One of the most reassuring things I have discovered about this entire process of finding a job is how promising and even inspiring some of the actual application questions can be.
Don't laugh. I'm serious.
I think that by now, six or seven posts in, we've acknowledged and agreed that the common goal here is to find an occupation that not only speaks to you but suits you in as many ways as possible (pay, location, demands, commute, contribution, you get the idea), a job that you can feel good about doing without losing too much of your own self, your own time, ability to share the good (and alright, hard) parts of life with those you love, etc.
So this is what we want. I'm not sorry for it. Are you? We want to be happily employed, happy in life, in constant, swoon-y love (preferably with someone who finds us equally irresistible), and heaven help us, if the job we do can be one that both supports our causes or includes our interests that we have truly struck vocational gold, whatever that may mean to you.
I don't know. Lately, I've been looking for extra reasons of interest when I peruse the local (and not so local) listings. For example, maybe it's a company I can really see myself fitting in with or someone who has a policy or mission worth standing behind. And then they go and ask a question or two that causes me to perk up, something I truly have an answer for, something I've thought over thorougly, something like, what's important to you about your workplace? What are the crucial elements? What motivates you? Whether or not I ever hear back from such places, it is infinitely comforting to know that certain environments care about such things. That they don't just want someone who will show up, but someone who will be inspired by the work that they do, someone that is fully invested in doing their best.
Sometimes I will go to apply for a position at a place that, on paper or webpage, seems to fit the criteria I have for doing good and feeling right about my particular involvement in such work. The hours can be right, the pay decent (because for the most part, decent is where that sidewalk ends), the workload challenging while manageable. But something seems weird about it, something isn't entirely right with either the way I'm viewing it or the way it's being presented to me.
If the actual process is feeling a little run-of-the-mill, I know that I always have a chance to wow 'em (ha HA) with my cover letter. As a person inquring after writing jobs (for the most part) my cover letter (unless they should additionally request samples) is my place to showcase that I CAN WRITE. I can form functional and interesting prose, I can sound convincing and intelligent. When I write a cover letter, what I try to do is sound like myself. To me, it doesn't make sense to sound as generic as possible. I want to pose myself as memorable (while remaining professional, of course) in a way that when those doing the hiring are sifting through the mountains of paper on their desks in their important-looking studies (this is only how I like to imagine it) they will think to themselves, Wait, hold on now, where was that one from the girl with an obvious sense of humor, the one who seems knowledgeable without taking herself too seriously, who seems to understand the responsibilities we demand with a can-do and jaunty attitude?
Don't worry, despite the glimmering hope that this particular concept is a reality somewhere, I do realize that it's a bit of a stretch. I'm only trying to sketch for you a. what it's like to live inside my brain and b. the image I attempt to convey in a few well-structured sentences that express my sincere interest, ability, and gratitude.
I try to be very honest. I highlight what I am good at, as you are supposed to, and I bring attention to what I am capable of bringing to the position. I tell the truth about my experience and how much I am willing to learn and the commitment I am willing to give. A lot of times I feel better about submitting a letter chock-full of personality when the job posting itself stands apart, uses comical wording, encourages individuality, stresses wanting a candidate with exceptional and individual skills.
If the posting is dull and full of run-on sentences that exhaust such a task as simple as FILING (I'm bored already), then I tend to run a little lighter. I don't brush off certain companies or options because I picture them to be merely dull. I do, however, find myself hoping for a response from a place that is more, well. Charismatic.
You should be able to feel like yourself at any job, especially if it is one where you are going to be devoting a lot of your time. I want to make sure that my potential hiring committee knows what they're getting. I want to seem capable AND one of a kind.
In a ever-competitive market, I know that getting hired seems like the most important part. To a point, it is. But I think it's majorly important that we don't sell ourselves short. That we aim for the biggest and hope that the receiving end has a sincere respect for our honesty. And, hopefully, a generous sense of humor.
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