As most of you already know, I’ve made another big jump and have landed myself in San Francisco. So far I’ve managed to get myself a nice apartment and have jumped head first into the job market.
A question I’m asked a lot is “Why San Francisco?” For some reason I think I give them a response they were not expecting. That response being San Francisco is a beautiful town, excellent public transportation and I’ve heard most of my international friends (International friends being those who travel a lot) simply rave about the city. Further, I was thought it would be a wise career move to get back to the USA for some work experience before I hit 30 to diversify a bit.
I think most people expect my answer to be that I moved here for a job. I guess I just think a bit differently and like to look at the big picture. That picture is that you only live once and it would drain my soul to let Corporate America control this one precious life I have. I guess the current mentality in the USA is to get into a corporation, bite and scratch your way up for 20-30 years when you’ll be paid the big bucks and then boy one can start living!!
I have never understood this mentality and still don’t. Perhaps some may think I’m wandering around trying to find my groove. The answer to that is I’ve already found it and enjoying life to the fullest. I’ve made the jump before and I can do it again here in San Francisco. The process goes, I like to find an area where I would enjoy living first. Then in this area there are going to be jobs that I could find if I had stayed at home or anywhere else! So why not pick a place I like to live first and then work on the job aspect? I guess this doesn’t work for most since they have specific careers and have to follow the job. That’s the beauty of a business degree and sales especially. Everyone needs sales people so there should be jobs everywhere!
I also never understood the glamour attached with being at the top of a big corporation. Most companies sell people stuff they don’t need to buy stuff that they really don’t need either. I don’t need Coke, Nike, Louis Vuitton or anything else than a computer, a nice cold beer and perhaps a nice set of un-rusted golf clubs. For me, life is about experiences and helping others along the way when you can. Everyone is just trying to do the best they can in this life the best way they know how. I don’t think anyone is in the pursuit of unhappiness and are therefore just trying to discover what makes them happy.
So as for the job search, it is tough and risky since I’ve moved from one entire country to another and have no current employment. Yet, being able to make the jump gives one a certain sense of freedom. I don’t think most people are inherently free since most are tied to a job to afford lots of overpriced junk. Here in the states, most people live unconsciously I think. That is to say, they follow the current of life and whatever direction it takes them. Most people aren’t able to chose their dream job and take whatever is available at the time. They are then tied down to mortgages to huge houses, car payments when public transportation really should have been more of a priority in the country and countless gadgets that make them busier than they were without them.
Cell phones especially kill me. Now, anyone can contact me anytime, anywhere. How is this freedom? Can’t quit the job because need the income to pay for a house that you can’t take anywhere as well. Even social circles play into the mix as most people are too afraid to leave them and be in a city where they are too shy to go out and meet people.
Thus, it’s day in and day out trying to make a buck and should one be lucky enough to be one of the select few that makes more than a few dollars they buy more material stuff which weighs them down even more!
I guess I’m like a 2 year old who always wants to know what’s over in the other corner and won’t rest until he can go over and check it out. Moving to other countries, understanding other mentalities and languages fulfills this need of mine. I love being in a strange city trying to figure it all out and trying to adapt.
I’m sure there are some people like this in San Francisco and I can’t wait until I’m settled down here and have a decent social network. The job search has been going fairly well although sometimes it seems that America has stopped paying sales people a salary and try to entice them with ads in capital letter “CONTROL YOUR OWN DESTINY!”, “HOW WOULD YOU LIKE TO MAKE 100K YOUR FIRST YEAR!”
When you see an ad like this it means they won’t pay you a salary. It probably also means calling people who don’t want to be bothered and trying to sell them something they don’t need. But on the other hand, there are some honest positions out there and it took me only a day or two to understand this.
The other problem I run into though is that at most companies, you already need the experience. I would really like to read a book about how people get the experience in the first place since once cannot get experience unless they can get in the door but cannot because you need experience. It would be a great story to read about all the companies becoming empty because nobody has experience and therefore cannot get the job.
The other thing that really irks job seekers is how many employers don’t respond to inquiries. I sometimes think I’d like to see if they will respond if I make up a resume with a 4.4 GPA, Former Rocket Scientist, 100 languages, World Peace Negotiator, and successful entrepreneur who already has 100 successful fortune 100 companies but minimal experience. I just wonder if they would respond.
But actually as I mentioned before, the job search is actually going pretty well so I can’t complain too much. I just have one more thing that I’d like to say is unique among employers in America. A lot of times they are looking for someone who is a “proactive, dynamic, actionable, multi-tasking, enabling, world-class, global employee.” About 6 of the ten requirements listed on many websites use this. It would be fun to send a resume for a computer engineer that says I created the internet, invented the router, can hack into the pentagon but am just not world-class at all and need to work on my enabling. hahahaah.
In spite of all this, I am enjoying myself and there are some great companies out there that I’m just starting to find. Just gotta dig through all the buzz words and hope my honest resume will stick out among all the inflated ones which proclaim for example that they can speak languages when all they really know is, “Mi nombre es Maria y mi cumpleanos es el 27 de Marzo.” 🙂
