Let the Chips Fall Where They May

or
The Liberation of Pushing SEND

When people talk about seeking opportunities (personal or professional), they say they are sending out ships and waiting to see which ones will return.

And today? Email is a ship.

I'm slowly edging back into the workforce, and as I do so, I am realizing how much has changed since I was in the workforce lo these many years.

So much is done on email now. More and more of the job screening process is not done face to face, but laptop to laptop.

There are now inquiry emails, application emails, and follow-up emails.

Whenever I send out a job inquiry of any kind, I get a heady little rush right after I push SEND. Because once it's out there, it's out there.

It's like how you used to feel when you left long, rambling messages on someone's answering machine. Once it's done, it's out there, baby, and there's nothing you can do about it. What will be, will be.

It's still hard to know when you are crossing a line, especially in work-related emails. You want to avoid the desperate/pathetic/needy kind. And you really want to avoid the badgering emails.

It's both much easier and much more complicated to look for a job. So many opportunities are available to you 24/7. The downside? Everyone and their sister is online, applying for the same jobs. You never know if your email is even going to be read at all. At least if you speak to someone, you know you are on their radar, however briefly.

It's just so hard not to read into things when you email: does "Thanks for your application" mean "I'm glad you sent it because you're interesting" or "Whatever" and it's straight to the trash folder?

Still though, it's a little buzz to send out an email. You can agonize over it, ponder its fate, but ultimately, once it's out there, you've done all you could, and it's time to move on.