20 emails, 20 rejections

We can't deny it, applying for jobs is far more easier now than it was say 10 years ago. I can apply to 20 jobs in 20 minutes with just a few clicks and uploads using the Internet. Less than a decade ago applying for jobs over the Internet was rarely heard of among average people. Back in the day eager college graduates had to use their printers to produce endless copies of their crisp resumes. The only way to get those hopeful resumes into employers hand's was to physically walk in to the office or snail mail. Now, I can apply for a job in Singapore without leaving my bed. It's kind of ridiculous. With the abundance of technology available our generation has being extremely lazy. I find people, and sometimes myself, cringing at the fact that they have to make a phone call apposed to the sending of an impersonal email. People have lost the capability to communicate in a non-electronic manner.

So our generation is getting bashed again, nothing new. On the flip-side, recent graduates are much more tech-savvy than a current CEO was at our age. We can download, send, blog, tweet, render, text, powerpoint, design, etc. in our sleep. It's an advantage that many of us take for granite. My mother, proudly texting, tells me daily that I should take advantage of my tech-inclined genes while hunting for a job. I tell her, yeah yeah mom, i know.

Since our generation is primarily on the same playing field as far as computer knowledge goes, the competition has now shifted to the creativity of what one can do with their naturally born skills. Walking into an interview with a 4.0 from Northwestern doesn't mean you are good at what you do. Employers are interested in how a candidate uses his or her skills to produce successful results. For one thing, when applying for journalism, writing, PR, marketing jobs (to name only a few fields) one of the main questions posed during the interview is, "Do you keep a blog?" Employers want to know what you are doing with "this God given talent." And if you search the black-hole that is the Internet, you will find every kind of blog and then some. So I ask, what can I do to set me apart from my competitors? Should I walk around with my skills printed on a T-shirt and the words Hire Me on my forehead?

Maybe it is easier to apply for jobs and internships today, but it doesn't mean a person will be anymore successful in landing their "dream job" out of college. The only thing increasing with my rapid job hunt is the amount of rejection or "we went with someone more skilled" replies. However, my spirits are high and rejection only fuels my motivation. I send my best to everyone's personal job obtaining game.

Next up; "It's not what you know, it's who you know"