The Soundtrack to Your Job Search

If your job hunt has you down, is too overwhelming and just feels fruitless, don’t fret buddy, I'm here for you. You see, I believe in music therapy. Just as the perfect score takes a film from good to exceptional, the soundtrack of your life can pump you up and get you on the right track. And when you're on the prowl for a new gig, you need all the support you can get because let’s face it: there are few things in the modern world as agonizing, frustrating and eventually satisfying as searching for a job. So let’s get you hired.

In my experience, the emotional roller coaster of the job hunt always tends to follow a similar bumpy road:

1. You realize you need a job (either because you are completely out of work or your current employment is less than satisfying). You’re frustrated and annoyed because this is the last thing you want to do. You dust off your resume, start aimlessly searching around the Internet, tell a few friends you’re looking, and sleep in a few days.

The Silhouettes -- "Get A Job"

Wayne Hancock -- "Working At Working"

 Cibo Matto -- "Working For Vacation"

2. The feeling starts to gnaw at you. You need a job, but the task of actually finding one seems so overwhelming you don’t know where to start. The news says the situation is dire. No one around you is having luck. Commence freak out.

Ceremony -- "Hysteria"

 Graham Coxon -- "Freakin’ Out"

The Ramones -- "Not My Place (In The 9 to 5 World)"

3. Snap out of it! It’s time to buckle down and seriously start your search. Finding a job is not an option, it’s a necessity and you will not be stopped. You pump yourself up and start putting your best self out there, applying everywhere like a madman (or woman).

Muddy Waters -- "Got My Mojo Working"

Bachman-Turner Overdrive -- "Takin’ Care of Business"

Gladys Knight & The Pips -- "I’m Gonna Make You Love Me"

4. And now it’s time for that agonizing wait to get a response from someone, anyone. You cross your fingers and your toes. Send telepathic messages to the hiring manager. Make a voodoo doll. Maybe even say a prayer. Whatever it takes.

The Riverdales -- "Wait It Out"

Pavement (Stockton, CA’s own) -- "Harness Your Hopes"

Flying Lizards -- "Money (That’s What I Want)"

5. At last you land a phone interview! But not so fast, muchacho, they won’t be making this easy on you. After answering a grueling barrage of questions, they want more. You’re asked to submit a writing sample or do a project or pitch an idea or create a new product or write some complex code, and then, maybe, they’ll call you for an on-site interview.

The Zeros -- "Don’t Push Me Around"

The Supremes -- "You Keep Me Hangin’ On"

The Human League -- "Don’t You Want Me"

6. After submitting your superlative work again, you must wait. Your confidence wanes, your palms sweat, but all you can do is wait. We can all agree that waiting is the absolute worst.

Built to Spill -- "The Wait"

Matthew Sweet (sadly, we are not related) -- "I’ve Been Waiting"

Buddy Holly -- "Crying, Waiting, Hoping"

7. Finally you score an on-site in-person interview! This is your time to shine, friend-o. Put on your Sunday best, shine up those shoes, make your face real pretty-like and go get ‘em. Remember, they chose you out of tons of applicants because you’re awesome; this is no time to waver on self-confidence, you can do it!

Sammy Davis, Jr. -- "Yes I Can"

Desmond Dekker -- "You Can Get It If You Really Want"

Wanda Jackson -- "You’re The One For Me"

8. And now, the most agonizing waiting period of all. You know this is the job for you, you know you can do it, you know you will thrive at this place. You’ve already mentally decorated your workspace, planned your first day of work outfit and, most importantly, reached the end of this grueling process. If only someone would call you back and tell you those magical, life changing words: you’re hired.

Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers -- "The Waiting"

The Smiths -- "Please, Please, Please, Let Me Get What I Want"

Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons -- "Beggin'"

9. You get hired! You did it; boom goes the dynamite! All of your diligence and tenacity has paid off. Now it’s time to slip into a celebration of complete self-satisfaction. After all, you’re the best around and nothing’s ever going to get you down, at least not today.

Iggy Pop -- "Success"

Styx -- "Winner Take All"

Joe Esposito -- "You’re The Best"

Of course some steps may need to be elongated or repeated but inevitably, if you really go after it, you will get that job. And just in case you need some musical support, I’ve complied this whole soundtrack in a nifty Spotify playlist, just for you.