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Job Hunting & Finding a Place to Live

Friday, August 26th 2022

Alright, it has been a little over a week since I made my last post and I'm ready to talk about what I've been doing: looking for a job/apartment. This is my first time seeking employment in over a year. Ever since I left my job at the IT Help Desk, I've been working on myself as much as I could. I took a dive there back in December/January, but I've made it over that hump. Now, I feel so much more confident in myself, ready to take on whatever the world has to throw at me. Honestly, I haven't felt this confident in years. I feel like I can do so much more than I was capable of a year ago. That being said - looking for jobs is still fucking awful. It doesn't matter that I've been trying to make all these self-improvements, most of these employers don't like a one-year gap on your resume. It can be difficult to explain that you were just taking some time off for your mental health without feeling silently judged. So it has been a rough go trying to reenter the workforce so far. And let me tell you, the application process for most of these jobs has not changed in the least.

If you are familiar at all with browsing jobs on Indeed, you'll know what I'm talking about. Almost every application process starts by asking you to upload your resume so they can "auto-fill" the fields for you. These almost never work. You end up taking extra time to change all of the wrong information that got entered into the boxes, making the process even longer. You might have to take assessments as part of the application process, all of which are eerily similar but not exactly the same. This leads for a monotonous process that seems like it can last forever. And for every 20 applications you put out you maybe get one call back (it's probably closer to every 40, honestly). It is a tedious, life-draining, and arduous process to say the least. I always say this, and so do a lot of other people, but looking for a job is like its own full-time job. The only difference is that you don't get paid to look for a job. Instead, you end up getting denied for almost every application you put out and get a handful of interviews. I guess I should be happy that I'm getting any interviews, right?

And I have been getting some interviews actually. The first one was last week to be a busser at a pizza restaurant. I've done things like that before and it just doesn't seem like I would want to go back again. Restaurants are so high-paced and action packed, it sets off my anxiety and panic attacks more than anything. They were also offering pretty shit wages compared to other places that I could be working at, so I passed on the opportunity. After that I actually had two phone interviews as well. They both went alright but neither candidate decided to move forward with me. At the end of last week I was feeling fairly dejected, quick to think that I would never find a job. If these two places that I thought my interviews were killer at didn't want me, who the hell would? Well, it turns out that one of the jobs changed their mind and asked me to come in for a tour/job rundown. I decided to take the opportunity that was being presented to me and took the tour yesterday. The job is pretty much working in a call center, which doesn't sound like the worst thing in the world. It'll be a vast difference between being home all the time and having to be at work constantly. At least I'll have some weekends off and shit if I get that job. The best part is, I have an interview with another place later today as well! It is another restaurant but they seem to be paying a lot better. Even though money isn't everything, it does make a great deal of difference between whether I'll take your dishwashing job or not. So, the job search is a long and winding road but I seem to be getting somewhere with it. What about finding a place to live?

Thankfully, that kind of worked itself out nicely. A close friend of ours needed a place to go to get out of his mom's place and we needed a roommate to help afford rent. Seemed like a win-win to just have him move in. So that's what we're doing! He's moving in sometime next week, I believe, and I'm pretty damn excited. It's going to be different having a roommate again, but he's a pretty chill dude. Plus, he's dating one of my best friends which meas she'll come over and hang out a ton! We were kind of worried there for a while that we weren't going to have a place to live after the lease was up. It is so nice having that weight off of our shoulders. And now that it looks like I might be getting a job here soon (more places want to schedule interviews for next week), things are looking like they might be on the upswing. Like I said before, my confidence is through the roof right now. I don't feel completely lost or hopeless every day now. In fact, most days I feel quite the opposite. This is in stark contrast to a year ago, where I dreaded waking up every day.

So, I'm pretty happy with where things have gone in the last week. Life takes you on so many different journeys. Some last much longer than others but I think this might be the beginning of a longer chapter for me. One where I feel positive about the future, one where I don't doubt my capabilities. I'm learning so much about myself through therapy and I'm so happy that I've been able to get where I am. The last two months have been some tough ones. I don't think they would have gone the same way if I hadn't taken the time to better myself over the last year. Being capable of handling these high stress situations is something I never would have thought possible a year ago. Hell, even five months ago! I'm extremely proud of myself for getting here and I can't wait to see how much more progress I can make in another year. With all that being said, I hope everyone reading this has a great day. Remember to spread positivity when you can and absorb it when you need it. Until next time...goodbyyeee!