Progress on the Job Hunt

Beginning a career seems to be a bit more involved than I had hoped. I have been applying for jobs in my chosen field since May of this year, and unfortunately do not have much to show for it as of yet. The application that is the furthest along is one of the last added to the application pool. The first couple of applications to process went down in flames of glory as I began to learn the hiring game that I was taking part in. In a lot of ways getting hired is a lot like doing well in school. It not only takes suitable study and natural aptitude, but also knowing what your teachers are looking for. Thus, to get hired, you have to get a feel for those who are hiring you, and be able to articulate what they are looking for better than they are able to. Thus, my first two applications failed as I worked to figure out what was going on, my third ended when I discovered that the department was not one that I wanted to work for, and the last four applications are still pending.

It also helps when you are applying to a bigger department. If only a few people are being hired out of a big applicant pool, the department is more concerned with finding any excuse to disqualify someone rather than with finding the best applicants. However, if may are being hired, then to some extent the department is forced to take a more serious look at the applicants at each stage to determine the strongest ones.

I suppose that this is all theory for now. We shall see what I think when I am on the other side, but that will have to wait for a while.

I also have to fight the prejudices of those who are interviewing me. My background is unusual but not unheard of for this career. I heard about one at least partially similar case when I was finishing my M.A. in Florida. An officer with the Ft. Myers PD also had a Masters Degree in theology. So, this has been done before, but it is a bit of a hard sell.