The Job Search is on....

Picture Taken from PhotoBucket

Well, the job search is officially on. While I had made some preparations and headway in the job search department, my search was certainly not official until after graduation this past weekend. For all those unemployed graduates out there, I feel your pain. It's a messy world out there and I am not limiting my options with regards to finding a job. This week I am continuing to fill out job applications for teaching positions in Connecticut. Here is what I have discovered so far:

1. Applications to work in Education are excruciatingly lengthy. Also, importing information from previous applications (due to a common system used by school districts) really only saves you a minimal amount of time. You still have to re-type a bunch of things that don't copy over.

2. Job hunting should always be accompanied by appropriately proportioned caffeinated drinks. My appropriate proportion is 1 cup of coffee per 4 hours of job hunting. Personally, I try to limit my caffeine intake, because I already have sleeping problems and really don't want to tempt fate. I'm also a pretty bubbly and energetic person to begin with, but that doesn't mean I don't need the caffeine boost when doing extremely mundane tasks.

3. Job hunting loves company. As I sit here with one of my dear friends, Beth, it becomes increasingly apparent that company is a necessity, and much less distracting than television (ironic, isn't it?). Of course, it helps that both of us are very motivated by the fact that the other looks productive. The power of illusion is strong here. ;-)

4. If at first you don't succeed, save the draft for later. At least, if this is an option. Most of the job applications for teaching jobs in Connecticut are online and use a common internet-based application form that allows you to import information from other applications if the domains are the same (meaning identical). Due to the lengthy nature of these applications, sometimes you just need a break. However, it is important not to leave them too long, or someone else may snag the job first!

5. Out of sight, out of mind. Yes, I'm talking of Facebook. While ordinarily the social networking site is useful for social interaction and stalking your friends' status updates while you pretend to be working on your resume, I find that if I hide the window, I won't look at it between "quick breaks" that I give myself to goof off every hour or so (determined by task completion).

Now, I have spent the past two hours working on short answer responses and updating my resume for job applications and decided to blog during this hour's "quick break." In truth, I have begun to love blogging, even though my topics can seem kind of random. It is a productive yet liberating way to take a break from the humdrum of applications, resumes, cover letters and LinkedIn. In fact, I want to make my blog a little more discussion-based. So, here is my question to all of you following me (and those who might start after this post):

What do you imagine when you think of your dream job? 

Please post comments about your dream job and I promise to respond to everyone! I really want to know what people think is the "dream job." After all, Martin Luther King, Jr. had a dream. Why can't we?