With so many graduations quickly approaching and friends making moves to further their careers, I couldn’t help but think about the processes they are about to go through. Graduation. Adjusting to life after college. Job applications. It is this last process that got me thinking about the similarities between searching for a job and dating.

Don’t get where I’m going with this? Hang with me for a few more lines and you’ll fall into step with me.

It takes up an inordinate amount of time, energy, effort, and thought on an average day. It yields very little satisfaction for what can become a frustrating length of time. It causes a significant amount of awkwardness and self-doubt about what we have to offer, that is, until we come back to our right minds and realize, “Hey! I am a catch! Someone, somewhere has got to want to…” Date me. Hire me. You fill in the blank.

With me now? I thought so.

Think about it. Dates are interviews. First jobs are the short courtships that are never meant to last. Each experience building on the last as we learn more about what we want, what we need, what is acceptable, and what isn’t to us. Then, The One comes along. That person, that job that’s meant to last, to grow, to develop into something that is meaningful, worthwhile, and fulfilling. The One that aligns with our values and our personality. The One that pushes us to be better than we even thought we could be. The One that challenges us and encourages us and supports us in our endeavors.

In both situations, we end up kissing a lot of frogs…or asses until that day when we are the ones being pursued. It takes a long time. It can be fun. It can be thrilling. It can be frustrating. Yet, even after all the fun and the worry and the false starts, it works out. Somehow it always works out. We just have to be determined and patient enough to wait out all the big dull duds until we get to The Real Deal.

So whether you’re dating or you’re in the thick of your job search or both, hold on; hang in there. Your day in the sun will come, and when it does, you can dance in the streets because after all that work you deserve it!