Figuring Out the Job Application Maze
Alright, let’s talk about actually applying for jobs. It sounds simple, but man, it can be a whole thing. So, the first thing I had to do, obviously, was get my own house in order. That meant digging up my old resume.
Found it buried in some old folder on my computer. Looked at it. Ugh. It was way out of date. So, step one was updating the darn thing. Had to remember all the stuff I’d done at my last couple of gigs, figure out how to word it so it didn’t sound like garbage. Spent a good chunk of time just tweaking bullet points. Seriously, who even reads these things?
Next up, I had to actually find places to apply to. Where do you even start?
- I hit up the usual big job boards online. You know the ones. Typed in keywords for jobs I thought I could do, or maybe wanted to do.
- Scrolled through pages and pages of listings. Some looked okay, some looked like scams, some wanted like 10 years of experience for an entry-level pay. Typical.
- I also tried checking company websites directly for places I knew I might want to work. Sometimes they hide the good stuff there.
Okay, so I found a few potential jobs. Now the “fun” part: the actual application. This is where it gets messy.
Almost every single place wanted me to fill out their own online form. Even if I uploaded my resume, I still had to type everything in again. Name, address, phone number, my entire work history, education… field by tedious field. Why? Just read the resume I uploaded! It drives me nuts.
Some asked for a cover letter. Sometimes I wrote one, tailored it a bit. Other times, honestly? I just skipped it if it wasn’t required. Felt like shouting into the void. Did anyone actually read those? Seemed unlikely.
So, the process was basically:
- Find a job listing that doesn’t look totally awful.
- Click ‘Apply’.
- Create an account on their specific job portal (another password to forget).
- Upload the resume I spent hours on.
- Manually type in all the information from my resume into their form.
- Maybe attach a cover letter if I felt like it or if they forced me to.
- Answer weird screening questions sometimes. Like, “On a scale of 1 to 5, how much do you love spreadsheets?”
- Hit submit.
And then… wait. Mostly, you hear nothing back. Just silence. It’s like throwing your carefully crafted resume and application into a black hole. Sometimes you get that automated email: “Thanks for your interest, we’ll contact you if you’re a fit.” Yeah, right.
It’s a numbers game, mostly. You just gotta keep finding them, filling out the forms, hitting submit, and trying not to get too bummed out by the silence. That’s pretty much how I went about it. No magic trick, just a lot of clicking and typing and hoping for the best. It’s a grind, for sure.
