a significant upfront investment (Africa beat the tar outta my camera), writing professionally which would also require a significant investment as most opportunities are scams, baking would be cool, but requires lots of red tape and I've never dealt well with the pressures of health inspections. I'm thinking about writing a cookbook, because I love to bake, love to create my own recipes, and I love to eat yummy things. Course anyone can write a cookbook, and maybe even assemble it and illustrate it, BUT who the heck can SELL one? Not I, thats for sure. Next idea, teach myself a new skill thats marketable, like tech skills or surveying, grant writing or spanish, beer brewing or getting a commercial driver's license. Then I could qualify for a bunch more jobs, but these things would all require a significant investment of time, and life ain't free, so money too.

I guess what it all comes down to is that I need another job for the mean time, because trail guiding is almost over, winter is coming, and there's not a whole lot waiting in the wings in terms of the Job hunt with the capital J...as opposed to this new one I have going on, which starts with a little j.

So really all I have to say is that the grander Job hunt and the less grand, but no less pertinent job hunt continue. Now I'm seeking ways to connect the two, thus making the results of my job hunt somehow add to my Job hunt in some important way. I have emailed several area engineering firms requesting internships for the winter, with one potentially positive response and one totally negative.

Gotta start somewhere, so here goes...