A Nation of Stags


And here we go again.

This time I’m not on a bus, but rather a train. And it’s classy! I have a high backed chair, a nice big table and enough leg room for someone with exceptionally long legs. It even has full spec AC power outlets along the wall. Too bad I didn’t bring the charger for my Chuwi. It does cost a little more than the standard bus, but after the week I had? Squeezing into a Sardine Can would be enough to put me over the edge.

Very nice! But by the end of the trip I did feel like I'd been on this train my entire life. Very nice! But by the end of the trip I did feel like I’d been on this train my entire life.

Finding work has been tough.

I knew it would be challenging and require tremendous effort, but didn’t bet on it taking this dang long. It’s now been four metric weeks since I moved into my new place. I would have applied to at least 50 positions in that time, as many as I could find a listing for. This is the eleven step process I normally undertake:

  1. I apply for a role.

  2. Wait.

  3. Send a follow up email.

  4. Wait.

  5. Phone the place. Normally get the receptionist, who is always very nice. I’m told the person in change of hiring will call me right back.

  6. Wait.

  7. Do a phone interview. Get told I’ll be hearing from them soon.

  8. Wait

  9. Put on my best suit and go in for a face to face interview.

  10. Wait

  11. Get employed

Right now that eleventh step is proving extremely elusive. Most of the time I’m left idling at step six, and in the mean time I’m chipping away at my savings.

There is a fine line between being persistent and being a pain. I have the motivation to badger places non stop for the rest of the decade! But I think that would be detrimental for my employment prospects.

I have signed up to recruitment agencies. I had a very nice face to face meeting with Absolute IT – a place that specialises in (as you might guess) IT roles. I came out of that meeting feeling very empowered, but in the week since nothing has materialised from it. I did help me get a clearer definition of my skill set plus improve my documentation. I’ll be staying in contact with my rep, ensuring to phone a minimum of once a week. I’m sure he is looking forward to that.

I am qualified. I have several certificates plus a Bachelors Degree in Information and Communications Technologies. I also am a qualified CCNA tech, meaning I’m allowed to touch and manage all those Cisco certified racks that are oh so common. The biggest part about getting that Cisco cert is to answer several hundred multiple choice questions. I seemed to ace that, getting above 80% all the time. I’m tempted to publish some of the essays and reports from my degree online, but most of that stuff would be a bit… outdated.

I am eager, maybe even too eager. Right now I have very little social life. Work/Life balance? I need to make up for time. If I got a six month contract it’d be the best value a business will ever spend for those six months. Not all types of jobs would allow this kind of approach, but I would want to dive in head first to a role. I have fire in my mind, and I can’t hide it in my walking. I’m glowing in the dark! I give you warning.

Who wouldn't hire this guy and his purple tie? Who wouldn’t hire this guy and his purple tie?

I’m tempted to put up my Curriculum Vitae (also called a CV, or a resume) here, but I doubt I get many readers from anywhere near the location I’m looking for work. It’s full of all my personal details, so not exactly something for public consumption. I’m happy to send anyone a copy that wants it. Email me with ‘CV’ in the subject line.