The Job that is Job Hunting
In the last 3 years I’ve had a grand total of 6 jobs. Yes, you read that correctly; SIX jobs in THREE years. I feel very vulnerable writing about this topic, because I have been job hunting for nearly half of the past 3 years and I’m worried of what people will assume that means of me. I’m worried people will think I suck at my job and I’m terrible at meeting people but neither of those is the case. I am great at what I do and love meeting people, and even more importantly I am passionate about both! I just have had a long string of bad luck, one that never seems to end.
Here’s how my story goes.
Job 1:
Spatial Designer, 21 months.
3 years ago I was preparing to leave a great first job in my field. It paid alright for my expereince level and matched the average salary in the market. I was thankful for the position as more than half of my graduation class were unable to find work in our field. It was exciting and fast paced and I learned more in my time there than I ever thought imaginable. It was on the waterfront of beautiful Auckland city and I had the best workmates possible. But I was getting married and moving cities so I gave up this great job in the hopes of finding a new one in my new husband’s city.
Job 2:
Temporary Childcare Worker, 3 weeks.
In the many months of job hunting in my new city of Wellington, I picked up a few weeks work at a daycare centre through a friend’s family. It was very sweet and very kind but definatly only a temporary job! I don’t have a lot of patience for children and have gained a ton of respect for the people who love to do this type of work. It was a nice break mid job hunt and gave me energy to keep pursuing work in my field.
Job 3:
Lighting Designer, 6 months.
After months of looking for work in a new city (we will get to that later) I had to accept a job that used less than 10% of my abilities and qualifications just to pay the bills. This job came through the angel of a friend’s acquantince and I felt obligated to at least give it a try instead of continuing to pursue my dream job, and hey, I got to use a whopping 10% of my abilities and qualifications. After waiting a decent 3 months I began the hunt again.
Job 4:
Architectural Assistant, 5 months.
FINALLY! At last! Someone was willing to give me a shot in my field. Even though they described the position as “out of my depth” they gave me the opportunity and I took it. It was a fun role and the best part was it was less than a 15 minute walk from my house (12 minutes, I timed it!). I was the only full-time employee under 2 Directors and had a lot of responsibilities but I exceeded expectations in all areas of my role. This might sound like I finally found “it” and you may be asking “why would she leave!?”, well the answer is… complicated. First, there was the problem with my contracts. The original contract was for only 3 months, then my follow-up contract astonishingly was for a measily 2 months. Not knowing for more than a couple months at a time if I’ll have consistant work was extremly toxic and stressful and it felt like the Directors didn’t have faith in my abilities (even though I was kicking ass!). Secondly, the Directors fought constantly with each other, often in screaming matches suitable for children’s style of fighting only. The bickering created quite a hostile work environment (you think?!) and being someone who shies away from conflict, this became quite a taxing experience for me. I began to have anxiety about going to work and was always terrified they’d try to pull me into the middle of their issues. The third and last factor (as if the first two weren’t enough…) of leaving this job after a short 5 months was that my husband was feeling ready to leave his long-term job and wanted a change of scenery. So we left our sweet little place in Wellington, New Zealand and headed for sunny Brisbane, Australia.
Job 5:
Starbucks Barista, 10 months.
Our intent was to be in Australia for 6 months to save up for a one year working holiday in Amsterdam. Because of this short-term dedication I decided not to waste time looking for work in my field and instead took a break and went back to my Barista roots. I loved being in the fast-paced environment of coffee-making and loved all the fantastic and horrible stories I gained from working back in costumer service. Also, I took this time out of my career to reflect on if Design was what I wanted to do and if it was the career path I actually wanted to pursue. 6 months turned into 11 and we finally packed our bags (again!) and moved to Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
Job 6:
Freelancing, 2 months.
While job hunting in the Netherlands, I’ve been lucky and blessed enough to pick up a bit of freelance work for clients both in New Zealand and here in Amsterdam. It’s been keeping me busy and has helped to get accustomed to how the architecture and design industry work in this new country. It’s been fantastic to pick up design work again after nearly a years break and it is definitely the career I want to pursue.
The Hunt
In the past 3 years, I’ve been on the job search for a total of 16 months.
