Do you remember Georgina Leaker? She was the cheeky lass from the land down under who bagged herself no less than EIGHT JOB OFFERS after her “public whinge” in a Sydney newspaper about the Gen Y job situation.
Here is a re-post of her article about this very blog at which you stare, dear readers, and her own big break into journalism…
How to be Jobless is a blog run by an anonymous, unemployed, over-qualified guy or gal in a similar boat to what I was just a few short weeks back. For the sake of this piece, we’re gonna call this dude or dudette, “Anon”, because otherwise I’ll confuse myself! (and they are trying to stay anonymous!)
Anon and I found each other on Twitter and they have since featured my big break article that was published in the Sydney Morning Herald a few weeks back.
Anon has set a deadline: one year to secure a job in the field they’ve got a bloody masters degree in: journalism.
Shit! I studied the same thing! Well, no wonder poor Anon is unemployed, they’re chasing the impossible! Yeah, that’s what I heard every day, but eight months after graduation I secured my first job in a production company in the big smoke (Sydney) and sure, I hated it and was made redundant just ten short months later, but I persevered and got that job… and then lost it and was unemployed for another eight months.
Hmmm… So I don’t really have a story much better than Anon’s – except that my public whinge secured me a job as a copywriter and more paid freelance journalism than you can poke a stick at and well, Anon’s public whinge isn’t quite going to plan. But it should be! The blog has endless musings about being an intern and a job seeker and it’s witty and funny and goddamnit, someone hire them before I do! (Anon, I’d love to hire you, but I don’t have that kind of power… Booooo!)
One of my favourite pieces is this rant about the psychology of tea making in the office. In Australia, an intern isn’t allowed to perform ‘menial tasks’ like tea making or picking up lunch for a paid staffer, that’s considered treating them like a slave and if an intern being treated like this has the balls, they will tell their boss to shove it, steal some stationary and immediately leave – but not before calling the Ombudsman and having a loud whinge. I can’t speak for interns in the UK though and bloody oath, if Anon and other British interns are being fucked over like that, then this blog is a long over due revolution!
As far as I see it, society is going backwards. An unpaid intern being strung along without even the slightest prospect of a job at the end of the tunnel today is what a child factory worker was in those early days of the industrial revolution. Exploited, demeaned and likely in poor health, because they can’t afford much more than a $2 cheeseburger from Maccas. That’s why I’ll keep writing about it, and hopefully, once someone finally takes notice and hires them, Anon will too.
I also enjoyed this one about what interviews are doing wrong. Oh interviews, I despise interviews! Sure, I love getting the call, inviting me in, but I had the ridiculous questions and the staring and how NERVOUS I feel the entire time. I end up speaking in jibberish and making a fool of myself. Anon calls out every annoying, stupid thing that interviewers do to make us feel worse about ourselves, it’s about time someone did! (Side note: the interviews I undertook after being headhunted as a result of my SMH article were much better interviews because those people were actually interested in me, I liked those interviews.)
Anon also has a whole section of the blog dedicated to how to stay jobless, which is a skill I have already mastered, but is hilarious and makes me feel better about my inept ways.
Look, if you’re unemployed and struggling (or have ever been unemployed and struggling) and you need a pick me up, Anon and their How to Be Jobless website will have you in a fit of giggles. If you’re employed and feeling on top of the world, you should still check it out. It’s hard being unemployed, but you, in your cushy job, wouldn’t know that – so go educate yourself and prepare to walk away with a new perspective and understanding. We work just as hard as you, except our work is done in our pyjamas and involves nothing but writing cover letters.
Anon, I’d love to interview you – any chance you’d be up for it?
