Anxiety and Job Searching

[Batya33]

I wish and hope and pray that you get it too.

 

Do you have things you can do to help the lightheadedness? Deep breathing? meditation?

[annie24]

Well, the meds should help. sigh. i should do more yoga, i haven't done that in a while.

 

my mom is crazy, by the way. she likes to call every 5 days, ask me if i've found a job, she tells me i should apply to x university, and then tells me she wants me to get married and have babies. really, this is not helpful at all. and yes, it is every 5 days. i've told her to knock it off. she tells me she can't sleep at night because she is so worried about me and my brother. i guess my brother just lost his job. he doesn't really talk to her either (we're not close). he told her to stop calling because she drives him crazy. i told my mom that this is a hard job market and it doesn't help us get jobs, all of her worrying. arggh.

[annie24]

Haha, this is funny. So, on facebook I posted a link to an article related to my field of study. I made a comment that I think I would like to work in a lab that studies it in my next job. A few friends piped up told me they would give me the names of some people who work in that field. Then another friend said she is starting her own lab and will be looking to hire soon, so now we have been emailing back and forth. A job offer through facebook? that would be hilarious. Well, it's still early, so I don't know what will happen there (her position at that university is not 100% confirmed yet). but that would be cool. she is super nice. though it would be weird going from 'friend' to 'employee!'

[annie24]

argh. still frustrating. i sent an email yesterday (cold email) to a professor whose work i was interested in and asked if he had space available in his lab. he said no, his lab was totally full, no room. oh well. keep trying.... i need to be more organized and have a 'scheduled time' where i sit and apply to jobs. i saw some more today that i am interested in, i need to do those apps.

[annie24]

Well, I've applied to some more places, just sitting and waiting. I should hear the results of a few applications in the next few weeks. Hopefully the answer will be 'yes' so I can focus on the next phase of my life.

 

My mom is driving me absolutely nuts and I pretty much lost it last night. For the last several weeks, my mom has been calling me every few days and asking me if I've found a job yet, if I have enough money to live, etc.... Everytime, I have to tell her the same thing - I have a job currently (that will end soon), I am fine with money, I'm still looking for work. But having to answer these questions every 3 days grates on my nerves. My mom is very anxious and nervous and then she suggests where I should apply. I've told her that her anxiety does not help me in any way, it just makes me nervous and upset and that she needs to stop calling me and asking me the same questions all the time. (she also likes to throw in the 'i want you to get married and have kids soon'!! well, kind of hard for me to search for a bf if i don't know where i will be 5 months from now)

 

Again, she called and this time i told her if she does it again, i'm blocking her phone number. ugh. i don't want to make it come to that, but i am sick of these constant calls on my cell phone. i'm afraid she'll start calling me at work, because she's done that in the past as well.

[annie24]

I also wanted to say, I looked into an interesting career option with the US uniformed services - they have lots of work for PhDs in my area and I find the work (at least what i know of it) super interesting. HOWEVER............ I am overweight - I cannot apply!! Even though my job would be a scientist job, they still make you pass their health requirements. So, that's another remotivation to lose weight! i've lost a few pounds so far. If nothing else lines up, and I lose weight, i can apply there.

[annie24]

I had a missed call tonight, no message, from the area code where one of the jobs i applied to is based. I got really excited until i did a google search on that number and i realize it was probably a telemarketer. sigh....

[Batya33]

I had a missed call tonight, no message, from the area code where one of the jobs i applied to is based. I got really excited until i did a google search on that number and i realize it was probably a telemarketer. sigh....

 

Sigh. Maybe they need a new telemarketer??? Just kidding!!!!

 

(funny I googled an unknown number yesterday too and it was a telemarketer)

Hang in there -I know it will happen!

[annie24]

Well, I have booked my trip out of state to a huge scientific meeting in my field. It is at the end of next month. I'm going to contact some professors I know will be there, and I think it will be a good opportunity to network. It's a well attended meeting (like about 15,000 people).

[annie24]

argh, frustrating. one job i applied to for the government was canceled after 2 months. sigh. i've sent out my CV to 2 more places. hopefully i will make some good contacts at that conference next month. it's just frustrating. i have some connections in california, but i don't want to move there right now. ugh. oh well... patience.

[annie24]

I've applied for 2 fellowships for a 'dream job' of mine. i just got a rejection letter today. ugh. only 9% of the people who applied got it. i'm supposed to hear on the second later this week.

[annie24]

Sigh. I didn't get the second fellowship either.

 

I applied to another job this week, sent that letter. I'll probably send another application letter on monday morning. sigh. funding is so tight in the sciences right now.

[annie24]

Didn't get yet another fellowship. sigh. prof said that everything looks good, he thinks they may have given priority to slightly older students because of some eligibility reasons. sigh.

