job fairs are where you get free stuff

i wandered through a job fair today that was being held at the college where i work and i was transported back in time one decade to my senior year in college (or at least one of my senior years in college) when we were encouraged to go to job fairs and seek out careers "in the real world." at the time i was a business major with a CIS option at the university formerly known as csu hayward.

they told us in our program that we were highly marketable, and with silicon valley just down the freeway, we would have no problems finding jobs. i had plenty of practice doing on-campus interviews and figured job fairs would be no big deal.

so i wandered into my first job fair thinking all i needed to do was throw my resume at people and i'd get a signing bonus on-the-spot. unfortunately, i treated the whole experience like i was going to the mall, and sought out retailers (apparently blocking from memory the quarter i spent sleeping through sales management), hoping that if i landed a job someplace where i like to shop, i'd get a totally sweet employee discount.

so i was totally distraught when the rejection letters came in the mail from the gap and macy's and i couldn't give a flying fuck that oracle wanted to interview me at their corporate office.

if you couldn't tell, i was a real shithead in college.

eventually i found a job in education & technology, and aside from the fact that i'm a state employee with a governor who doesn't support educational initiatives and yet can't pronounce "california" without halfway sounding out the word "cauliflower," i'm happy.

so when i stopped at the table for target and let the nice lady tell me about the all their lovely opportunities for employment, i thanked her for her time and told her i was just there to get a free pen.

(and it's a damn good pen, too. i should've taken two.)