With summer around the corner, some of us are starting to find summer jobs, or experiences that we can fit into our resumes. However, with news of large corporate lay offs and large uncertainties about the economy and the job market, finding a job seems more daunting than ever.
Being a part of a larger university like the University of Waterloo, we’re blessed with departments and connections who are understanding of our situation; but this doesn’t make it any less scary. With graduation right at my doorstep, it’s rather difficult to navigate what life could look like beyond university. The KW area seems to morph itself into what I know as home — an area that’s comfortable for me, but yet, the region has its limitations. No matter how comfortable it seems, we can’t stay here forever.
LinkedIn, Glass Door, and Indeed are now the new Tinder and Bumble. Instead of matching for love, it’s changed to matching for jobs. Yet, time and time again, the matches get increasingly disappointing. At this point, I get catfished by LinkedIn more than I do on Tinder or Bumble. How hard would it be for companies to put wages and salaries on their postings?
We all know what we’re looking for when searching for jobs. Instead of going around with trick questions of “How much do you want your salary to be?”, why not just be transparent with what you’re willing to pay — wouldn’t that be easier? Wasting your time by going through multiple phases of the recruitment process will just make the heartbreak worse when we don’t get what we want.
If the problem isn’t about catfishes in the industry, it’s being ghosted by your employer. When applying for jobs on LinkedIn, they tell you how many people have applied for the same role. With application numbers going up and the job posting still available, why is there no decency in giving active feedback to those who are waiting for a reply?
The heartbreak over a recruiter ghosting is way worse than when someone you’re talking to ghosts you.
If I submitted ten applications a day, you would think that at least one would reply. At least a yes or a no would suffice. Instead, I’m left alone with an empty inbox staring back at me day after day. The continuous disappointment in the industry I’m applying to leaves me less and less hope each day. With countless of articles being written about Gen Z entering the job market, you would think that recruiters can take a hint about what we want. Hoping for change is no longer working, and speaking out barely changes anything. But again, here’s another article going out, begging, and pleading for the job market to change for the better.
As an ode to the title, “There’s a difference between like and love. Because I like my Skechers, but I love my Prada backpack.”, and here I’m just wishing I could afford a Prada backpack to love.