Friday 31 July 2009

Here jobby jobby jobby

Definitely not impressed with the current UK job market!

Dozens of applications later, many companies have failed to even acknowledge receipt of the application (bad bad form) and the speed of other rejections has been swift, some merely hours after submission (which I suppose is better than being left hanging). The most shocking thing are the Internships, many of which do not even state a salary and the ones which are paying minimum wage and still not getting back to me with anything...and here I was thinking I'd be attractive to many a company! Employers must be loving this recession for the mere fact that they get to pick and choose more than ever before, knowing that they can push down salaries and that we don't have many other options right now....bring on the next economic boom I say!

It appears that a 1st class honours in International Marketing and years of various work experience is not enough these days to even secure an initial interview. Now, some of you may think, maybe its the application which is the problem? Doubtful, I've had both cover letters and CVs checked by friends who work in HR, others who have had to do hiring and firing in management roles, lecturers, careers advisors...all to no avail.

Its frustrating but what to do? Carry on plouging on I suppose in the meantime thinking about more independent entrpreneurial ideas as backup - unfortunately I have nothing viable at the moment.

Sunday 12 July 2009

Bad karma

What a crazy last few weeks, it seems to me that all the bad karma is hitting all in one go...here's the list of all the things that have gone wrong in the last few weeks:

1) Got heatstroke for the first time ever and was sick as a dog on holiday in Morocco 2 of the 8 days I was there
2) Shattered half my ankle when I got home to London, after 2 days back...was put in a cast for 2 weeks and now in a splint...no gym for weeks now and feeling very down
3) Dad went into hospital for tests for a week as there is another suspected problem with his heart...lots of worry
4) Everyone has been stressed and arguing at home
5) Brother came down with a suspected case of Swine Flu and been quite ill
6) Job rejections over the past year and a half has led me to being half-hearted about applying for jobs and am feeling lost after finishing uni

As a result I'm feeling so demotivated, uninterested in anything, seriously irritable...and even more so when I think of there being so much bigger problems in the world!

Thursday 2 July 2009

Oh the joys of being one-legged

So I finally got my new baby (well actually its mine and Ty's first joint asset lol) - my Digital SLR Nikon D90 and its a beauty! Have been playing around with it and doing some reading around the technical stuff but I really really want to take it out around London to start experimenting (looking like a typical East Asian tourist no doubt), but I can't because I'm stuck in this damn plastercast. My clumsiness sometimes fails to amaze...the funniest part of it all is that I managed to fracture my ankle flat-footed rather than in one of my fabulously high heels. Go figure.

I'll say one thing about being one-legged, it really does make one appreciate having two legs and being able to walk normally - similar to the appreciation I had for being able to flush toilet paper down the toilet after my travels in Central America in 2005 and not having a constantly dodgy belly. Walking is something I think many of us today take for granted, especially with our use of cars - although this doesnt apply to me because: (1) I still don't have my licence, and (2) I don't have a car (which would presumably be linked to 1). Additionally its given me a much greater respect to those permanently disabled who have to deal with the constant frustration of not being 100% able...although saying this I've come across some amazing people who are capable of much more physically than people without disabilities.

The point is I believe things happen in life for a reason and this latest accident was followed by a previous few days of tripping over and breaking an internet router, falling up the stairs and getting some lovely bruises among other small acts of clumsiness. Maybe this time (the doctor says my foot could take 6-8 weeks to fully heal - in the midst of an amazingly sunny hot British summer), I'll finally learn to be more careful.