Why job hunting is a terrible job...

I have a grievance to air...it's personal to me, and, it seems it's probably also personal to about 1 in 2 Americans in my age bracket.  I feel as though ever since I returned from the Peace Corps in 2009, I have been what I refer to as semi-employed...I almost always have a job (or two) and I am almost always looking for a different one, because I spent nearly $100,000 on a college education that I would someday like to have the privilege of using, and perhaps even someday finish paying for...  And here's the advice I have been given time and time again (and the grievance that I'd like to air) by everyone from career counselors to friends, to online articles and job boards:  "Job hunting is, in itself, a full time job" and "Treat finding a job like it is your job" and "Make your job hunt into your job, create schedules and goals and adhere to them strictly."  Great advice!  Except, even if you are only treating job-hunting as a part-time job (which of course is more realistic, since you get no benefits, no paid vacations, and are not invited to a single company party) and even if you make your own schedule, and don't adhere to it strictly, it's still the worst job you will ever have to endure for any period of time.

Lets say job hunting is my job, I am a professional job hunter, by trade.  Lets follow this comparison through, shall we:  I get up in the morning, get dressed, and have a cup of coffee.  Then I go to work and sit down in front of my computer, the project I have currently been assigned at work is to find and fill out applications for jobs, right?  So I begin by checking my email, voicemail, and linkedin account to see if any I have had any luck on any of my previous applications, then I move on to hitting all the usual suspects, monster.com, careerbuilder.com, usajobs.gov, and then state and local government employment sites; then I check out linkedin jobs, read any job board emails that I am a part of, etc.  This is mostly just getting caught up on any new openings, since I have already done all of this yesterday morning.  From this reconnaissance work I come up with a list of 2 or 3 (if I'm lucky)  jobs that are (1) at least somewhat applicable to my experience, (2) still accepting applications, and (3) somewhere that I would be willing to move to.  So I take this list and begin crafting resumes and cover letters for each one, which can take anywhere from several hours to a few days, depending on how much I need to edit one of my existing resumes to make it applicable, and also if it is any kind of government job I will also have to complete the entire application, re-enter all of my employment history, answer the questionnaire, attach transcripts, and all that fun stuff.  So that's not so bad right?  Every day you go to work with the same objective, you follow the same steps, and you systematically apply yourself to anything and everything you might be capable of.  

Here's why that's awful: Can you imagine going to work every day, doing essentially the same project every day, learning from your mistakes, improving your process, finding jobs that really inspire you, spending all day crafting just the right resume and cover letter, and almost never getting anything in return except polite  excuses for not hiring you?  It's a full time (or part time, depending on your level of dedication) job of nothing but negative feed back.  I spend my days applying only to jobs that I could really see myself wanting, I dream about being a part of that office, completing the tasks described, living in that town, using my skills and talents and education to solve problems, complete tasks, I really pour my heart and soul into this stuff and then I will literally hear from maybe 1 in 25 of them if I am lucky.  Some of them don't want me because I'm too far away, because they want someone local, because I don't have enough experience, because I have too much experience, because I move around so much (I go where I can get a job...so sue me), because someone who already works there is moving into the position and they were just advertising it out of formality, because I didn't call to follow up, because I did call to follow up, because I don't care enough about money, because I seem too eager, because I'm not eager enough, because I'm too young, because I'm an environmentalist, because I am too liberal, because I am not liberal enough, because I attached my references as a document instead of putting them in the text of my cover letter, and so on and so forth.  Some of them will send me a letter saying "Oh hey you're great, and it's not you, it's us.  You sound really super duper though (I'm paraphrasing a bit here...) and we'd love it if you keep applying to our company over and over again because we will not remember you next time we're hiring and you'll have to re-do the entire exact same application all over again to even be considered for future opportunities with this company..."  Most of them will never say anything at all.  

I have gotten a few job offers over the years, obviously I got my AmeriCorps position and this spring I landed a pretty sweet (albeit unpaid) job in the Bahama's that I was forced to turn down for financial reasons...but as far as jobs in my field, that I am interested in, that's about all the positive feedback I've gotten in 3 years.  I have landed jobs as a bartender, waitress, front desk person, grocery store check out clerk, trail guide, in-store product demonstrator, and even "spokes model."  I think that is part of why 1 in 2 people my age is, as they so adequately describe it, underemployed; because after 3 or 5 or 12 months of no no no's, it just feels so good when you finally get a yes!  That, and because we are all saddled with so much student loan debt that the old "backpacking around Europe to find yourself after college" is no longer even in the realm of possibility without risking complete personal bankruptcy (and even that won't get rid of those pesky student loans) so we literally cannot not have a job for even a few months, until our loans are paid off.  Guidance counselors should really warn you about this stuff, when I was 18 years old a private school seemed like a brilliant idea.  I was a good student, and I wanted to go to a good school, case closed.  That seemed like what I was supposed to want to do.  $20,000 per year in scholarships seemed like a lot, at 18 years old I had never in my life even thought anyone would want to give me that much money for any reason, so it felt like an honor, something that I shouldn't turn down.  Of course I had to match it with a few grand a year in loans...but by the time I got out I would be making enough money to pay those off in no time, right?  So whats a few years worth of loans?  

So here's what they don't tell you, every year tuition goes up and scholarships stay the same, every year.  And not just by a little either, but but thousands.  During my time at RPI tuition went up an average of $1,800 per year, piling almost $6,000 additional on top of my already not-inconsiderable loan totals.  I came out with almost $40,000 in loans, and I was on the low side of my class.  Of course I graduated in 2008...I'd hate to think about where tuition is now...

It turns out it's right on track, rising an average of $1,777 per year since 2004, this years tuition a whopping 50% higher than that of just 8 years ago ($28,950 compared to $43,350, and that's just tuition by the way, and does not include room and board or books).  If it maintains it's current trend, tuition will be over $75,000 per year by 2030, and over $100,000 per year by 2044.  I'm making an example of RPI, but this is happening to schools, well, to students really, everywhere.  So here we are, spending 4+ years in school working our butts off to land a degree that is, at this moment, for all intents and purposes, a paperweight (of course it's made out of paper...so it's not even good for that) and now everyone is saying "well if you just treat finding a job as though it is your job, and then you'll get a job...and then you can treat that like it is your job because of course it will be your job, and you'll have enough money to pay off your loans in the scheduled ten-year time frame, and you can get on with your life and begin considering things like see a dentist or getting glasses."  (again...paraphrasing...slightly) 

Whew...I suppose I might have lost track of my point a bit there, but it is this: Job hunting is the worst job ever, and I can't wait to be done with it.  Also, if you are hiring, you should not penalize someone for changing jobs a lot, because in this day and age, with the economy the way it is, if I didn't get a new job every couple months I would never hear a yes, and things would be even more monotonous.  If I found the right job I wouldn't leave it, but you can't fault me for quitting running register at Grand Union or serving drinks at a bar in favor of focusing my hunt on a job that matters to me.  I am an engineer, I like to use my brain to solve complex problems, and if I have a job that doesn't change the problem every so often then I have to change my job every so often, just to keep things interesting.  Ok.  I'm done.