The interview process is a lot like dating. After a long stretch with no prospects or interest, you begin to lower your standards. You find yourself rationalizing a Thursday night dinner with the slightly sloppy, somewhat attractive guy with whom you entertained an idle conversation at the bar the week prior. A dormant period from the dating scene, even for the most advanced dater, can make you question whether or not your previous aptitude for the sport is as sharp as previously conceived.
When I sat across the table from "prospective employer A", I knew the position wasn't what I was looking for, yet there I sat boasting of my accomplishments and promulgating my greatest skills while we both politely attempted to chew our double-decker sandwiches and sweet potato fries. But it had been months of proliferating my resume, desperately detailing each ounce of experience from college, work and internships through the years yet to no avail. I felt defeated, dejected and confused. I began to doubt my own abilities and wonder if my triple-major in college, countless campus activities and managerial summer positions were void of meaning and if the whole application process was merely a hoax.
I obliged "prospective employer A" with an interview after an exceptionally frustrating day at the office. I was so deep in an abusive relationship with my current employer that any outlet, no matter how bleak or contrary to my professional goals, seemed like a beacon of light. What amazed me was the guilt I felt facing my unaware co-workers in the subsequent days well-knowing I'd been "cheating" on my company though I have still made no official descision. Just like a victim of an abusive relationship so desperate for an escape, I was still hesitant to break free.
And ironically, as has been my experience in the dating scene, job opportunities have not come through my own hunting efforts but rather been through fortuitous encounters as well as arrived in numbers rather than steady increments...
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