I didn’t want to write or mention this any sooner because I was waiting for my official letter in writing. But I officially have a job. It’s a good job too, very decent pay and doing something that I believe really suits me. I can see it potentially being the start of a great career path. Who knows? In one phone call and one letter, my life has changed with so much more direction. The feelings of hopelessness and frustration from job hunting had gone. The next day, I finally announced the news the Gen Y way, on Facebook to be flooded by comments and support from friends and family. One of the comments from a friend who has been trying as long as I have to find work talking about her still being desperate to find something. In reply I stated something along the lines of ‘hang in there, it will happen’ only to realise that in a blink of an eye I had already completed forgotten what it was like to be in that situation.
When you’re in that situation, it’s actually hard to hear the ‘it will happen speech’ like it was some kind of inevitability, because after months of looking and only getting so far, it really does not seem that way and I am not naive enough to know that not everyone gets to find work that they like or that there isn’t a stage for everyone where that search gets that little bit wider and further away from what you want and where you want to go.
Searching for a job with minimal experience is one of the hardest stages of any graduates life. Entry level jobs are advertised with a minimum of 5 years experience. We as a society place so much emphasis on our working life that during this stage it’s easy to become anxious, depressed and frustrated. I know at times I was all those things and I don’t have rent to make or mortgages to pay, so I can’t imagine the stress when you add those things on top.
But to anyone that is looking for a job. I don’t know when you will find the right one and I really don’t want to put that ‘it will happen’ crap at you, but I do want to say, that when the job comes around, those weeks,months or even years of looking won’t feel so long anymore, at least during the initial euphoria, I really haven’t got past that stage yet.
