I Don't Dream of Labor and Yet...

In a surprising twist of events, I received my work authorization visa earlier than expected. When starting the visa application process, I mentally prepared myself for a long period of unemployment, which I didn't necessarily mind as I wanted to take some time off to adjust to my new place of living and rest after many years of stressful NGO work.
The week that I was stressing about draining my savings, I received an update that my work authorization visa application was approved. It was a bittersweet feeling.
On one hand, I can finally generate an income again, but on the other, my sabbatical is shorter than expected. The latter, though, I take with a grain of salt because job hunting is a whole separate beast of its own. With mass layoffs across multiple industries and AI replacing human labor, the job market looks bleak. I am privileged in the sense that I'm able to survive with my partner's support and savings. That means I'm able to take my time with job applications without the risk of losing a roof over my head and not having food on the table. The time and space needed to job hunt are essential.

During this time, I'm trying my best to balance job hunting, rest, and my creative pursuits. Since I have the most energy in the mornings, I start job hunting after breakfast as that's the time I'm able to weed through job openings, narrow down the ones that resonate with me the most, and write my cover letters.
The job hunting process now has allowed me to reflect on how far I've come.
Post-graduation, I remember looking for entry-level jobs, prioritizing locking down a role instead of considering the company culture, the salary offered, the benefits, and even the responsibilities. I was more concerned about landing a job than considering if the job is something I'm interested in.
With 7 years of full-time work under my belt, I feel more confident in my abilities to secure a job that I want. Imposter syndrome rears its ugly head every so often, but positive affirmations during my morning meditation have helped keep me grounded. I never thought positive affirmations would create such a drastic shift in my thought processes, but it genuinely does work for me. Repeating the phrases "I am capable and intelligent" has been my go-to.
I am also reminded of the quote about men applying for a job even if they only meet 60% of the qualifications, whereas women tend to apply only if they meet 100% of the qualifications, which turns out to be more of a speculative comment than fact. However, there is some grain of truth to it.
In a survey conducted by Tara Mohr, she found that 46% of men and 41% of women didn't apply for a job because “I didn’t think they would hire me since I didn’t meet the qualifications, and I didn’t want to waste my time and energy.”
The second reason that 22% of women cited was “I didn’t think they would hire me since I didn’t meet the qualifications and I didn’t want to put myself out there if I was likely to fail.”
Finally, the third reason why most women don't apply for jobs is “I was following the guidelines about who should apply.”
Mohr points out that the top 3 reasons, which account for 78% of women's reasons for not applying to a job, mainly center around the belief that job qualifications are real requirements. Women tend to view the hiring process as a by-the-book guideline more than it is. Thus, women take written job qualifications more seriously than men, which reduces their job applications significantly in comparison.
This was fascinating to me as someone who has been on the other end of the hiring process and has written job descriptions.
Based on my experiences, it does ring true that men typically apply for roles that they are underqualified for more than women. Women who apply for the roles tend to be slightly more overqualified. As someone who has hired people for roles ranging from senior to entry level, I do admit that the job descriptions tend to be more of a "nice to have" list instead of a "must have".
I believe that as long as you have the foundational knowledge and skills for the role, coupled with a desire to learn and ability to adapt, you'll be fine.
With this mindset, I have been feeling more optimistic about the job hunting process. Of course, it is still early days, and I am highly aware that I'm an applicant in a sea of talented, intelligent, creative, and unique individuals, but I genuinely believe that the right opportunity will present itself. It's still early days, so fingers crossed that I have a lead by August, but during this time, I also want to be as kind and patient to myself as I possibly can.
If you're currently in the job hunting process, I hope you would extend the same kindness and grace that you would to your best friend/loved one.
It's rough out here, and we're all trying to do the best that we can.