Time does not stand still for those
who waste their hours, though they know
The stress it causes, time and time again
It shall be a lesson never to amend.
YouTube, Facebook and Twitter
Have ALL taken me to the shitter.
They shall be the end of my degree
It's THEIR fault, you see?! Not me!
Alas! No self-restraint nor focus have I
But if this is the case then tell me why
I have written this poem, is that not suprising?
Not really. Because I should have been revising.
R.H.W
Tuesday, 22 February 2011
Wednesday, 16 February 2011
Seven months
Seven months into my life as a graduate and the inevitable happens, the conversation you dread the most;
Have you had similar problems, or am I the only one?
"So...when are you going to get a proper job?"
The pit of your stomach curdles when you hear those uneasy words, everything else in the room disappears except for you and the questioner; my Mother. Like a Stasi interrogation it's a battle; reveal enough information to survive but withhold the most crucial.
To be fair to my mother; what she actually said was:
"So I thought you said that when you got this new job you'd have time to look for a proper one..."
So yes, it was ultimately my words which prompted this conversation and as conversations go it wasn't that awful. Although I did speak hurriedly and was quick to bring the conversation to an end. However, as I sit here writing this I can't actually remember what it was that I said. I think words like 'un-paid internship' or 'volunteer scheme' were involved and something along the lines of me needing to keep my part-time job in order to do these sorts of things was said.
Somewhere deep inside I knew the time would come for this type of conversation and I didn't really answer the question just avoided it with style I'd say. When the equivalent happens to you I hope that you deal with it much better than I did. If you've been applying to jobs and researching then you'll be prepared in your answer, in my case...well...it was not the case.
I have to admit that recently a mixture of complacency and apathy has washed over me, finding myself in a retail job that I don't despise as much my previous one leads me to become almost content in my situation. Then I become aware that I don't even work full-time (which is why my reading levels have increased in order to counter my lack of productivity and mental stimulation) thereby prompting previously discussed questions from The Parents. The apathy comes from perusing various job websites and gearing up to apply to these vacancies only to talk myself out of it. Telling myself that I won't get it and there isn't any point in applying.
That's not really a way to behave. Nor is it a good mindset to have in this situation. Especially because I believe that you can learn much more from your failures than successes. So I'm gonna start trying again. Make an effort.
Have you had similar problems, or am I the only one?
It's Been A While...
Hello there, you millions and squillions of people that read this magnificent blog. Yes. It has been a while, a very, very long while. Those months that I disappeared from the blogosphere were spent pondering and procrastinating. 'What from?' I here you ask, well my friends, I am still finding the answer to that question...
many things,of note have happened which, I have felt ashamed for not informing you about, though none of them have been particularly exciting.
Obviously I won't be divulging all the (non) exciting news in one dose. Like all the best drug- dealers I'll release my sage advice like they deal crack; a little at a time so you get hooked on my job-weary woes.*
Looking forward to the next few posts!
Ru
*I don't really know whether this is what they do. Though it might be a possible job option for myself.
many things,of note have happened which, I have felt ashamed for not informing you about, though none of them have been particularly exciting.
Obviously I won't be divulging all the (non) exciting news in one dose. Like all the best drug- dealers I'll release my sage advice like they deal crack; a little at a time so you get hooked on my job-weary woes.*
Looking forward to the next few posts!
Ru
*I don't really know whether this is what they do. Though it might be a possible job option for myself.
Saturday, 18 December 2010
Monday, 22 November 2010
My Plan: update
a) make my part-time job my full time job thereby earning money whilst...
b) looking for new (less soul-destroying) part-time job, applying for work experience, volunteer stuff and internships.
c) make contacts through aforementioned work experience, volunteer stuff and internships and get permanent job.
d) quit previous soul-sucking full-time job with some sort of clever/self-aggrandising outburst at manager. (hair-flip non-essential)
e) become astonishingly successful and rich.
Managed to find new (less-soul destroying) part-time job! Which, I have realised, makes part d) of My Plan redundant! Though I do enjoy a good hair-flip.
Temp jobs are funny though, because your constantly on edge wondering if you'll get a permanent job out of it.
I was offered a promotion with my old job too which would have been a route that I would seriously have considered had I not spent over £9000 on university fees and zero effort looking for jobs.
Hopefully something will happen, if not I can always go back to that promotion.
Rule 5: Back-up's are always a good idea.
Graduate Fairs
So in an effort to find a new job, or at least, make it appear to my parents that I am looking for a job. I went to the Guardian Graduate Fair.
With a group of job hungry friends we were prepared, ready and dressed to impress*. Included in these preparations was making sure we'd all signed up beforehand online to ensure early entry. However upon arrival there was a realisation that not only were we prepared, ready and dressed to impress but that so were a thousand other students. The queue to the conference hall was so long that it snaked around the building and down onto the high street.
