Job Hunting Blues

I got my first job application rejection today, from a fancy girls' school.  A one-line rejection, with no details.  I was tempted to call them to ask, for future reference, what it was that made them not choose me for an interview.  My brother-in-law here (who has been my invaluable chief job-hunting advisor) said not to bother, that the school was one that your grandmother, your mother and you go to, then you get a job there.  But still, I wonder.  Perhaps I should be grateful I got any feedback at all; I also followed up on two other jobs via phone calls this week.  Secretaries put me to voice mail, and I didn't receive a call back.  Very discouraging. 

The whole job-hunting procedure here seems so foreign.  In the U.S., cover letters are one page.  Here, you need to address all the "key duty areas" in your cover letter.  The key duty areas are listed in the job description.  There are sometimes as many as 30 key duty areas listed.  The applicant is supposed to tell how he/she can satisfy each area.  The job I was applying for today advised that the cover letter can be "no more than 10 pages, with print no smaller than 12 point."   I just can't imagine being an employer and having to sort through multiple 10-page cover letters - who really does that?  I'd much rather talk to an applicant for 10 pages worth of information.  Isn't it more important that a teacher be able to express herself verbally than craft a 10-page letter with unlimited editing time? 

My resume' looks completely different here, too.  I have a title now.  I am "Mrs. Marla Sanders."  My brother-in-law recommended the Mrs. rather than Ms., because "Ms. makes you sound like you're going through a bitter divorce and are in the middle of a big custody battle."  He has a colorful way of speaking, that one!  He also told me to put my permanent resident status in the first line of the resume', and to put that I enjoy spending time with my "husband and children" near the end.  Can you even imagine an employer asking about this in America?

Also included in some job descriptions are physical demands of the job.  One said I would need to be able to coach both indoors and outdoors, be able to participate in sporting activities, be able to lift at least 5 kg., walk around the room constantly, lift my arms to write on a chalk board, and "exhibit enthusiasm for participation in the sporting, outdoor education, camp, cultural, and co-curricular programmes, including weekends as required."  Clearly no ADA or unions at this school. 

Teachers seem to get paid pretty well.  The salary ranges mentioned go from AU$69K - 96K.  But just applying for the job seems more daunting than the job itself.

So, heading into the weekend, I'm a bit blue.  I have a cold, and I'm running out of Puffs Plus.  I think I'm just wanting to go home for a bit and see familiar things.  Eat some turkey, see the family, drink some 'bou, and get recharged for more searching when I come back.