I came up with an analogy based on an analogy (now that's redundant, isn't it?) that my boyfriend suggested. As we were talking about sending out resumes and cover letters he told me that the process was akin to something that I can't quite remember now. (It's not that it was a bad analogy, dear, but it's still early and I can't bring it to the front of my mind...)
I thought about what he had said and I came up with my own comparison.
If you're like me, immersed in world of employment, you've probably worked very hard to not only craft your documents but your approach, as well. Countless hours have been spent researching and editing, formatting and spellchecking, etc., etc.
And then, you toss them out there into the world, waiting anxiously for a bite. Which reminds me, that was my boyfriend's analogy: Sending a resume is like casting a line and waiting for a bite. (See, I told you I'd remember.)
Although I agree, I think it goes a bit deeper than that. I think the process is more like baby sea turtles.
Momma Sea Turtle lays her eggs in the sand with the hopes that they will be safe and protected until her baby sea turtles hatch and make their long journey for the sea.
I work tediously preparing and perfecting my resume and cover letter and send them out through email or regular mail, hoping that they survive. Not survive in the sense that they don't get lost in the mail or end up buried in a Spam folder, but in the sense that they accomplish their goal: to snag an interview with a company that I have researched and really want to work with.
Hundreds of sea turtle eggs hatch and hundreds of tiny sea turtles make their way to shore. Nevertheless, only a handful survive.
The same holds true for the resumes and cover letters. Hundreds are sent out, but maybe only ten are read. And of those ten, maybe two will prove worthy of an interview.
Momma Sea Turtle doesn't know who made it in the vast ocean and who didn't, unless one day she's swimming along and bumps into one of her offspring.
We as job seekers often don't know what impact (or lack thereof) our resumes and cover letters had on a prospective employer unless we get an interview, or at the very least a rejection letter. In today's fast-paced world where the competition is fierce and overly abundant, there often isn't time to contact each and every applicant for a specific job. In that respect, when it comes to our countless resumes, we job seekers are like that Momma Sea Turtle, not knowing what became of eggs 23, 76, and 109. We hope that they didn't suffer. We hope that they're in that Prospective Employee file cabinet in the sky.
Every time we lick that envelope or hit "Send" we're sending out a little piece of ourselves with no guarantee of a warm welcome or even with some sort of apologetic sympathy.
But we have to keep doing it. Because the smallest sea turtle that makes it to shore can grow to enormous proportions. And that's what we all hope for when we send out those resumes: a chance for something bigger.
I thought about what he had said and I came up with my own comparison.
If you're like me, immersed in world of employment, you've probably worked very hard to not only craft your documents but your approach, as well. Countless hours have been spent researching and editing, formatting and spellchecking, etc., etc.
And then, you toss them out there into the world, waiting anxiously for a bite. Which reminds me, that was my boyfriend's analogy: Sending a resume is like casting a line and waiting for a bite. (See, I told you I'd remember.)
Although I agree, I think it goes a bit deeper than that. I think the process is more like baby sea turtles.
Momma Sea Turtle lays her eggs in the sand with the hopes that they will be safe and protected until her baby sea turtles hatch and make their long journey for the sea.
I work tediously preparing and perfecting my resume and cover letter and send them out through email or regular mail, hoping that they survive. Not survive in the sense that they don't get lost in the mail or end up buried in a Spam folder, but in the sense that they accomplish their goal: to snag an interview with a company that I have researched and really want to work with.
Hundreds of sea turtle eggs hatch and hundreds of tiny sea turtles make their way to shore. Nevertheless, only a handful survive.
The same holds true for the resumes and cover letters. Hundreds are sent out, but maybe only ten are read. And of those ten, maybe two will prove worthy of an interview.
Momma Sea Turtle doesn't know who made it in the vast ocean and who didn't, unless one day she's swimming along and bumps into one of her offspring.
We as job seekers often don't know what impact (or lack thereof) our resumes and cover letters had on a prospective employer unless we get an interview, or at the very least a rejection letter. In today's fast-paced world where the competition is fierce and overly abundant, there often isn't time to contact each and every applicant for a specific job. In that respect, when it comes to our countless resumes, we job seekers are like that Momma Sea Turtle, not knowing what became of eggs 23, 76, and 109. We hope that they didn't suffer. We hope that they're in that Prospective Employee file cabinet in the sky.
Every time we lick that envelope or hit "Send" we're sending out a little piece of ourselves with no guarantee of a warm welcome or even with some sort of apologetic sympathy.
But we have to keep doing it. Because the smallest sea turtle that makes it to shore can grow to enormous proportions. And that's what we all hope for when we send out those resumes: a chance for something bigger.
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