right now i am involved in my first major job search after graduate school. It's funny how much of one's slef-worth is tied up in your resume. Maybe it's because it's a tool that strangers use to judge your monetary worth in a job.

Although your resume in many respects doesn't represent you as a person, it is your ambassador into the emailbox of a potential employer.

As well, given that it's posted on monster.ca, workopolis.ca and bcjobs.com, I have a more than passing concern about identity theft. how do these sites screen people?

So far, after 2 months of searching all the time and 6 months of searching off the side of my desk, while i was bored at my other job, here are my statistics:

• 14 interviews
  
• 4 job offers (2 temping agencies, 2 part time gigs)
  
• 2 "you're our second choice, but it was hard!"
  
• 1 accepted, but for a short term position

So i'm temping and waiting for the perfect job to come along. The problem is that my education far outstrips my experience. Although i worked all through my undergraduate and graduate degrees, I still haven't broken the 5 year barrier in my field. I've had only one 1 year contract after school, and the firm was too small to keep me on, as it is entering a slow period. As well, the fact that my skills are broad and less categorizable than say, an accountant, means that I really have to explain in my cover letters how I fit with a prospective position. This is a weakness and a strength.

so far, I've done the following:
- cutsomize cover letters and resumes for any application. Given that my response rate is 14%, I seem to be doing things correctly.
- gotten a new haircut that's more flattering and less severe.
- become consistant in wearing a watch.

The next interview I am going to:
- wear a less conservative suit (i've been wearing white or blue shirts with black skirt suits) Next time I'm wearing a red or purple shirt underneath the suit jacket. Or funky boots.

so do any job hunters have any advice on how to keep ones' motivation up in the black hole of finding a job after graduation?