Growing up and entering the real world can be a confusing and overwhelming process.
A big part of becoming a fully-functioning adult is finding a job, which would be fine if it weren’t for the fact that finding a job can be quite hard.
Sometimes, looking for a job can feel like searching for a needle in a haystack and, when you finally locate the needle, another slightly more qualified person comes along with a big massive magnet.
Other times, it can feel like trying to find Wally in a ‘Where’s Wally?’ book.
But you’re up against a guy who already has contacts in the business.
I have been looking for a graduate job for a while now and am therefore quite familiar with the application process.
A lot of job applications begin with a CV.
A CV is a summary of professional and academic achievements but it might be better described as a Verification of Awesomeness.
Sometimes, the pressure of living up to the sheer magnificence of your on-paper personality in an interview can be overwhelming.
When I first started doing interviews, I used to get quite nervous, something that manifested itself in a somewhat debilitating tendency to panic and say the first thing that came into my head.
Occasionally, I would find myself on the verge of an existential breakdown.
I would practice questions for hours before an interview.
Only to completely lose my grasp of the English language once the interview actually commenced.
Recently, I have been actively trying to improve my interview technique, something that has enabled me to answer a wide range of questions more effectively.
However, I still encounter questions that completely throw me.
Due to the increasingly saturated nature of the graduate job market, the hiring process is more complex than it has been in the past.
Modern technology has enabled the traditional face-to-face interview to mutate and evolve into various different subspecies.
As a candidate, you have to be highly flexible and ready to make a good first impression in any of these mediums.
In addition, many companies now implement a multi-stage application process in order to gradually whittle down the high numbers of applications that they receive.
In order to access their suitability for the job, applicants have to face several tasks which is a bit like competing in the Triwizard Tournament but with less mortal peril and more collaborative group-based assessments.
Due to the competitive nature of the graduate job market, it is important to remain resilient in the face of rejection.
Over the past few months, I have developed some coping mechanisms which have really helped me deal with some of the setbacks that I have encountered.
Despite this, it is sometimes quite difficult to remain positive.
Some Words That Say What I Think 
Very good advice and well communicated. I used to advise people going into a job search to just be themselves because they will either have to try to live a lie or they will eventually revert to their real self and be a disappointment to their employer–neither outcome is good.
LikeLike
Reblogged this on Chris The Story Reading Ape's Blog and commented:
An important message, from Joanne, to all job seekers 👍😃
LikeLiked by 1 person
Delightful drawings! Great post!
LikeLike
Thank you!
LikeLiked by 1 person
lol – I’m 64 and still haven’t got it right. You, however, have clear communication skills, good graphic skills and a humorous bent, all of which should make you very successful one day. I hope that day is soon. 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you very much!
LikeLike
🙂
LikeLike
Reblogged this on Mentoring Students and commented:
The interview process is brutal. I’ve never met anyone who looks forward to it or gets misty-eyed when it’s over. It helps to know you’re not alone and to see the humorous side of feeling exposed and vulnerable, as this post demonstrates so well. It’s so unfair really. In an environment where companies are competing for talent, shouldn’t employees be conducting the interviews and assessing which company would best align with their career objectives?
LikeLiked by 1 person
Oh, how I love your blog! I would give you a job if I could. Never mind the fact that I’m not even working at the moment… I hope someone snaps up your fabulousness soon. 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you – this is lovely 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
Excellently done – and so accurate. The drawing of being on the verge of an existential breakdown was hilarious. The most bizarre thing I’ve noticed over the years is that the more senior the position the less stringent the interview process seems to be. Or maybe it’s just because I moved to Africa and have fabricated my entire UK working life…hmm…
Thanks for another really entertaining read.
LikeLike
Thank you!
LikeLike
Oh my gosh, I’m going through the same thing and it is exactly how you say and more. I just get so rattled by all the constant rejection from the emails telling me all kinds of ways that I’m not good enough, to the endless awkward interviews, to the non call backs, to the occasional second interview where every bad thing comes up, to the silent no call back rejection. It is endless and unnerving.
LikeLike
I know exactly how you feel and it’s totally fine to feel sad and frustrated about it – repetitive negative feedback isn’t good for anyone! I hope that you get lucky soon 🙂
LikeLike
And I hope you do too. I wish I had your storytelling/artistic skills. I would love to show those skills off to employers. I wish I even had my daughter’s artistic skills. Have you ever thought of doing a comic strip or some sort of book with those skills?
LikeLike
I am so glad I’m not looking for a job; once in a CPD session I told a colleague that something I could do really well was setting a table….
LikeLike
Dude this is awesome, got a serious body of work going on there, well in.
LikeLike
Thank you!
LikeLike
Oh..,! I feel your pain!
My daughter just got her degree yesterday. The months before this since she finished college has been stressful. Finding possible placements. Going there. Work for SHITS for a minimal rate, no ethics, No morals. Another practice, an administrator doing dental work (yes, filling in for the doctor!!!) I was floored. Disappointed and told her to take it easy. Finally an offer for internship, minimum pay, maximum offers, the fuel costs getting to work are half her salary.
EXPERIENCE they say, they want EXPERIENCE.
So we are in it for the long haul that hopefully wont take too long.
Good luck and stay strong!!!
Kind regards,
Kavitha
Sunshiny South Africa
LikeLike