It was then that it suddenly dawned on me that all these other people were looking for jobs too.
Once we had gotten into the fair we went to a talk entitled 'Media Moves: broadcast, digital print and social media.' the questions that were asked only ceased to make me feel inadequate as the students that were there had written blogs with huge followings, had written articles. To me, it appeared that they were already so much more far ahead in their career paths than I am.
Wandering around the booths was fun but my advice is that you need to have some kind of goal and idea of what you want jobwise. Sure its fine getting as many free pens, badges and chocolate coins as you want but ultimately to go to a graduate fair you need a goal and you need to be focused. Both of those things I did not have, the chocolate coins were nice though!
*to dress for a graduate fair can be difficult. I ended up going overboard, mainly because the smart clothes that I own are super smart and I didn't want to look like I was attending a funeral. My friend said something quite wise about dressing for a graduate fair which was to save your best outfit for the interview. So graduate fair = smart casual.
With a group of job hungry friends we were prepared, ready and dressed to impress*. Included in these preparations was making sure we'd all signed up beforehand online to ensure early entry. However upon arrival there was a realisation that not only were we prepared, ready and dressed to impress but that so were a thousand other students. The queue to the conference hall was so long that it snaked around the building and down onto the high street.
It was then that it suddenly dawned on me that all these other people were looking for jobs too.
Once we had gotten into the fair we went to a talk entitled 'Media Moves: broadcast, digital print and social media.' the questions that were asked only ceased to make me feel inadequate as the students that were there had written blogs with huge followings, had written articles. To me, it appeared that they were already so much more far ahead in their career paths than I am.
Wandering around the booths was fun but my advice is that you need to have some kind of goal and idea of what you want jobwise. Sure its fine getting as many free pens, badges and chocolate coins as you want but ultimately to go to a graduate fair you need a goal and you need to be focused. Both of those things I did not have, the chocolate coins were nice though!
*to dress for a graduate fair can be difficult. I ended up going overboard, mainly because the smart clothes that I own are super smart and I didn't want to look like I was attending a funeral. My friend said something quite wise about dressing for a graduate fair which was to save your best outfit for the interview. So graduate fair = smart casual.
Thursday, 7 October 2010
Opportunities
Before I start I feel like I should write about why it has taken me so long to write this post. After my unsuccessful weekend I was at a bit of a loss. Didn't know where to go or what to do and that led to a sort of writer's block.
Now refreshed but still plagued with the same problems; in this post I'm going to write a little bit about opportunities.
When faced with an opportunity you will, in most cases,ask one question be faced with a conundrum:
One way to decide is to weigh up the pros and cons and analyse where you are now career-wise compared to where this opportunity could take you and maybe, just maybe, you'll be a little closer to realising what the right choice will be for you.
One important thing to remember, however, is that opportunities don't come around very often and it can be easy to stand in the same spot whilst missed opportunities whistle past your ear and head to the next grinning idiot whose aim in life is to cause a full-scale war on unemployement by launching a hideously effective charm offensive. It's either that or my fourth rule when trying to find a job:
Rule 4: Make your own opportunities
It's easy to wait in hope for opportunities to come your way, but the reality is that opportunities, which will really make a difference, will be few and far between. Use your own initiative. In many cases people will respect you and notice you more if you make your own opportunities. You are a talented person whose potential hasn't been realised yet. Show people what you can do and you may even get something out of it, whether it be a sense of accomplishment or even a job offer.
Good Luck.
Now refreshed but still plagued with the same problems; in this post I'm going to write a little bit about opportunities.
When faced with an opportunity you will, in most cases,
THIS OPPORTUNITY COULD MAKE ME OR BREAK MY SPIRIT INTO TINY PIECES AS I AGONISE OVER WHY I EVER DECIDED TO CHOOSE THIS NEW AND AWFUL DIRECTION IN MY LIFE.
How will you ever know which side of the conundrum your opportunity will fall on? For that I have no answer; unless you know a crazy professor with a DeLorean going spare.One way to decide is to weigh up the pros and cons and analyse where you are now career-wise compared to where this opportunity could take you and maybe, just maybe, you'll be a little closer to realising what the right choice will be for you.
One important thing to remember, however, is that opportunities don't come around very often and it can be easy to stand in the same spot whilst missed opportunities whistle past your ear and head to the next grinning idiot whose aim in life is to cause a full-scale war on unemployement by launching a hideously effective charm offensive. It's either that or my fourth rule when trying to find a job:
Rule 4: Make your own opportunities
It's easy to wait in hope for opportunities to come your way, but the reality is that opportunities, which will really make a difference, will be few and far between. Use your own initiative. In many cases people will respect you and notice you more if you make your own opportunities. You are a talented person whose potential hasn't been realised yet. Show people what you can do and you may even get something out of it, whether it be a sense of accomplishment or even a job offer.
Good Luck.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)