This feeling I have…
It’s been more than 12 weeks, I’ve sent out hundreds of resumes, been on dozens of sites and filled out my information to many times to count, I’m averaging more than an interview a week both on the phone and in person.
My plan is simple; focusing on finding a job. It’s search, interview, follow up, rinse and repeat. I try to leave any emotional investment out of the process. Once I walk out the door, I put the hope and focus on the next task.
I’ve been getting praise and words of encouragement from friend and strangers as I go through this process, I think I’ve been doing great. A lot of the interviews were for positions that I was not a fit for, some not even in my field but my resume looks good enough to get me a face to face meeting.
As the days and weeks add up I’m slowing down. I’m distracted easier, I’m less focused, I’m starting to get discouraged. I have no idea what to do to get out of this slump. It’s the time in between the interview and the results that’s eating away at me, the uncertainty. I would rather the interviewers rip the band-aid off quickly and tell me ‘No, sorry you’re not a right fit’ than sit around and wait.
I think that the unknown scares me a bit, I’m used to being in control, the unknown scares me a lot. I’m a planner at by trade and in my regular life, it’s the weirdest thing to say to myself. I have never thought of myself like that before; I have driven to Montreal for breakfast, I have flown to Vancouver for sweet potato fries. Those aren’t things you plan out, those things just happen. When did my life change from random spontaneousness to something structured?
The Scooby-Doo Effect
Scooby-Doo used to be one of my favourite cartoons when I was younger, to be more specific it was “Scooby-Doo, Where are you?” The Scooby Gang was; Freddie, Daphne, Velma, Shaggy & Scooby and didn’t involve Scrappy-Doo & Scooby-Dum; even as a kid I knew those characters were bad ideas.
For those of you that don’t remember the premise of the Scooby-Doo cartoons; the Scooby Gang would stumble onto a mystery involving a monster/creature/ghost. While looking for clues they would encounter an elaborate chase scene involving costumes and props, the gang would eventually capture the villain who always said “…and I would have gotten away with it too, if it weren’t for you meddling kids”
I loved everything about the cartoon; the slapstick comedy, crazy hi-jinks & mystery. Obviously, I would want to recapture the memories of my youth. In this day of classic shows being available on DVD and YouTube videos, it has shown the primitive animation flaws I overlooked as a kid. As a kid I never noticed that the horrible script, the narration of every action and the constant reuse of frames and backgrounds. Modern conveniences has shattered the image of a perfect childhood memory.
I’m sure everyone has heard of the butterfly effect, where if you changed the slightest thing it could have a bigger impact somewhere else. Well being the pop culture guy that I am, I have come up with a theory which relates back to all our childhoods & how we perceive things, I call it the Scooby-Doo effect. It’s basically, reliving a childhood memory might impact your perception of what your original memory of it. It can have both positive & negative results so be warned before buying that DVD box set or jumping onto YouTube.
Zoinks!