Wednesday, April 20, 2011

Stress, the Job Search and Undergrads

I get why students, when, upon graduation, resign to just go to grad school rather than find a job. I get it, the motivation. This is frustrating and ...enfuriating to an extent. I forget how nerve-wracking a full job search can be. I had an interview yesterday that literally made me so ervous and uncomfortable that I broke out in hives. Yes, I broke out in hives. For no apparent reason. I went home afterwards, thinking that if I put my feet up, put on PJs and made supper, that I would feel better. But thae anxiety train had already begun and there was no derailing it. And so, at eight pm last night, I found myself with a face that resemebled a piece of popcorn as I happened to glance at myself in the bathroom mirror. It was off to the ER I went. I reason that, if I were called in to speak on one of those TLC specials "Medical Mystery: What's Happening to My Face?!" I would at least be commended for getting to a hospital before going into anaphalactic shock or something. I mean, I figured it must be an allergy...but I also thought that the stress had something to do with it.

Yeah, the job search is THAT stressful for me. I empathize with our students, when they come in, bravely fighting back twears or trying with all their might to muster the strength to start early or get their resume out there...I commend them. The struggles they might be undergoing are often unknown to us, I mean, they don;t always tell us if they are freaking out. But, I think I will be more understanding, more compassionate moving forward in my role in Career Services, having ubndergone my own process...and it hasn't even ended yet. Who knows what this might feel like if, (knock on wood, for the love of all things holy) ...I can't get hired or find a job.