The search continues...

I've been out of seminary for a little over 3 weeks and the job search continues... I don't know if it's the non-profit world, just the job market in Kansas City or if my resume is just that bad but I have gotten virtually nothing in response to the 10 or so resumes that I've put out around the area. I don't even get a "thank you for applying, we'll get back to you" or basic acknowledgment that my application was received. Am I doing something wrong??

This whole process has been interesting for a couple of reasons. (1) This is the first time I've ever actually done it - all of my previous jobs have simply required filling out an application (I never made up a resume until this year) and then either taking some kind of test (typing, data entry, etc.) and talking with the manager/supervisor. I'm a good test taker and do fairly well with people, so I've always gotten the jobs I was interested in before. (2) This is the first time I've been without a job when I really wanted to have one. It's really making me look at myself and my life in new ways, some of them not so good. I remember times when my parents were looking for jobs and how hard it was on them personally (hello, self esteem, where are you?!?) as well as financially for the whole family. I'm lucky that right now I'm still getting to work some hours in the seminary library while the new students get trained, but that comes to an end Jun 29th. I have a sugar mamma (love ya, babe!) but we're already starting to dip into our savings and the money I just got for graduation to pay our regular bills and I don't deal well with "not contributing to the benefit of the household." I know, keeping house is work and someone needs to do it but let's be real. I'm not raising any children and even if I were, "housewife" isn't a valued job position you can put on your resume.

The exciting this is that I do have a couple of appointments to talk with people this week - including KC Habitat for Humanity, which would be a phenomenal group to work for. The downside is that all of these positions for which I'm know interviewing are actually volunteer jobs through AmeriCorps. They pay a living stipend (which is more than I've been making working part time in the seminary library), most offer some type of health insurance, and my student loans will go into forbearance so that I won't have to worry about tacking on another monthly payment for a little while. The positions I'm looking at are all right here in the KC area and seem to be year long positions so that when I get done, I'll have a year of real experience and connections to people in the KC non-profit world that will hopefully both help me to get "a real job" afterwards.

It's not that I don't think these AmeriCorps jobs are "real" but the program was put together to encourage people to serve their communities and make it financially possible for them to do so. I was talking with a woman earlier today who recently retired and thought it was something she'd enjoy doing herself. But part of me feels like I'm just buying time, delaying the inevitable, using my fall back plan when I haven't really tried as hard as I could elsewhere. Is this just a cop out? An easy option? I'll have to see how the interviews go later this week and do some more soul searching about what all of this means....