Ah, spring time. The snow is melting, the flowers are budding, and the realization that you still haven't heard back from multiple employers after sending in about a hundred resumes out begins to set in. There's nothing quite like the stress and anxiety that comes with recognizing that it's almost April, and you have yet to finalize your summer job/internship plans, especially as the questions of "what are you doing this summer" coming from well meaning family members starts to arise. After applying to countless job postings you found online and waiting to find out if those who hold the fate of your summer in their hands will take pity on the unemployed college student sitting behind their computer, hitting refresh on their emails every two minutes seems almost endless, and the stress is only amplified by the looming threat of finals that are just around the corner. While I'm sitting here figuring out how I can use my extensive knowledge of Parks and Recreation and attempting to perfect my inner Leslie Knope in hopes that it will help land me the perfect summer job, here are what I have discovered to be the top 10 stages that come with applying for a summer internship as told by an unemployed college student.
1.) After hours of endlessly scrolling through forty-five pages of job searches, one pops up out of the woodwork that seems like it could have been made just for you.
2.) When you fill out the resume and hit send, you feel like you can juts sit back and wait for the offers to start pouring in.
3.) When three weeks have gone by and you have yet to hear back from any of the places you applied to, you try your best to stay as calm as possible even though it doesn't seem to work.
4.) When you finally get an email back from one of the countless places you applied to, but it's just a very polite message telling you that you did not in fact get the internship, and that they have decided to "go a different route".
5.) Days pass without any word, and start feeling like Ross after drinking all of the margaritas: convincing everyone you're fine when in reality, you are a large ball of stress and anxiety on the verge of a breakdown at any moment.
6.) Going home for Spring Break and having to sit through family members and friends asking you what your summer plans are, and if you have heard any news on the job front.
7.) Checking social media and seeing that the guy who sits four desks away from you in your lecture makes a post about how grateful they are for the internship opportunity they just found out they received and trying to contain the rage building inside of you.
8.) Coming to terms with the fact that your status as an unemployed person will never change and figuring out how many dogs your parents will let you adopt, since you're probably never leaving their house.
9.) After months of torture, you finally hear back from an employer and find out you got the job!
10.) Finally, getting ready to impress your new boss and all of your co-workers like the responsible adult that you are.