Job hunting sucks.
And do you know why job hunting sucks?
When I started job hunting, way way back in, ooh, APRIL, I had 2 interviews pretty fast. Both, yes, I didn’t get - but I got through to interviews. Heck, one of them was a dream job, and I got to the final 5 and only narrowly missed out due to a lack of history in direct support. But since?
2 interviews. Both utterly dodgy, we’ll-take-anybody ones, that were more open days than jobs, and this was reflected in what you would get out of it.
Job A was a fully commission paid role, pounding the streets finding people who hadn’t taken their government grant for insulation. 10am-8pm, Monday to Saturday, no breaks, only earning commission. No good.
Job B was stock taking for companies, 6 hour shifts, with an hourly wage £6.30. Problem is, they would transport you to the location, after opening hours, and then bring you back. For up to 400 miles, and sometimes continental (401-1000 miles range), and naturally this time is unpaid. Now, do the maths: if we take it that you will be going an average of 50MPH, 400 miles is 8 hours per direction, PLUS you then do a 6 hour shift. So, that’s, yes, 22 hours, for 6 hour’s pay.
And each week, the search engines shrug and say they have nothing, more and more. And here’s the search setup:
- In Bradford, 2 miles radius of city centre (for ease of public transportation reach)
- Part time (impending degree and possibility I may be my son’s carer should his Aspergers be confirmed are limiting factors)
- 7 days old listings (I check every week)
- Can actually qualify for role when reading description (ie, I search with those above conditions, open them in new tabs, and then read the description to make sure I meet their essential criteria)
I’m not asking a lot. Literally, that I can do the job, and the hours will allow me to do my degree (rapidly approaching - course begins the first week of October, materials impending) and look after the kids. But, judging by the job hunting, I may as well be asking for a job of unlimited pay with flexible hours.
And I blame myself, because I worry: is something coming up in background checks or something that I don’t know of, and ruining me? Or is it paranoia? And they never, ever give feedback, so I never know. And that, that just feeds depression.
