Ode to the job hunt.
Posted by genericben on April 23, 2008
Today I went to a jobs fair. Wasn’t expecting much, but I am looking to move into the media at some point, and seeing as they had a media stall listed, I figured I would give it a shot. I arrive to find was was, in effect, a chair with a guy at it. I approach, fill out a quick form to get my CV uploaded onto yet another “CV Matching” website, something I could have easily done at home, baring in mind my CV is currently on countless websites. Then a rather amusing, and yet soul destroying conversation took place, a transcript of which follows:
Me: “Hi, I am looking for a job to start my career in the media”
Him: “Have you considered retraining to become a journalist?”
Me: “Yes actually, although money is an issue. It’s a catch 22 situation of needing a better paid job before I could afford the training”
Him: “Have you considered busking?”
Really? Busking? That is the careers advice companies are offering these days? “Want a career in media? Try Busking!” He might as well have told me just to forget it and live on the streets, swigging from half empty Special Brew cans. Admittedly that isn’t directly what he was inferring, but seeing as I am already working full time, when does he imagine I will have time to buy, learn, and subsequently play on the streets with an instrument? And how does that exactly help me into the media? Sure I might have a little extra cash each month, but certainly not enough to retrain as a journalist. I am trying not to end this post with a string of expletives, so I shall just stop writing.
