The Job Hunt (published shamefully late)

So, the majority of this was written (and supposed to have been finished and published) on August 23, 2017. Unfortunately, things began to get busy, and I completely forgot. I am posting it now to include my experience in the world of looking for a job, which might be interesting/helpful to those that will be graduating this year.

This will be my last boring process-informational post. Hallelujah. But I felt it was important to address, especially for my readers who are going through the job hunting process right now (I feel your pain), and for those readers who will be going through the process in the next year or so.

As students, we were advised to start applying for jobs about eight weeks before we would be ready to start working. Which, translated for me as in the last four weeks of fieldwork. Here's the thing: all the applications are online nowadays. And almost all of those applications have a yes/no question "Are you currently a licensed OTR in the state of Missouri?" Which, of course, I wasn't until two weeks ago. And you hate to lie on an application, but they also don't give you much of a choice. And I refused to lie, until I asked some experienced OTR's, who told me that I should just answer "yes". So, long story short, I followed their advice. I used primarily LinkedIn, and Indeed.com. But after signing up for alerts from them, I also somehow signed for for like a million other job search site notifications. Not a million. But it felt like it whenever I opened my inbox. Anyway, I had no luck. Either my applications were stuck in the "under review" category for all eternity, or I received an email a couple days after submitting the app, saying thanks, but no thanks. It was a bit discouraging. But, at the time, I was also studying furiously to take the NBCOT exam, and, as I said before, it took precedence over everything else. 

My first offer was, quite simply, out of the blue. I had received a request to share my resume and LinkedIn profile with a children's therapy clinic located in a small Missouri town. I was intrigued, so I said "yes", partially because I was thrilled to the gills to have someone who might actually be somewhat interested in hiring me. Four weeks later, I had all but forgotten about it. But then I received an email requesting a phone interview. Which I accepted, because the clinic was incredible. And I wanted to learn more. The phone interview was more of an informational conversation. No interview questions were asked of Audrey. I was slightly disappointed, because I had done some preparation and I was ready. One thing led to another, and I agreed to visit the clinic for an in-person interview. The drive there was about two and a half hours. The clinic was incredible. Mind-blowingly cool. They kept asking me if I was passionate about pediatric OT. Which, my response to that is, I'm passionate about OT. All OT. I'm just beginning my career, and my true love isn't a particular patient population yet, it's the profession itself. Long story short, they offered me the job. 

Now, this is important, I think for others who will be looking for jobs. The pressure to take this job was real. A fantastic opportunity to work at in an incredible setting and gain lots of cool experience. And it was my only job offer at the time. What if I didn't get anymore offers? Or didn't get any in the near future, and have to take a part-time position for a while? I needed to be thinking about paying back loans, and figuring out expenses, and all that fun stuff. Taking the job meant moving 2.5 hours away. Which isn't far at all. But at the same time, far enough to make the difference in my mind. Additionally, I would need to be finding an apartment and making all those kinds of arrangements within about a week's time. Which, I can totally roll with. I didn't decide I was going to Rockhurst until March of my senior year of high school. Anyway, I agonized over it. While simultaneously studying for the exam. I was grateful for the job offer, but I was also annoyed because it was making my life more difficult. But mostly I was grateful, as should be the case. I turned it down. And knew right away after doing so that it was the right choice. The past six months had been all kinds of crazy, and I made the executive decision that I was in no condition to make a major transition like this. I would take the exam, and then trust that I would find the right job here in STL, while also taking time to breathe and relax for the first time in a while. 

Aaand, I'm going to finish up the job stuff before I get to the fun part, which is, what I've actually been doing with my time off. Anyway, I still had a lot of rejection with no interviews, even after I was officially certified. My first real interview was with a rehab hospital. It went extremely well, and I instantly fell in love with the job. They had lots of other people to interview, so I ended up waiting two weeks to hear back from them. In which time, I received an offer for a full-time position with the contract therapy company that I finished up my fieldwork with. It was for a position at a skilled nursing facility. 

***This concludes the entry from 8/23***

Long story short, I was offered a PRN (as needed) position at the rehab hospital, with the expectation that it would eventually be full-time, but no guarantee. It was disappointing, but not a unique situation by any stretch of the imagination. With the knowledge of my impending loan repayments from school, I made the decision to take the full-time position at the SNF. I could have also taken the PRN position, but at the time, being a new grad, I didn't want to stretch myself too thin.

Now that I am rereading all of this 4.5 months later, I realize that I promised to include coverage of what I did with my free time. Which, I'm actually not entirely sure that I can remember any of that, but I will give it a try. I know that I did complete a 1,000 piece puzzle in the space of 4 days. I completed another edit on my novel that I wrote 2 years ago. I fell off a horse 2 times. I slept. Drank a lot of coffee. Basked in the glory that is not studying. Made a trip back to Kansas City to reunite and spend time with my best friends from college. Did some coloring. And that's all I can remember. It was heavenly.