Job Hunting as a Graduate in a Recession
I have met the ‘real’ world. By that, I mean job hunting, and the dreaded decision of what to do with my life. Some of us (me) avoided it by going to University. Yet somehow, I am back where I started, with an Arts Degree under my belt. The decisions around; what jobs to apply for, how to apply for these jobs, moving cities, staying put, or travelling, to put this lightly are EXTREMELY daunting, especially with not a lot of life experience to refer too. I have had friends make completely different decisions and, it is a true honour seeing your friends make decisions that are right for them. Yet the question remains, what is right for me and how do I make that decision?
Firstly, what helped me was narrowing it down to my qualification. I am not going to become a dentist with my degree. I don’t want to, and trust me they wouldn’t want me either. I have been terribly afraid of dentists since I was young, and I would cause havoc. At University I chose subjects that I enjoyed and then got a degree in them, so by extension I will like the jobs in that field…right? All jokes aside, I have always been drawn to writing, this is where this blog came along. More than that I am going to follow it into Journalism and Content Writing. Yet open to any Creative Roles. Staying open is something that has helped me apply to a wide range of roles. Have I gotten any of them yet? Nope, but I was close. Lost to someone with more experience, classic.
Due to the field of careers I want to go into, I need to move from my home city. It opens up more opportunities for me. On top of that, I think it would be cool to experience living somewhere else while I am young. I have also always liked the idea of living in a different city in my 20’s. In saying that I have been applying to roles in the North Island and Australia. It’s still close to home so, sorry mum you won't get rid of me just yet. Now I am not sure if this is how you make decisions. I just follow what feels right, what interests me, and excites me. It seems to be working so far, but I will keep you updated.
Now the job hunting part has definitely been a learning experience to say the least. Who knew getting rejected could teach you so much? No but really on a serious note; every application, every email, every job interview teaches you something about the professional world. I have chosen to be grateful for it all, even on the tiresome days, because I am learning. Besides we graduates are in this together, graduating high school during a pandemic, and graduating from University in a recession. Live, Laugh, Love. Truthfully, I am admitting I don’t know too much about recessions, I know everything gets expensive, jobs are harder to find, and I am feeling the effects of that.
All we graduates can do is acknowledge that it's hard enough starting with not a lot of experience, let alone in a recession. I remember applying to one job and they emailed me saying they got over 150 applications. Isn’t that insane? I honestly feel bad for the recruiters, what a nightmare to sort through. So all we can do is be patient, pivot when needed, and hold onto some of our confidence. To be grateful we aren’t in recruitment right now, and we are not dentists. Despite it being the Hunger Games in the professional world, we are here showing up and trying. We all have a unique perspective that is worth putting out there. We just need to be patient. That’s what I am telling myself anyway, whatever helps you sleep at night, right?
We are in it together, love to all the job hunting graduates out there. I am on the front lines with you.
