How Hard Can It Be?

Before starting work again, we spent a weekend by the lake.

Previously, I wrote about searching for a job and not yet knowing how difficult it would be. I knew no one would just give me an offer without me working for it, but I was hopeful that it wouldn’t take me too long to find one.

Well, maybe - and this doesn’t happen very often - I was a bit too optimistic. At the time of writing this, I had submitted somewhere around 25 applications. I realize some people send 50, 87, 170… without ever hearing anything. But even 25 applications take a solid amount of effort, time, and research. After all, you first have to find job postings you are interested in or even somewhat qualify for. And obviously, each application requires you to tailor your cover letter to the job and/or company you are applying to. 

Getting interviews

After complete silence for close to two months, finally, I got two interviews. It was a great start. After not hearing back from 18 other applications and getting rejected from 5 others, my motivation - and, if we’re being honest, my ego - were definitely a bit depleted. 

But the part that followed wasn’t easy either. The regular stress of interviews aside, I did not quite anticipate some of the difficulties that would come after I passed onto the second round in one of the hiring processes. For next steps, I was asked to provide references (contacts from previous jobs I had) that would confirm that the experiences I declared on my CV were accurate. It’s a relatively common procedure in North America from what I hear, but not at all common in Germany, where you get handed a written certificate at the end instead that you can use for any and all applications that follow for the rest of your (working) life.

Different work cultures

Suddenly, I found myself frantically reaching out to old colleagues, supervisors, professors… all in the hope that they would be willing and able to provide such a reference. On top of being uncommon practice, in my case, some former workplaces wouldn’t be able to provide references due to a language barrier. Not everyone is comfortable enough to provide a professional assessment in a language they don’t use often. And secondly, much of my work experience consists of shorter internships of two to three months, three or more years ago. Some of those places wouldn’t even remember me anymore, let alone be able to assess my work experience.

But I also couldn’t NOT provide references; it was mandatory. I was so anxious; worried I’d be rejected from a job opportunity because of a cultural work difference. And what would I do if I were asked for references in the future?

In the end, it all worked out. To those who provided or offered to provide a reference: THANK YOU. I got the job! 

Suddenly, everything is moving very quickly. After over two months of applying, I can stop visiting LinkedIn and checking my email every two minutes. I went from scraping together references to getting the offer, filling out a bunch of paperwork, and then signing a contract in one week. 

Start date: May 8.

To read more of my Canadian adventure, click here.