I’m Tired

I’m unemployed. I’m still doing some freelance projects here or there, but I have no regular commitments. So why am I tired? Job hunting. Trying to find a new job is exhausting.

I’ve heard it said that when you don’t have a job, looking for a job is your job. Even though I’m no longer a slave to the time on a clock or the cell phone in my pocket, finding a new job is a lot of work!

Customizing resumes and cover letters to the job description, chatting with recruiters, and interviewing for positions, all to receive the rejection email a few days later.

Finding job openings that fit your skillset is easier now than at any time in history. With websites like Indeed, Glassdoor, and ZipRecruiter, finding job openings is overwhelmingly easy. There are so many open jobs, especially in information security, that it’s easy to drown in job postings.

The real work begins when you find a job posting with a good fit for your skillset. In many cases, I have to research the company to know if they are an entity where I want to work. Recent months and years have taught me a lot about what I want in a job and what I do not want in a job. Those criteria are a blog post for another day.

If the company seems legit, then the laborious task of paperwork prep begins. I have to customize my resume to the job postings. Then I have to write a cover letter. Then in many cases, the application process requires copying and pasting all the content from your resume into individual fields on the application webpage.

By the time I’ve completed a single job application, my brain is fatigued. It’s exhausting when you go through the same process several times a day.

Plus, being unemployed brings a daily feeling of frustration, resentment, and even guilt. I’m supposed to be the working man who brings home the bacon. Even though none of these circumstances are my fault, it’s easy to feel like a failure as I watch rejection email after rejection email arrive in my inbox.

Regardless of the positivity that I put in my brain day after day, the reemployment process is soul-sucking, mentally taxing, and physically exhausting.

(If you have any insights into good companies seeking information security talent, feel free to send me a tip.)