Invaluable

When I had a job sitting at a desk I have to admit that I was one of those people. One of those people who thought that unemployed people were exaggerating about how hard it is to find a job and I'm pretty sure I will have spoken out loud the immortal words: how hard can it be? Turns out, pretty damned hard. 

I've been at this game for a few weeks now. I know that in unemployment terms that's nothing, some people have been unemployed for years and would no doubt mock my newbie status. I spend several hours each week, sometimes each day, trawling the web on the hunt for jobs as this is how all jobs are advertised and applied for. Long gone are the days when you could trawl around with your CV knocking on doors, or actually hand write an application. Sometimes I find something worth applying for and I spend the time thinking about how I can fill those tiny boxes. Other days I find nothing. Most often I get back rejection emails. I'm sorry but...we regret to inform you that...this time you have been unsuccessful...please do not hesitate to apply for other positions. In the last 2 days alone I have received 3 of these emails. I think the one that really got me was when the email informed me that I hadn't scored highly enough from their watch this video and answer these questions and therefore my application would not be pursued any further. Yes, they won't even look at your skills and experience if you don't answer their stupid video questions correctly. These questions were highly ambiguous and very much open to interpretation...the whole thing sucks. This was for a 12 hour job to stand at the front door and say hello to customers.

You know what all this does? It really makes you feel like crap. It makes you begin to question your own worth and intelligence and how stupid must you be if you can't get past those stupid video questions. Today I went for an interview. When I say interview, well, I was there for approximately 2 minutes, I'm pretty sure that my suitability was evaluated within the first 10 seconds, and the whole thing left me feeling kind of bleurgh. 

But always seeking the silver lining, I am considering this experience an invaluable life lesson. No more will I dare to even think that it's easy out here in unemployed land. The constant grinding down and rejection is making my hide tougher whilst bashing away at my confidence. I can now see and feel for myself the rollercoaster that is job seeking. There's plenty of seats spare but I wouldn't recommend the ride at all.