And just when I thought waking up every morning to a new slew of rejection letters from potential employers was not humiliating enough... I get this email:

At first glance, it's nothing special. I get a fair amount of lame and generic rejection emails daily. And then on second glance, I notice that I am not the only recipient on this email. Nay, rather I am one of 97.

Yes, this woman sent a mass email to NINETY-SEVEN people rejecting them from the job and also alerting the ninety-six other people that you also did not get this job. 

So in one way it is a nice comfort knowing that you can share your rejection with a relatively large pool of others. On the other hand... WTF? This is incredibly unprofessional, offensive and mildly humiliating. 

Depending on the job, I spend anywhere from ten to twenty minutes constructing my application. That includes tailoring my resume to best match the job position and crafting a cover letter after researching the position and the organization. I usually apply to anywhere from 5 to 50 jobs a day. You do the math. It is pretty much a part-time job for me to apply to jobs. 

And you- mass email sender- who is already gainfully employed full-time could not spare an extra ten to twenty minutes yourself to send individual emails? Seriously? You cannot have the consideration or professionalism to even accomplish that?

I think I am taking this even more to heart because it is just so symbolic of the frustration that I have already been feeling regarding my job search and its lack of progress. And when things like this happen... it just makes me lose even more hope. And not only that, but rejections on a daily basis can really just kick you in the gut self-esteem wise. It is hard when you spend your whole life believing you are an amazingly talented incredibly blessed gift on this earth and then spend an entire month getting rejected day after day. 

And to be honest, I am kind of sick of hearing everyone tell me "well, everyone is in the same boat as you" or "it's tough out there right now". Please, I know this. But at the end of the day, this is the last thing you want to hear. When you're super hungry and craving a Big Mac, you don't want your friend smugly informing you, "Well, imagine all those kids in Africa who haven't eaten in 3 days". You want to hear, "Girl, I hear you. We are going to get you that Big Mac. You deserve it. You have worked so hard for that Big Mac. You go out and get it. And make them give you extra pickles because you are such an amazing person".

Why does no one ever just do that?

I have been unemployed for officially 1 month. While in writing, it does not sound so treacherously long, some days it feels like a lifetime. I left my job with three interviews lined up- all very promising options- and the hope that I would be in a job within 2 weeks. And then reality set in. And, though I was offered a job, I knew that it was not a match and I would have been miserable. I now know that I cannot have a simple '9 to 5' where I clock in and clock out. At some point I know I will find that job where I feel passionate or I will just accept the next best thing out of desperation. When that breakthrough happens, however, I do not yet know. I have begun to adjust well to my new life of unemployment. I also like how it nicely coincided with the summer months. It also coincided quite neatly with my move into my new apartment with the boyfriend. Living together for the first time with a boyfriend is a new experience. I have never lived with a significant other before and I am pretty confident this will be my last time. You really do get to learn a lot about your partner- the good, bad and the ugly. But it is important to learn all that fun, dirty stuff too and it brings you closer. I can see how living together can totally destroy couples, though. So, while I am in a sort of limbo in life now I cannot deny I am incredibly happy and feel so blessed. I know that where I am is 100% the exact opposite of where I thought I would currently be in my life, but I also feel like in a way I skipped 30 steps ahead and found the true love of my life (super sappy, I know). I honestly imagined getting married in my mid-30's after having achieved some kick-ass career goals and traveling the world. And I know that whenever you make plans, God just laughs in your face but I think I am still pretty happy with how this version of life is playing out...