2 May 2012

This Is The End, Beautiful Friend

I have a job!!!! Ha ha, never did I think I would utter those sweet, sweet words of glory. I am now a Production Assistant at the very prestigious Bloomsbury Publishing in their Academic Department. If you don't know Bloomsbury, you should - they were the clever people who published Harry Potter. I will however, be working less with Muggles, Witches and Wizards and more with revolutions, wars and philosophies. This is certainly the end of monotonous job searches and cover letters and CVs and bitter bitter rejection. Hooray! It has taken me around 8 months of searching, over 40 jobs applied to, less than half of those replied to, over 100 tiring waitressing shifts, 5 nerve-racking interviews and 4 work experience placements with great companies.

Reactions to my news varied from people streaming tears down their face and jumping up and down on the spot for about five minutes to a simple 'wow that's great....but what about the blog?' Aah the selfish human mind - always looking to get something for itself out of a situation. I am, of course, joking and never fret, this is not the end of our beautiful relationship dear readers (even if some of you were dying to get rid of me!).

I did contemplate ending it all here, signing off in a dramatic statement of typed words flooding the internet with their poignancy. After all, I can't write anything bad about the new job (not that I think I'll need to) for fear of being fired before I've even taken off, and let's face it... who really wants to read about how well someone is doing and how happy they are? People want to to see how miserable and stressed everyone else is so that they don't feel like a total failure themselves. I know I do. It seems however, that there is still a lot to be written about the graduate experience and the terrible job market we are in at the moment.

I don't claim to be a bearer of all knowledge on the subject but I do think that if I can offer up some advice or just a little bit of courage to anyone about to graduate or looking for a job, then this blog still has a semblance of a life. I still feel angry about the way many of my job applications were handled. I still believe that universities don't offer up enough practical advice about entering into a weak labour market. And I still believe that we need to shift the blame from jobless graduates who are labelled lazy or stuck-up and take a deeper look at what is really holding them back.

In September of 2011, I was one of thousands of graduates unable to find a job that used the skills I gained at university. With the 2012 graduates about the join us, it looks set to get even more difficult. Here's my message of hope however - If I can do it so can you. And until that point, we shall both keep fighting the objects that stand in the way. I'm on your side - job or no job.  

  


4 comments:

  1. Congrats!! :)

    I only just discovered your blog this morning but I intend to read the older entries for inspiration. I'm a recent archaeology graduate struggling to find work (paid or unpaid) :(

    Thank you :)

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  2. Thanks knaveofhearts! I hadn't even visted my own blog for a very long time until I saw your comment in my inbox.

    What kind of work experience have you done? Even short-term, 2-3 week placements will help give you experience to write on your CV.

    Just keep re-writing your CV and cover letters and keep on sending out those applications until your brain hurts. It will all be worth it one day.

    Chin up!

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  3. I just applied for a role at Bloomsbury and I am praying! Graduated this year. Your blog has since given me much hope regarding job searching as a graduate. I just want to find something I will enjoy and go for the best while I'm young enough to choose and not get stuck in something I hate, but it can get very demotivating with no replies. I hope you are enjoying your job!

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  4. Hi Anonymous, I'm so sorry I never replied to your post :(
    Did you get the job? I hope so!
    I've actually moved on from Bloomsbury now and am at Lonely Planet which is awesome.
    Definitely go for jobs you'll enjoy, or at the very least go for companies that you admire or find interesting. And keep busy in the meantime - earn some money doing whatever, get some work experience, see friends, connect online.
    Let me know how it's all going!

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