Trials and Tribulations - Job-hunting in 2014

One had assumed finding a job, now that one was 'qualified', would be a piece of sweet gateaux. Oh how I was wrong.

I have now been unemployed for two months, have spent countless hours trawling the Internet for suitable positions and have even endured the embarrassment of a Work and Income 'seminar' (I'll get to that later). I have now discovered that no matter what you do you can't please every employer. They all want something different, so whether you are qualified or not, young or old, male or female, smart or dumb, they will still hire who they want, and there's not much you can do about it. I don't want to sound cocky or silly for that matter, but I know I would be an asset to any business I worked for - simply because with 7 years of work experience under my belt, a recent qualification added to my CV and a whole bunch of extra-curricula activities, I have seen and done a lot.

How many 25 year old's can say they: have worked with Dutch military trained body guards, been made redundant, been fooled by a 'Catch Me If You Can' copy-cat fraudster, traveled extensively through North America, can name postcodes of anywhere in New Zealand, have never owned a television of my own, paid cash for a $7,000 car, and for that matter do not owe any money except for my student loan, & have worked in one job for more than 5 years, and that's just scratching the surface.

I was taught that everything we do is marketing. Everything. So I assumed that meant once I had gotten my piece of paper on the 6th of December, my skills would be in high demand. Over 45 job applications would prove me wrong. I have had two job interviews since then, one just two days ago, but that conversion rate is a little bit scary. Now compared to most job-hunters out there I am really lucky. I'm living with my folks for the meantime, so no bills, dinner is ready at 7 every night, and I have a roof. So when I went to WINZ thinking I was going to talk about getting help finding a job, I was saddened to be put straight into a 'How to get a Benefit' seminar. I did not ask for, or as I mentioned, need a benefit. I now feel even more depressed after hearing from a case-workers mouth something to the effect of "There are no jobs in Nelson except in horticulture... It's not what you know but who you know". Thanks for the optimism.

I'm hoping employers might read this and give me a chance. That's all I need, a chance to prove my worth and show what I am made of. I have my CV ready for you to read, and welcome anyone who wants to chat.



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