I thought going back to school in my 40s was the hard part, but try looking for a job! The last time I applied for work you still filled out paper applications, turned them in to the store manager, and if you were lucky, you got to interview right then and there. Now it’s all keywords and bots scanning your perfectly constructed resume praying it’s good enough to get past that first obstacle. I haven’t even had the opportunity to be rejected during the interview process yet! This is stressful. When I graduated Valedictorian I really overestimated the influence that little title would have on future employers, especially since there doesn’t seem to be a field to gloat about it in.
Everyone warns you there will be a ton of “no’s” before there’s a “yes”, and I’m getting really good at accepting recycled rejection emails from companies. At this point I’m more worried about that long awaited “yes” reply, because then I still have to interview…