I'm not sure why, but nowadays getting a job is so hard and virtually impossible. Either you don't have enough experience, you're under-qualified in the field they are canvassing for, or you're deemed overqualified and end up overshooting the minimum standards. Then, there are the times where the job seems right in your wheelhouse and even still they don't hire you.
Getting a job in high-school was virtually impossible because most places require at least a high school diploma to even be considered for the job and now that I'm in college it's only gotten harder. Getting a job outside of school was hard but I managed; however, it's definitely not what I aim to do in life so naturally, I went searching for other job experiences. But it was just my luck that either the places I wanted to apply for weren't hiring, or I didn't have the experience to qualify even though attempting to get more experience was precisely what I was aiming to do. Of course, I still had the job I had previously worked at, but that was only a few months out of the entire school year that I was available to work. What makes that even worse is most of the time only official work experience or a degree in that field seems to truly count.
Then, we have on-campus jobs that don't even get me commenced. Out of all the possible jobs available that, of course, gets narrowed down as a student. Then it gets narrowed down to even more because I can only apply for self-help jobs since the majority of the ones available are for federal work studies only. So that leaves around 30 jobs available of which 12 I have applied for because I meet the criteria and qualifications they were asking for. Out of those twelve, I've only been contacted once about coming in for an interview and even then I got cut despite my belief that the skills I gained from being an Ambassador, the experience and necessary tasks were essentially the exact same thing. Plus most of the time I haven't been given the courtesy of at least being contacted to alert me that the position(s) have been filled. So I'm just left wondering did I do something wrong? What can I improve on so I have a better chance of getting hired for the next job I apply for?
Off-campus jobs are an option but then you have to factor in if they would be understanding of your school schedule, weighing how many hours you have to work vs how many hours you have left for assignments. It feels like the deck is stacked so high against me I sometimes wonder why I should even bother. But of course, the fact that school is so expensive gives me a nice harsh reminder of why I'm trying so hard.
School is outrageously expensive and when you have tuition, textbooks, rent, groceries, and club fees, not to mention pet and car fees, plus accounting for any extra splurges, having a job while in school is virtually a necessity. But when students are met with dead ends everywhere we turn, it's truly disheartening. I understand that some jobs may be looking for someone else or maybe I'm not quite there yet for what they are wanting, but when the criteria and responsibilities are so generic that it easily transfers over to anyone who is inclined to put in maximum effort, it's hard to understand why things are the way they are.
All I'm asking, all I want is one chance - one chance to prove that I am right for the job and that I can rise to the occasion. That's all I want and until that day comes, all I can do is keep trudging along hoping that someday someone will just take a chance on me.
