On job hunting…

Every day I wake up, and I restart the seemingly fruitless job hunt. Since I returned from Japan at Easter, I have been job hunting (also known as banging ones head against a brick wall). I started out with this naive confidence, believing that it was only a matter of a few weeks before I would be back in the land of the employed. Well it’s been eleven weeks since I returned to British soil, and I’m still looking.

At first, I was very choosy. I would look for only the jobs that I really, really wanted to do. As time goes on I’m, let’s say, broadening my horizons. But I remain realistic. If a job calls for skills I simply don’t have, I don’t waste anyone’s time by applying. I can’t fake my typing speed (around 45 wpm, ish), I can’t pretend I know shorthand (even the word “shorthand” gives me chills – but that’s another story), and I can’t even begin to speak French, let alone fluently (I can speak conversational Japanese though, but that doesn’t seem quite as in demand).

People say to me “Yeah, the job market is terrible, isn’t it?“. Well, no, actually. There are loads of jobs out there! At least, if you look on any of the main recruitment websites that’s how it seems. Last week I applied for 27 jobs – all of which I was qualified/experienced to do. How many responses did I get? Three. One was from the website I had applied through, saying that the job in question might actually be a fake, uploaded by robots or something. Two others told me I hadn’t been successful in getting interviews.

Since I began my search, I have applied for more than 50 jobs, registered with a number of agencies, and contacted some companies directly. I have interviewed with only 3 companies. Interestingly, of the 3 companies I interviewed with, only 2 ever actually got back to me. I don’t claim to be any maths expert, but there’s something wrong with those numbers.

But, as far as I know, I’m doing everything right. So I’ll just keep on doing it, and keep my fingers crossed.

By the way, if you happen to stumble upon this post and think you might need a PA/Administrator/Office Manager/Writer/Ambassador for Japan, you can find out more about me on LinkedIn, or check out my freelance writing portfolio here. I’m looking for a job in London, but am also open to Brighton and other big cities.

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