NursingZen

After breaking it to my high school kids that unlike what our parents had told us, our world isn’t a meritocracy, I forced myself to put on a Type A thinking cap to help me figure out how in the world I’d find a job in this dismal Bay area market, because obviously no one had read my resume in the previous few months.

The thinking cap told me that I’d have to  network like never before. For two weeks recently I gradually descended into an unnatural, feverish state as I churned out letters, e-mailed connections from two years ago, hovered around nurse manager’s offices, and called managers until someone picked up. It wasn’t a pretty time. I imagined my eyeballs bulging from the sockets and blood vessels bounding in my temples. You see, I grew up with the belief that it’s a big deal to ask anyone for favors, such as recommendations or referrals, and it’s unseemly to talk about ourselves, much less say how great we are, so even after 10 years of playing the game, it doesn’t get much easier.

After I had put my application in every pipeline I could find (except openings that require night shifts (I’m not going there yet)), I was hell-bent on writing a tirade about the Bay area job market for new graduates and what it takes to land a job … But I’m happy to say that I’ve since recollected myself, reestablished my balance, and am now waiting to see what the universe has in store for me…