Some people told me that interviewing for jobs is like going on a string of dates. Considering I went to a college that Rolling Stone magazine publicly panned for having an abysmal dating culture, I was uncomfortable making such a comparison.

After sending a few emails that I deemed as life critically urgent and not hearing a response right away, it clicked. Job searching IS like 2009 dating… or something like that. (PS - those “life critically urgent” emails contained a resume and a question as to hiring timetables). My generation went to college with the text message — a simple device that has revolutionized dating, but has also made us the generation most obsessed with instant gratification. You send a text to a friend to grab lunch in the student center, chances are they’ll respond even if they’re in class. You send that Thursday night 1:30am “What are you up to? Want to watch a movie?” text to your gentleman companion (I know you all know the text in question), and the response, or non response, declared the status of your relationship.

We also were the first generation to graduate smart phones in hand. I watched as members of the Duke Class of 2009 live tweeted their graduation ceremony, where Oprah spoke. Really? Live tweeting graduation? We were a generation to tote lightweight laptops to class, and we checked our email about once every five minutes. And we’re a generation who just can’t fathom job searching without the Internet.

In the world where the 13 year old ahead of me at Jamba Juice has a more impressive smartphone than I, I know everyone receiving my resume is getting it on their Blackberry, their desktop mail, their assistant’s desktop mail. Not getting a quick response honestly gives me agita…

I am clearly all about the instant gratification, but from working in busy offices, I see how busy people are, and how clearing an email inbox is a feat worthy of a thousand congratulations. I may get an email and see it on my computer or on my phone right away, that doesn’t mean busy job person does. I sit and assume they’ve read it, chances are they haven’t. Not right away at least. Or, they may not have the answers to all of your questions at that time, and want to save sending the email until they do.

I realized this distinct possibility today, when I was emailing back and forth with a girl I’ll be giving an alumni interview to. I knew an answer to one question (when it’d be) but not an answer to another (where), and so I waited until I had an answer to both before sending my response.

In textual relationships, a non response was a no, and it’s hard from jumping from that school of thought where if you don’t hear anything, they’re passing on you, to realizing that hey, these people have really, incredibly busy jobs themselves. Not hearing a response right away doesn’t mean they don’t care, it just means they’ll get back to you when they can. I need both hands and feet to count the number of times I’ve gotten a response to an email weeks later, after I had already counted it out, containing an apology for taking so long, and the answer to my question.

I have gotten freelance writing jobs after not hearing back for over a month. If it took me that month to get back to them with a story, I’d lose my position. I realized I was being irrational when I was interviewing for a position at a major national news company the day Michael Jackson died. OF COURSE they’re not getting back to me! These are media people! They are busy covering the biggest news story of the second half of the year! The world is dependent on their up to the second coverage of this breaking story. I was sending an email when the nation was still attempting to figure out if he was alive, or dead, or in a coma, or if was all just a clever ruse. On the scheme of things, answering follow up questions on an entry level position is pretty much unimportant. That doesn’t mean that it’s not annoying to wait lengthy times to get responses or to track progress in the interview and hiring process.

I probably have more talks about “the waiting game” and how rude it feels with my job-seeking friends than I do any other part of this process.

One friend has been dangling on a string about a position since September, meanwhile, I responded to an early October job post, interviewed for it in mid-October, went on a final round interview in November, and if it’s a yes, I don’t expect to hear until the new year. The only reason I know that last bit, is because I followed up nearly six weeks after that final round interview. It’s shocking and honestly a bit disappointing to know that I’m not out of the running, but the only reason that I know what’s holding things up is because I took things into my hands and asked. I feel that jobseekers kept in the dark as to their candidacy have a right to be bothered, even knowing how busy it is in these officers, because it is our futures on the line.

People deserve to be updated, even if that update is “We’re still interested, but looking at other candidates” so we can go forward with our lives or not pass on great opportunities. I also feel that everyone should gain a better understanding of what Human Resources actually does. These are, when you think about it, some of the busiest, hardest working people around. They’re just not there to make sure your hiring goes quickly and smoothly. They’re making sure that the entire company runs smoothly. They’re making sure employees aren’t getting elevator eyes. They’re going through the hundreds upon hundreds of resumes they receive per job post.

If they’re reaching out to you for a first round interview, pat yourself on the back. Statistically, you just won at life. They’re interviewing people. They’re meeting with the hiring managers to make sure you’re a good fit. They’re doing your background checks, calling your references, writing out offer paperwork, training new workers, the list goes on and on and on. And all the while, they’re getting emailed questions from people like me. Give it time, you will get a response. And if not, move on. You’ll find a company that gets back to you and a position that’s right for you.

Some tips I’ve acquired from the waiting game that is the job search:

-Follow up. Be persistent, but not annoying. Think of the volume of emails hiring managers see on a daily basis. “Keeping your name in the pit,” or so I like to say, is a great thing to do when job seeking. In one situation, I actually fell through the cracks. I had gotten to the next round of an elaborate scheme of interviews, but because the person was just so busy, I was never contacted. If I hadn’t been so persistent, I would not have gotten an interview I rightly deserved. The thought simultaneously made me want to cry, but also made me really proud of myself that I was organized enough to do that.

-Be prepared. I hate running around like a lunatic at the last minute, and I especially hate it before a job interview. On interview days, I like to sleep in. I like to have a relaxing breakfast and review notes. I don’t like to realize when I’m halfway out the door that I don’t have copies of my resume. To combat this, I print out stacks of resumes at a time. Feel that printing 50 out is too ballsy a move? Then print 20, and keep them in your interview portfolio with an updated reference list. The night before any interview, I check that folder to make sure I have several copies. Print a bunch - you never know how many people you’ll be meeting with at the office. I always feel that for any one interview, you will likely be meeting with at least two people. That makes a dent in that 20 resume stack you just printed.

-Going with the preparation route, make sure your interview clothes are prepared. I don’t wait around until I get an interview to make sure my “interview outfit” is cleaned and ironed, because very often that interview will be set for the following day, and there’s no time for dry cleaning. I take care of getting my things ready as soon as I come home from an interview.

-Why do I do all of this? To be flexible, another great tip in the job search. I know everyone’s lives in corporate America are busy, since I have flexibility in my day, let me use it and come when they need to, and be amenable if they need to switch things up at the last minute.

-By Catherine Fuentes, Contributing Writer, 405 Club Member and actively seeking freelance entertainment writing opportunities

Read More from Catherine here.