So remember how everything was going swimmingly but I was waiting for something to go wrong? Well, it turns out my crazy paranoid mind was correct because I was told that my (admittedly rather loose) contract at work wouldn't be renewed after June.
Oh.
I can't say it was hugely unexpected. I'm currently working in retail and times are tough. Particularly when you're trying to sell things people don't need at a price they don't want to pay. I had been quietly looking for a new job anyway but to be suddenly thrust into NEEDING to find a new job is quite the thing.
Part of the problem is that everyone wants a new job and so recruiters have the luxury of picking and choosing on a whim and they also have the technology to do the sifting for them. Why go through hundreds of applications when you can get a piece of software to pick out the keywords for you? It doesn't matter if you overlook someone who could probably do the job better but doesn't have the exact word you're looking for on their CV because your software has found someone who does have the word.
That doesn't bother me. What does bother me is the silence. The huge gaping void into which you shout "HEY! I'M AWESOME! HIRE ME!" and get nothing back except the sound of your hopes being dashed. Would it be too much to expect even a small email saying "Thanks but no thanks"? Apparently so. So where recruiters have found software to do their job for them, they haven't figured out how to BCC a mass email to a list that can be compiled in minutes. This lack of simple, basic politeness is at once depressing and disrespectful. It says that their time is more important than yours; that because you don't quite meet their expectations, you are unworthy of their attention; that no response at all is far more demoralising than a flat rejection. We're grown ups - we can handle rejection but nobody likes to be ignored.
Having said that, I plough on. Onwards, upwards, heck, out to the sides if needs be. Because HEY! I AM AWESOME! HIRE ME!
Someone will hear eventually.
Wednesday 12 June 2013
Monday 11 March 2013
The One Where I'm Waiting For Something To Go Wrong...
*blows dust off*
Oh hi there. Yes, it has been a while hasn't it? Well, I've been busy. I had a baby and got a new job and well, life kept happening. Except it's been happening rather well and it's now that I start worrying.
The irrational behaviour of my brain has been something I've battled with for a while. When things are going rather badly, I always find some sort of positive to get me through it. It's quite strong in that way. But that means when things are actually rather peachy, I'm worrying that something is going to go wrong.
What is it that makes me unable to cope with life being ok? At this moment in time I have a job, The Hairy Drummer has a job, we have two healthy and happy children, we have a nice warm house to live in and food in the cupboards. The general health and happiness of our nearest and dearest is in fine fettle too.
But there's a niggle.
Let's call him Nigel. Nigglesome Nigel has settled himself into my head and is whispering that something is bound to go wrong. It can't be this good for long. It never is for you, he whispers, almost cackling with glee at the thought of this glimmer of perfection crashing down around me. And I listen to him even though I know he's wrong. But what if he's right? There's always something isn't there? Like my house burning down and losing my job. Sure, that could've been all my bad luck for a while but what if it's not?
It's at this stage that self-sabotaging becomes a very real prospect. I just want to hide under my duvet and not come out, preferring to lose myself in an endless supply of books and box sets. I did this once and ended up flunking university and therefore life at that time. It ruined friendships and what I'd thought my future would be. Nigel niggled and said I deserved it, that I wasn't as great as I thought I was, that I was just another failure. It took a while to shut him up but when I finally did, everything was ok.
And so it is now. Luckily I'm able to call upon some excellent people who understand what I'm thinking and why I think it. It's learning to do this, to not internalise and listen to Nigel, that helps you through. It doesn't make Nigel go away completely but at least I can tune him out today.
Oh hi there. Yes, it has been a while hasn't it? Well, I've been busy. I had a baby and got a new job and well, life kept happening. Except it's been happening rather well and it's now that I start worrying.
The irrational behaviour of my brain has been something I've battled with for a while. When things are going rather badly, I always find some sort of positive to get me through it. It's quite strong in that way. But that means when things are actually rather peachy, I'm worrying that something is going to go wrong.
What is it that makes me unable to cope with life being ok? At this moment in time I have a job, The Hairy Drummer has a job, we have two healthy and happy children, we have a nice warm house to live in and food in the cupboards. The general health and happiness of our nearest and dearest is in fine fettle too.
But there's a niggle.
Let's call him Nigel. Nigglesome Nigel has settled himself into my head and is whispering that something is bound to go wrong. It can't be this good for long. It never is for you, he whispers, almost cackling with glee at the thought of this glimmer of perfection crashing down around me. And I listen to him even though I know he's wrong. But what if he's right? There's always something isn't there? Like my house burning down and losing my job. Sure, that could've been all my bad luck for a while but what if it's not?
It's at this stage that self-sabotaging becomes a very real prospect. I just want to hide under my duvet and not come out, preferring to lose myself in an endless supply of books and box sets. I did this once and ended up flunking university and therefore life at that time. It ruined friendships and what I'd thought my future would be. Nigel niggled and said I deserved it, that I wasn't as great as I thought I was, that I was just another failure. It took a while to shut him up but when I finally did, everything was ok.
And so it is now. Luckily I'm able to call upon some excellent people who understand what I'm thinking and why I think it. It's learning to do this, to not internalise and listen to Nigel, that helps you through. It doesn't make Nigel go away completely but at least I can tune him out today.
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