The unemployment line is of course a metaphor these days because there aren't really physical lines like there used to be now that we have computers. Now that we have computers we don't have to leave the comfort of our flannel pajamas or be presentable while we incessantly research and apply for jobs on the internet. Oh that wonderful invention the internet, how it has brought humanity such progress yet simultaneously injected a huge division between humans actually meeting one another in person and talking to one another face to face. This is the bane of the job hunt in the 21st century. Every place wants you to only apply online so you risk being nothing more than another piece of paper in a stack of resumes a mile high.
I know because I used to screen applications in my previous jobs and it is a royal pain in the ass. I try at least to do the poor HR bastards a favor and at least keep my cover letters to two short paragraphs. Lord knows if you don't even want to finish reading your own cover letter kissing ass to XY or Z organization, why in the hell would they?
Still it never ceases to amaze me how much time I put into researching, writing and applying for jobs and I know I am not alone. Most of us "intelligent" folk who convinced ourselves the daily/weekly/monthly/annual grinding torture of graduate school would one day be worth it - are all pretty much kicking ourselves in the ass about now.
Maybe it is the fact that we are still in a major economic downturn, or maybe it has more to do with geographic location, but getting a job today is much more difficult than it used to be. I've come to realize (although deep down knew this before moving here) that perhaps getting a job is so difficult because I live in the most intelligent, overly-saturated and wonderfully self-absorbed city of Portland, Oregon. The place Fred Armison made his show Portlandia that effectively coined Portland "the city where young people go to retire" where Stanford graduates will duke it out with other over-qualified hipsters to fight for barista jobs at Stumptown Coffee Roasters.
This is the place where young people flock in droves, willing to sacrifice and do just about anything just for the privilege of living here. It makes for an interesting conglomeration of all the weird-o, smart, talented, artists, musicians, and otherwise 'different' types from each town in the USA. The result? A giant group people who are basically the same continuously filling the City of Roses to the point where she is busting at the seams. Stereotyping you might say? I am not excluding myself in this mix. I'm an artsy-painter type who loves this state so much I drove around Illinois with an "I <3 Oregon" bumper sticker next to my "Defend America - Fire the Republicans" sticker on my Subaru Outback - can you get more liberal stereotyped? Well yes you can but I digress. The point is that I am one of these ambitious, smart, spirited, talented people who loves the earth, believes global warming is REAL, knows evolution should be taught in schools without parental outlash and who still firmly believes in the American dream that is continually being crushed by corporate America on a daily basis.
However, I somehow with a Bachelor's and Master's degree cannot seem to get more than a Nordstrom's interview lined up these days. One reason is because I am not related to anyone here and the other is because there are so many smart, qualified people in this town that employers will selectively choose the most overly-qualified candidate who will work for the least amount of money. Balderdash I say! I did not work my ass off in graduate school to a)work in retail for the rest of my life - no offense to the good people who do - b) or work for less than I made as a graduate assistant. It is highly insulting and super annoying but instead of being angry or bitter over it any more, I am highly sarcastic yet ironically optimistic and uber positive that something great is along the horizon. And you know if it isn't, well there is always yoga my friends.
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