Late last week, I went to register in person with a media recruitment agency that put me forward for a job and says the employer is keen to interview me next week. Not a dream job, and will be really tough too, but it’s a journalism job that could take me onto the newswires, so I can’t knock it. And it’s not like the offers are flooding in at present.Then, home again, I fired off three job applications. One journalism, one half-journalism and one completely-not-journalism.
And guess which replied first? Of course it’s the completely-not-journalism one, and I’ve got an interview for it. To top it off it pays dreadfully, but I guess I’ve reached that stage where I have to just admit it – I urgently need some income, any income now, rather than nothing. Moreover, while I’m stupidly over-qualified for it, I’m also over-qualified for an Asda job, which is an alternative I may have yet to consider, and this other job is at least better than that. I hope.
Otherwise, it was completely unheard of for me to get a response so quickly. It was literally a matter of hours.
Actually that may help you job hunters out there. I asked the recruitment agency what the market is like at the moment, other than just being very quiet. Apparently employers are taking far longer to make decisions now, safe in the knowledge that they’ll get hundreds of applicants so they just sit and wait for a good one to come along. I had figured as much. They also told me that they’re advising everyone to just take the first job offer they get, being so few and far between these days.
I certainly am already in that mindset – so if any of you are sitting on a job offer, just take it - and count your lucky stars.
4 comments:
That maybe good in the short term, but in the long term it isn't. The fact is that if you take the job and it really isn't for you, it will have been a waste of time on both part of the employer, and employee. Even in a recession, you need to have a bit more of a tactic than that!
I see your point, and of course it doesn't work in the long term, but speaking as someone who has bills that need to be paid in the short term and no trust fund or bank of mum and dad to fall back on, although it would be nice to be able to sit back and wait for the perfect job, particularly in a recession, when so few are around and it's difficult to even get a temping job, some people just simply can't afford to have 'a bit more of a tactic'!
Yes Plenty, that may be the case, but who is going to pay the bills while you wait for the perfect job to come along? Some money is better than no money. It may not be a case of progressing in your career, but sometimes in life it's just necessary to keep your head above water.
Something tells me Plenty doesn't have a job, has rich parents and is writing his blog until he finally has enough experience for someone to offer him a position.
In the real world editors actually like people who have worked different jobs. Someone who does nothing other then blog is not likely to get too far. For starters, your level of interaction with the real world and people is somewhat limited and secondly it suggests that you have a rich family to support your whim while you pretend to be a journalist and no one likes a trust fund baby do they?
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