The challenge that failed in the best possible way...the conclusion.

The “What really happens when you apply to 100 jobs” challenge ended with only 25 job applications, but a blessing nonetheless. Here are my final journal entries of the challenge:
 
 
Day 15: November 10
 
This morning I found out I didn’t get the artisanal cheese job. It does stand to reason, since I do not have years of specialty cheese experience.
 
On a serious note, I put in for another open position at <adult education provider>  as a part-time adult literacy instructor., I applied for a very similar position at the beginning of this challenge, and this is one of the few jobs where I have to say, I don’t understand why they completely ignore me.
 
I don’t mean to sound narcissistic. Most jobs, I can see a reason why I got rejected. The entry level customer service job people don’t want somebody who, on paper, looks like they’re going to have a lot of chances to find something better and quit. A lot of those “writing coach” jobs  require you to have a teaching certificate, it’s not just a “preferred” qualification. (I do not have one.)  Others seem to want somebody who makes their living as a freelance writer. I barely make spending money as a freelance writer. But I would be almost perfect for a job as an adult literacy instructor. It’s pretty much what I’ve been doing for the past six and a half years already.
 
This application also marks the one quarter of the way finished with the challenge point. I have applied to 25 jobs. So far, all I’ve gotten were “interviews” from places that have a bot automatically schedule an interview anytime somebody applies, and one job offer…..for a temporary holiday cashier position at <big box store>.
 
November 11: Day 16: No activity
 
November 12: Day 17
 
Yesterday this challenge was inactive because there was nothing to do. The number of jobs I can even reasonably apply to is dwindling.
 
Last night, I did receive another one of those auto responses, this one from a place looking for someone to basically run the laundry service overnight in a nursing home. And the thing that stands out about it is the title, “Laundry Aide.” I’m noticing a lot of that…job titles that sound like one thing, but actually have the job requirements of a very different job.
 
 November 13-15: Days 18-21
 
These three days can be summed up in one quick entry. Every time I check Indeed, there are fewer and fewer jobs I can even apply for, and the same jobs that I already applied for listed over and over again.
 
Day 22 November 16, 2021
 
This is the day the challenge ended. There were no more steady wage or salary paying jobs that I could even feasibly apply to, and I needed to find some side hustle, second job, or other income source.
 
 
December 22, 2021: How it ended
 
The “What really happens when you apply to 100 jobs challenge” ended on November 17, 2021, but the ending had begun to take shape around a week earlier.
 
Tutorme dot com looked like gig work. Looking over their site, it appeared that working for them meant you had the same job as someone who drives for Uber, delivers for UberEats, DoorDash, or GrubHub, or shops for Instacart. You just offer online tutoring instead of rides, restaurant meal delivery, or grocery shopping and delivery.
 
Something…the Holy Spirit…just kept telling me to apply anyway. At first, I resisted. I had to be misinterpreting the message. Making money tutoring online seemed impossible. That’s why I made that rule for the challenge.  I kept picturing myself working all week and coming away with a dollar. But I just kept getting the message, that little voice that you know is coming from your own thoughts, but feels like a loving parent talking to you, uring me to “Go on…apply to work as a tutor for this company.”
 
When I prayed about it, I got an even stronger answer…yes…apply. That time, I listened, brought the challenge to a close, and applied for the gig work.  By November 17, I was hired, set up, and ready to give the gig economy a shot after all.
 
I earned my first paycheck on November 26. It was $117.00. My second check on December 3 was for $93. On December 10, I earned $64. The following week, on December 17, I earned my final paycheck for my first full month, $45. I’m rounding of course, but my first month’s income from Tutorme was around $318. I went back just to earn some extra cash and am expecting a deposit today or tomorrow for $17.60. This brings my 2021 total to $336.27.
 
Earning more would have been possible, but I purposely put tutoring on hold for the year before I reached $400. Once you earn $400, you have to claim it on your taxes. And while I have no problem paying taxes, I am not at all prepared to file freelance income taxes for 2021. If you only have taxed wages, you can file for free at my income level. If you have freelance income, the fee is around $100. I will be fully prepared to pay that next year, when I tutor as a steady side hustle, but the end of 2021 was a trial period for me.
 
Looking at those numbers so far, online tutoring looks like a strong source of extra or supplemental income. It’s a way to bring in some money to pay that one bill that’s still left after you budget the income from your main source. That $336.27 could be somebody’s electric bill, grocery budget, or the amount they need to put aside for school expenses throughout the year or an emergency fund.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
I would like to wish everyone a Blessed and Merry Christmas, and thank all of you for reading the “Library 315” section of Artist Cafe Utica throughout the year. I hope you come back for one last article of 2021, about setting goals for the new year, on December 31. In 2022, look for more about online tutoring, additional challenges, and more free content for and about Utica artists.