If you need a cheer-up, follow up!

Some times you just don't get the job you thought you wanted--the job your skill set matched perfectly and whose mission meld so well with your own that you couldn't imagine yourself any where else.

After the crisis of identity when you wonder if you have absolutely no handle on who you really are and what you want, pick yourself up and call the other jobs that you had moved to the back burner.

Yesterday, after I ended up not being offered the job I had been so excited about for weeks, I started making calls. At worst, they could have told me that the positions had been filled, in which case I could stop thinking about them and throw them out (creating more space on my hypothetical stove for new recipes that were waiting in my inbox). At best (and thankfully, this is what happened), they told me they were glad I called and were hoping to meet with me one more time. Yesterday ended with 2 more interviews scheduled (and -2 papers finished which happen to be due tomorrow--yes, i'm procrastinating again).

Following up with job opportunities that you haven't heard from in awhile remind the employer that you exist and are still interested, and hopefully, it reminds *you* that you are a capable, desirable potential employee.