I’ve been realizing lately that job hunting is a lot like dating (if you’ve read the title of this post, you probably already gathered that). Before college, I was always teribble at finding jobs. I’m sure this was partly because of my high standards—I wouldn’t do call centers, fast food, or grocery stores—and partly because I’m probably not the best interviewer. You see, I had this habit of always getting really nervous and forgetting to say the right things and instead saying things that were just plain awkward. Then I’d always be crushed when the company started giving me subtle hints like saying they’d hired someone else or had shredded my résumé.

This pattern bears a striking resemblance to my pre-marriage dating life. I’d ask a girl out, we’d go out once (or maybe twice if I was lucky), and then inexplicably she’d start saying that saying she suddenly had a boyfriend or that she’d be busy every weekend for the next six months.

Fortunately for me, the pattern of bad luck with job hunting ended when I started college. I started at Independent Study, got to know the editors and then transfered to editing, transfered to the department next door, and then got a job through a professor. When that job ended because they couldn’t keep as many people over the summer, I had another job within forty-eight hours and had the joy of giving my would-be layer-offer my two weeks’ notice (though I didn’t actually use the phrase “You can’t fire me! I quit!”).

And then, when I was about to graduate and be forced to leave that job, too, I managed to get two job offers a couple weeks before graduation. My professors were amazed and relieved to learn that one of their pupils had managed to secure gainful employment in the real world so quickly.

Well, if you’ve been following along, you know that my streak of success did not last long. I’m right back to where I was four and a half years ago, turning my nose up at all the jobs I feel to be beneath me and trying to convince myself that the One really does exist. Somewhere out there is a company that will look at my résumé and see the real me. Somewhere out there is a company that will appreciate my skills and pay me decent money in return for them.

So I guess that when it comes to the job search, I’m very much a romantic: I still believe in true love. I’m just waiting to see if it believes in me.