And the job hunt begins. Again.

Last week I was determined to take things slow and not worry too much about applying for any jobs. By Wednesday I almost went crazy. I did have a job interview on Thursday and I did a little bit of networking throughout the week, so I wasn't completely useless, but all that leisure time wasn't that exciting. I don't know why I have to keep learning this, but free time is only good if you actually earn it.

My boss told me that the average college graduate spends 40 hours a week for 16 weeks looking for a job before they get hired. I've been looking for a job since July, but I haven't spent that many hours a week searching. So I guess that means I need to get cracking.

I started contacting some of the people on the list of contacts my boss gave me on my last day of work, and I have already received a couple of responses. So far, no one is hiring at this moment, but they all sounded hopeful for the future. Even though I have been job searching for a couple of months now, this second round feels a lot more exciting. Before, I was just a name amongst a bunch of other names, with nothing other than my resume to set me apart from the other applicants. Not that interesting. But now, I have a vast network of new names to contact, people who know and love Mel and who will be willing to give me a second look just because I can say that I know Mel. That gives me so much more hope than sending in applications to some random company that I just happened to find on the internet.

So, I have a feeling it'll be a while still before I find a job, but at least I'm getting my name and credentials out there for real this time. Heck, I may even get a phone call from a person I've never even heard of before who heard about me from someone that Mel recommended that I contact. This whole job searching thing is getting exciting again. There are opportunities out there; I just have to find them.