That’s 16 months of putting myself out there day after day, week after week, month after month and (what feels like) year after year. The longest stretch of being jobless and hunting lasted 8 months, currently I’ve been on the hunt for 4 months. I’m starting to feel like a bit of an expert and I’m not sure if that is a good thing! I often refer to job searching as hunting because sometimes it really does feel like you are hunting! The persistant emails and calls, showing up un-anounced at firms seeing if they are hiring, going on dozens of job interviews, scowering the internet for anywhere to apply that is remotely in your field of work… it’s the city version of hunting.
A lot of people joke about how I should be “enjoying the time off” or make insensitve remarks about being unemployed. Job hunting might be the worst job that there possibly is. It’s mentally exhausting, and no one around you really seems to understand how horrible it is… waking up every day with no intentions or purpose on what to do that day other than continually putting yourself out there and (by now) expecting rejection. I’m not trying to complain or be insenstive to actual jobs that truly are terrible, but I don’t think employed people realise how lucky they are to be working. Being jobless is so straining on more than just yourself, it affects the people around you (especially family!). I’m tired of being “that girl” who continually asks friends and family for any leads on work and for prayer and well wishes for job interviews. I am so grateful for my husband who is carrying us along financially while I search for work that relates to my field and he doesn’t push me to just pick up anything because he knows this is what I want to do and have to work hard enough to pursue it. It’s been tough but together we are getting through it.
Mistakes
My biggest mistake in the 8 month stint of job hunting was not taking opportunities as they came and thinking I wasn’t good enough to apply to certain postitions. When I first arrived in my new city of Wellington, I enjoyed the “time off” feeling and loved being a home-maker for my new husband. I put off applying for positions until it was too late and they were already filled. I was a naive graduate and jobless for the first time in 6 years. I thought that I would get the first job I applied for… boy, was I wrong.
Wellington is not the largest of cities. There are probably only about 40 different Architectural and Design firms that I could work for, and I contacted all of them more than once in the course of those 8 months. I can’t even remember how many interviews I went on. I sunk into a “rejection depression” and was at the lowest point in my life for months on end before something happened. A lead came along from a friend in Auckland who knew the owner of a national lighting company and offered to arrange a position for me in one of his stores in Wellington as a Lighting Designer. The position sounded promising and I took it out of desperation (and a little bit out of obligation!). The job ended up having very little to do with design and a whole lot to do with customer service so after waiting an appropriate amount of time I got back on the job hunt.
This time (thankfully!) instead of 8 months, the hunt was only 3 and I had several interviews to keep busy with. I was offered a position which I hungrily took without too much hesitation in regard to thought or negotiations. My mistake with this was that I listened to the Directors when they told me I wasn’t good enough for the role but they would hire me anyway (whatever that means!). I should have fought my case a bit and stood up for myself and the talent that I know I have. Their issue was that I didn’t study architecture, I studied design. A lot of architects genuinely feel that they are better than designers, it’s a strange complex and one that I’ve had to deal with quite a bit. This role was a pay cut from the Lighting Design job BUT it was back in my field and I was getting to work on interiors again, so I didn’t mind the reduced pay.
My next mistake, was the job hunt in Australia. I anticipated only being in the country for only 6 months so I didn’t bother with finding work in my field, I just looked for what came easy to me. Little did I know, that visa issues would extend our stay in Australia to basically a full year. That could have been a whole year of extra experience working in an Australian Design Firm (which are my favorite by the way!) that I gave up on because of short-sightedness.
Currently
What I’ve taken on board from all my past months of being jobless and hunting has lead to a much more successful and painless job search here in The Netherlands. I started searching and applying for work 1 week after arriving, I applied to any and all positions even if my confidence in my ability to complete the role was lacking, I’ve taken opportunites as they’ve come to me in the form of accepting freelance (something I never imagined myself doing!) and I am so much more relaxed in interviews from my MONTHS of experience in rejection (I’ve realised there is no point working for the wrong company!).
It’s been an… interesting… 4 months of job searching. Experience tells me there is an end to the hunt and that I just have to keep pursuing and fighting for a position that will satisfy and grow me as a designer and a creative. I am not making the same mistakes I’ve made in my past hunts and I am actively pursuing all avenues and opportunities presented to me.
I feel the end of my hunt is very near; it can’t go on forever.