 

I applied for 30 jobs in the last 24 hours. With the government and a company. The applications were short so it was easy. hopefully some of those pan out...... going to the conference in 2 weeks, so i am preparing for that, trying to get in touch with people who will be there. i should print out like 50 copies of my CV to hand out.

[DN]

Good luck - I hope something works out of those applications.

[annie24]

25 of those are with the federal government, so who knows how long it will take to hear back! the others are with a pharmaceutical company, so we'll see there too.

 

i'm waiting to hear back on other positions as well. sigh. what a pain.

[Siriana]

Wow, I cannot believe how tight the job market is at your place right now. I'm keeping my fingers crossed for you.

[avman]

Sorry Annie. Keep trying. Something will pan out. When I was looking for my first job in college I got over 100 rejections. I pasted every rejection letter on my wall in my apartment to motivate me to keep going. I called it the Wall of Shame. LOL. When my friends would come over we'd pick out new companies to target to try to fill all the empty spaces. And then lo and behold someone I thought would fill an empty space said Yes!

[Batya33]

When did my last huge job search (early 90s) they were sending out rejection postcards -I didn't even warrant a letter......

 

sending great thoughts your way...

[MissIndigo]

It's taken me two months to go from initial interview to formal on-site interview with one company--having that next week. I had pretty much written them off and then last week--surprise!!--they invited me for an interview. What the heck is taking places so long...

 

Then another interview that I had now a month ago...I've not heard a peep from, even after following up. But they have not said "no" yet, so I'm still holding out some hope but I know I need to move on.

 

So I'm right there with you on the anxiety level.

[annie24]

I hope you get something soon missindigo!! I'm just trying to stay hopeful, I'm going to tweek my CV and prepare 50 copies of it for the conference, lol. i spent a while today looking closely at who will be there, making my schedule for what talks i want to attend, posters to read, contacts to make, etc....

[Philos]

As bad as it may sound, and it's not personal because I don't know you at all, it makes me feel better about my own employment history and impending job hunt that you, someone with a PHD at 30, can go 4 months without getting a job. It's a catharsis of tragic proportions.

[MissIndigo]

For quite a few PhD job seekers it's taking the better part of a year or longer to land employment. I have been looking for jobs since last September and only NOW has there been a lot of momentum for me in terms of interviewing. It is tough to land a good job with an advanced degree in the sciences these days.

 

There are a lot of PhDs in my area that have been unemployed for 2+ years and have exhausted their EB--the bloodbath in the pharma and chem industries was brutal for a lot of people and a lot of those jobs aren't coming back.

[ibu]

I have a PhD as well and was looking for a job for about 10 months (with a temp job of 3 months in between). Then again, I have a PhD in the humanities, which complicates things even more.

[annie24]

As bad as it may sound, and it's not personal because I don't know you at all, it makes me feel better about my own employment history and impending job hunt that you, someone with a PHD at 30, can go 4 months without getting a job. It's a catharsis of tragic proportions.

 

oh, i don't take that personal. i know - i am really qualified, i have a phd from one of the top 10 schools in my field. i've heard many people call it the 'Mecca' of my field. i'm also surprised how much of a hard time i've had - i think it wasn't this bad just a few years ago. i know it must be even harder for people without a specialized education.

 

well - the good news is that i *might* have something. My acquaintance/friend has an offer at an ivy league university, now she is negotiating the startup package. so, i could potentially wind up there. i'm going to meet her co-workers in a few weeks at a conference (she won't be there, but at least i can hang out with them). i've never been to this city before, but it's a big city, so i'm sure i could find some interesting things to do. science wise, the university is a top school in my field as well, so it would be a great place. the 'risk' is in working for someone completely new, but that can be exciting as well - to help get the lab started. so, i'm waiting.... but it feels good to maybe have this in the wings. i'm really tired of searching for jobs!!!!!

[annie24]

For quite a few PhD job seekers it's taking the better part of a year or longer to land employment. I have been looking for jobs since last September and only NOW has there been a lot of momentum for me in terms of interviewing. It is tough to land a good job with an advanced degree in the sciences these days.

 

There are a lot of PhDs in my area that have been unemployed for 2+ years and have exhausted their EB--the bloodbath in the pharma and chem industries was brutal for a lot of people and a lot of those jobs aren't coming back.

 

yeah, i had a conversation about this recently with a fellow PhD who is looking for work. he said 95,000 jobs are gone and aren't coming back. apparently, it costs $400,000 a year for a pharma company per biotech PhD (when you include their salary, lab materials, costs for conferences, etc....) It's a lot cheaper for them to back university labs ($400,000 can support a lab for a few years!!!) and then develop based on their findings. he thinks this will be the future. pharma supports academic labs, they generate the initial results, and then the pharmaceutical company develops the drugs from there.....