Blogs: Richard's job log: 2

Richard graduated in 2007 with a contemporary history degree. Although he currently works in a Birmingham law firm, he has ambitions in media. Or football.

This month I was primed and ready to regale you with tales of CVs because, you see, I cannot write a decent one to save my life. During the construction of my CV (and indeed covering letter) I sense that I am doing great and important work which will guarantee me at least an interview. Yet in reality I start droning on about how I was captain of my school’s football team. Once. When I was ten. As you can imagine this probably isn’t music to the ears of prospective employers and interviews are not particularly forthcoming.

In a demonstration of what, for me, is amazing dedication to a cause, I followed through with my plan to start applying for real people jobs this month. Thus far I have been rejected, ignored and quite possibly laughed at. One such rejection noted that apart from my location the only other thing holding me back was my ‘skillset’. Now I’m no expert but as rejections go that was quite comprehensive.

Uprooting myself and my wife-to-be and moving a couple of hundred miles up a motorway, whilst simultaneously learning an entire new ‘skillset’ was always looking a bit unlikely. I have to say though, in defence of the rejecting firm, at least they actually gave me a response. During my adult life I have lost count of the amount of times I have been ignored when applying for positions.

 

In many ways a lack of a response or even an acknowledgement of your application is about as damning a rejection you can receive. Not only are you unworthy of an interview, you are also not even worthy of an acknowledgment of your total yawning inadequacies. In my experience, job applications take anywhere from forty-five minutes to a couple of hours to complete adequately, so the least you should be able to expect is a letter, an email or even a phone call noting that you have been unsuccessful. It is just common decency.

I suppose in many ways it isn’t surprising that candidates don’t hear back from employers in this financial climate, as they’re no doubt inundated with job applications from graduates of both the wide-eyed and optimistic as well as the grizzled and disheartened varieties. It is just disappointing when you put so much effort into an application only to be ignored.

Undeterred by my apparent lack of skill I shall continue on in my quest to find myself a new job, one of which I can be dimly proud; and when that day arrives I know that I will be prepared; as I have amassed a collection of at least seven ties, some of them even have stripes. Maybe I should put that on my CV.