So, today I finished my dissertation and one week tomorrow I'll be handing it in. I'm really excited to have finished it now, but also a little sad because it now means that I've nothing else to do and I'll have to face up to the true adult world and get myself a job. The step up from student-hood isn't going to be easy, but I know it's going to be just as exciting and fun, if I stay positive.
Problem is I know how hard it is to find a job, let alone your dream job! I spent the 6 months in between finishing my BA and starting my MA looking for one and had only rejection replies or heard nothing at all. Now, I face being back on that pile and stuck like most people in the vicious circle of being out of work, not finding anything, getting depressed, giving up, living off the dole, deciding to give it one more shot, still finding nothing and still being out of work.
I watch the news and know that there's so little movement in the job market, that employers are only taken the best of the best, that now because they receive three times the number of applicants that they can offered to be so fussy in their choosing. Also people are not actually moving up or out of their current jobs, due to the lack of new jobs and people getting promoted. This means that there is hardly any openings and when a new job appears its a bit like a gold rush- everyone applying, but only some getting the reward (interview and job)- I know not a lot can be done about this issue and it's all to do with the economy and money. Things that when you are young don't bother you so much.
I think people fresh out of uni with a BA or MA are very employable. Perhaps we lack on experience, but we are very determined, easy to train, brighten up places, have new ideas and can bring so much into a work place that maybe an older person can't. Like I said though, employers can now be so picky and it's hard work making yourself stand out all the time. How else though can you get seen in a crowd of similar people?
When I write my CV I think of all the things I've already accomplished in life. My eduction doing an MA, getting a 2.1 in my BA, my A-levels, animal care, GCSEs. Years of eduction and hard work trying to prove that I can do things. My working as a student ambassador, guide and blogger, all those countless hours working at UCAS and HE fairs, open days, applicant days, school visits, writing posts about uni life and what I've been up to. Also volunteering in a charity shop for the last two years. My work experience, how I've over come difficult problems in dealing with people or having to do lots of things at once, working as a team and being a leader when called for, problem solving when I've to. My skills and hobbies, Writing- novels, short stories, poems, blogs, diaries, reading everything I can, editing, crafting, computers, being creative, gardening, cooking, pets, socialising, music, movies, history, nerd and dark things.
It's surprising once written down, how much has happened and been achieved in life.
My dream job would be to become a full time novelist and be earning lots of money to live well. That's a long, hard road and often full of disappointment, emptiness and loss of ones self before anything is truly accomplished. On reflection many writers wonder why they go down this road and a few give up even before they have fully started or after a few years. Most earn enough to become stable, but take on other jobs like teaching and editing to earn more, whilst the lucky few get to become famous and make thousands. I've never imaged myself in the lucky category, I think of myself has being almost the most. All I've ever wanted from my writing has been to share it with the world and for people to receive the same joy reading it as I've got out writing it. I've seen the money as a bonus, but not a way to survive.
Issue is I find myself questioning what else can I do. Writing is me, my life and world, without writing I feel like nothing. For whatever reason I feel that my place on the planet is to write and share stories, inspire others and perhaps make someone else's world that little bit more special. Yes, I've lots of skills I can apply to other jobs with and maybe I'd make a good teacher or manger, but no matter what I do, writing shall always be a large part of me. With that I guess I better go and start the job hunt.
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