The joys of…looking for a job!

I got my first job at fourteen. My dad had been at the pub near our house when he overheard the bar staff talking about needing a pot wash. He volunteered me, and I just turned up the next weekend ready to work. All throughout my teenage years, I would smile with boomer smugness whenever anyone would mention struggling to get a job – have you ever tried just going up to the till, and asking if they need a pot wash? Of course, this all ended in a rude awakening at eighteen when I actually had to go forth, and find a new job.

I would recommend just skipping Indeed completely and looking on Gov.uk Jobs instead

Indeed is quite fun to scroll through when you treat it like a game. However, when you desperately need to work, and you keep mass applying to jobs only to hear nothing back it becomes a new kind of hell. If you are looking for a job, I would recommend just skipping Indeed completely and looking on Gov.uk Jobs instead. I’ll disclaim that I do have a soft spot for this website (or at least as soft a spot you can have for a literal website), because it’s where I found my current job, but I do think it is a lot easier to use. Therefore, because it is a government website the notices on here tend to be more recent, and oftentimes more legitimate too. On here, you’ll actually receive emails from jobs that reject you instead of just being ghosted – which is nice for the first few times, and then just a bit depressing.

Have a separate CV for different career paths: maybe a CV specific to hospitality, a CV for retail, a CV for care, etc.

Another good thing about Gov.uk Jobs is that most of the notices on there include descriptions of what the companies want in their ideal applicants. I usually use this to guide what’s written on my CV. For example, if a job mentions wanting someone with good time management then I’ll include a sentence about how working as a pot wash improved my time management. I know personalising your CV for every job you apply to is common advice, but I don’t think it’s necessary when you’re mass applying to part time jobs. At most, have a separate CV for different career paths: maybe a CV specific to hospitality, a CV for retail, a CV for care, etc. Although, I think you could probably just get away with having a general CV and making tweaks based on the keywords that appear on the notice descriptions. These keywords are essential. Even if you’ve never had a job before, you need to find a way to sneak them into your CV, including them in descriptions of how you’re involved in a society at university, or even your experience at school.

The goal of a job interview is to present a version of yourself that’s truthful but a little idealised

The same is true in interviews too. If you’re asked a question about a time you persevered through a challenge, it isn’t necessarily needed for you to describe a prior work experience as long as you can link what you’re talking about to the job you’re applying for. Think of it in the same way you were taught to answer GCSE questions back in school: reword the question and always make sure you link back to the answer at hand. The goal of a job interview is to present a version of yourself that’s truthful but a little idealised. For a few minutes, you need to become a person that’s a little more organised, and a little more bubbly than whoever it is that normally lives your life.

It might not feel like it but there will always be other jobs, just do the best that you can do

All this advice, as helpful as it might be, doesn’t help with the main problem of job interviews: nerves. I’ve had to do two job interviews in my life. I arrived at the first one extremely early, and spent twenty minutes in the car beforehand, too scared to go in. The only consolation I found in this experience was the certainty that the next one would be easier. I was wrong. It wasn’t, and I found myself yet again, hiding in my car, trying desperately to calm myself down before heading in. Some things you’ll always be nervous about, and that’s okay. I find it’s useful to tell myself that the worst possible thing that can happen is I won’t get the job – this doesn’t sound calming but it stops me from spiralling, and imagining nonsensical but very terrifying outcomes of the interview. It might not feel like it but there will always be other jobs, just do the best that you can do.

I was looking for a job, and then I found a job and heaven knows I’m miserable now

The Smiths

At the end of the day, the worst thing about applying for jobs is that you eventually end up with a job. My favourite band is The Smiths, and whenever I have to walk to work in the rain, or I end up spilling a drink all down my front, I like to repeat over and over again in my head: ‘I was looking for a job, and then I found a job and heaven knows I’m miserable now.’ This normally has the effect of making me smile, but it’s important to remember that, like always, Morrissey is being a drama queen.

Jobs may be a necessary evil but they’re good for you in the same way that salad is. I’ve found that since working I’ve become a more capable person who’s just generally a lot more confident. I know it’s hard to see a positive side when you’re knee deep in job rejections, or when you’re spending your twenty minute break scrolling through social media, seeing other people’s holiday pictures, but this will in the long run make you a stronger person. You’ll have a thicker skin than peers who never needed to work, and minimum wage jobs always end up teaching you a number of strange skills that maybe, potentially, will one day come in handy. I know I’ll be grateful when the apocalypse arrives, and I’m the only person left alive who knows how to change a keg. Until then, keep your head up – it’s always the best thing to do!