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lay a game, shall we? I’ll pick two activities, and you have to pick which one is more fun. Ready? Ok, which is more fun: playing with a tiny puppy, or watching paint dry? Did you say puppy? I hope you did. Now, here’s the bigger question. Why did you pick the puppy over the paint? If I had to hazard a guess, it would be because playing with a puppy is an entertaining, and watching paint dry is boring! We’d all rather be doing fun things than doing boring things. It’s human nature! Which brings me to my next point.

If I had substituted “watching paint dry” with the phrase “looking for a job”, odds are you still would have picked the puppy. Don’t worry, you won’t offend me. I know that most people don’t think that looking for a job is very exciting or fun. But we all like games, don’t we? Taking a cue from Harry Potter, and the efforts of a good friend of mine, here’s a little game you can play to make your job search more fun.

CAREER QUIDDITCH

SET-UP

This game is best played with at least one player, and one referee. The ref will keep the official score, and adds a layer of accountability to the game. Past that, you can add as many players as you want.

THE RULES

Make a list of things you can do to help your job search. This could be completing a job application, meeting with someone in the Career Center, making a new Alumni Contact, or having a job interview. Every time you complete one of these activities, inform the ref. This is like getting the quaffle through a goal post in Quidditch. Make sure the ref records your goal, either with a number (10 points) or another suitable reward (a gold star).

However, just like quidditch, the game isn’t over until you get the snitch. In this case, that would be meeting your career goal, which could be finding a summer job or internship, or employment after graduation. Once you’ve done that, you catch the snitch, and win the game!

Your job search doesn’t have to be painful. Make it fun! Get your friends together and make a game of it! This is your life. Have a good time with it.