A Bit of a Pout

My trip to Ireland several weeks ago, and the subsequent documentation of it on this blog took me out of job hunt and contemplating my future mode.  I wasn’t 100% focused on the job hunt beforehand, either, but at least I was making some effort in terms of keeping up with the job ads, the issues, and refreshing my memory on everything that I learned in school.  These past weeks I’ve kept my computer off as much as possible (since the majority of my time at work is spent on the computer, this is not so difficult at home), watched movies, read books, and generally just daydreamed.  It’s not a bad gig if you can get it, but I haven’t been working towards my goals.  Sure, a lot of it is frustration; after all, I graduated over six months ago and I haven’t even had an interview yet.  I find more and more often that I prefer instant gratification, and this wait is a monumental pain in the butt.  Then there is the uncertainty of the future.  I don’t know where I’ll get that next job, where I’ll live, whom I’ll meet, etc.  That should be exciting, and on one hand, it is.  On the other, my knees are knocking.  But we’ve been over this ground before.

  

So, I picked up the Spring/Summer 2010 issue of American Archivist.  I get it as part of my membership with the Society of American Archivists.  When I was in high school and dreaming about becoming a novelist, I never thought that I would be reading professional journals and finding the articles interesting.  I do, though.  I’ve gotten involved in these articles on metadata, processing, and I’ll be turning soon to a case study on archival fund raising.  Case studies are my favorite.  They are able to illustrate to me the issues of the profession better than any research project.  Maybe it’s because they’re more narrative and I’m a big fan of storytelling, but case studies help me to envision real world applications of the skills an archivist must possess to do his or her job well.  As an entry-level archivist with limited experience, I appreciate these windows into the profession. 

At any rate, reading the American Archivist these past couple of days has returned my focus to working towards that new job, my first in the field of information.  I’ve applied to three more jobs in the past two weeks which, for me, is progress indeed.  I still am not convinced that applying to any and every job out there for which I’m remotely qualified is the answer.  I still am not a numbers girl.  My approach may be the wrong one, and I may have no right to complain, but I’m really trying to tell myself that it’s still early days yet (yes, at six months and counting, it doesn’t not --uh, double negative?  Where did I get my English degree from anyway?--feel like early days anymore, but lie to me) and there’s no evidence to prove that my method is so wrong.  Oh, except for that part where I don’t have a job yet.

That’s pretty telling, isn’t it?