Job Searching Sucks!

You know what sucks about the economy being in a downturn (among many, many other things)? It's pretty much impossible to find a summer job - even if you're just an eighteen-year-old looking for money for college rather than someone actually looking for a permanent career. In fact, that makes it a whole lot harder.

I've now filled out about 20 job applications, and none of the places I've applied seem interested. Part of it is the fact that I've never worked any job other than babysitting before (which, when the task consists of folding shirts or stuffing teddy bears, I don't see why that is such a problem). I don't get why applying to some crappy retail job at the mall - the typical first job for your average 16-to-18-year-old - should require me to have a 5-page-long resume.

Furthermore, it seems that the fact that I'm going away to college keeps me from getting the job I want. Despite the fact that I've been told my whole life to go to the best college for me and it will get me ahead in life, that doesn't seem to apply to summer jobs. Nobody wants someone who will leave in the fall. My friend even had to lie and say she was going to a local school in order to get the job she wanted, when she's actually going away to college. She has to deal with an incensed boss at the end of the summer when she informs them that she's actually quitting to continue her education.

I know I should be more understanding, but I feel like some of these companies have a bit of an "ego problem." Why does Build-A-Bear expect me to work there for at least a year and to be able to put as much time into it as possible? I've been there; no one works there who is above the age of 20 and not in school regularly, except the manager. Why does Skechers - yes, Skechers, a fucking shoe store with a misspelled name for crying out loud - require that you have at least a year's previous experience at another company and be 18? What tasks are so demanding about a job selling shoes that a 16-year-old who has never worked before can't do? It's not like I'm applying to work for the Census Bureau here. You're, again, a fucking shoe store.

20 places I've applied and I haven't gotten any calls. None! And what is so awful that they won't hire me? Because I haven't worked with a regular salary before (for jobs selling shirts, pizza, and toys) and because - God forbid - I'm going to continue my education, and it's at a better school than the crappy options available in my hometown!