Not anger but disappointment

Struggles of a (not so) recent Politics graduate

I don’t know what I’m looking to accomplish here. Nobody’s going to read it anyway.

Cover Letter

I hate writing about myself. I find it painful and I never manage to sell myself. I don’t even know how I got my previous jobs. I thought it could be my looks but then I sobered up. Unfortunately, our society works in a certain way where everybody needs, not necessarily wants, a job. It’s just easier this way. I guess Bukowski was right — being unemployed and drunk takes guts. Anyway, here I go…

I graduated from Queen Mary, University of London with a degree in Politics this July. Studying Politics involved writing a lot of essays — not creative, of course, because who needs that. We had to meet deadlines, word limits, conduct original research. What the latter really meant was that even if we were to use an entire paragraph from a published book we had to quote it properly. For every single day you were late you were taken 5 marks. If, for whatever reason, the essay was over the word limit you were fined 10 marks. You had 14 days gratis over the deadline and then you received 0. That is what I did. Sometimes I would write my essays 2-3 weeks in advance and just wait for that 14-days to pass. I got 2:2. I enjoyed the discussions we had. I liked philosophy, world economy, comparative politics.

I started working when I was 13 during school holidays for my dad. He has an alcohol distribution business and he is deemed successful. I worked in the warehouse as a cleaner, general worker, and assistant to delivery people. My father believes in hard work. He would usually get up at 6.30am, get my brother to school, go to the gym, go to work, and then come back home at about 9pm. Then, he would get ready and go out to have dinner with his peers. He rewarded people who worked hard and being part of his business was not easy. At least, I got to be trade representative for some time, which taught me a lot about finding customers, and what (not) to promise.

I did two internships for two consecutive summers at Barrasford & Bird Estate Agents. This is a company that sells/lets apartments to British nationals who spent their holidays at the Bulgarian seaside. The job involved taking photos of apartments that were up for sale, preparing documents for customers to sign, and meeting people and showing them around the area. However, the task I enjoyed the most was when I was put in charge of receiving complaints that customers had with their apartments/houses. There is nothing more valuable in terms of life skills than listening to people complain about things and all you can do is pass it along. I really enjoyed doing these internships but let’s be honest — I was just a trainee and I was not given the chance to sell an apartment no matter how much I wanted.

I also did two internships last summer. The first one was at the Bulgarian ministry of foreign affairs. This is a public sector job and it was dull. I had to go up and down stories and ask people to sign stuff. What I enjoyed particularly was that nobody tells you anything and you had to find the people yourself and find where their offices were. I was supposed to do two months there but I left two weeks before that because back then I still had some respect for myself. I had a friend who worked for a political show on the Bulgarian national television channel and he said they were looking for an intern. I was there for a month and so. The conflict in Syria was gaining speed and this was the best internship I had. The people were amazing — all journalists and all with stories to tell. I love stories (not the ones in the ministry, though). It was an unusual experience. During my first few days I felt like that main character from The Devil Wears Prada. There were always people typing something, big screens taking

whatever space there was with news channels depicting what happens around the world. There were people who would sometimes shout. Everybody was welcoming and demanding in the same time. I loved the sense of urgency. Maybe I will become a journalist one day.

I also worked for a little café/wine bar, called Queen’s Tea Rooms in Buckhurst Hill, Essex. The job required me to be composed and work under great deal of pressure. I worked during the day when I was not at university but, once I started, I worked only nights. The job was demanding but I had great colleagues and it made things bearable and, I have to admit, enjoyable. Having colleagues is one of the greatest inventions of humankind. The most important experience I got from this job was getting to know people, talking to them, becoming part of the community. I have also worked as an assistant cook for a pub in Windsor. The only thing I learned there was that I was capable of working 15 hours straight. The most valuable thing I learned, though, is that you ought to sign all the documents first because otherwise people do not pay you.

Recently I worked as a freelance writer for a company called Webalactic. The original job posting required the individual to do some copy writing. This meant that I was provided with a text and I had to change it. I decided that this time I would conduct some research and write more informative and educational texts. I did this while I was studying for my final exams. It took the between 3-4 hours a day to write a good 5- page article on a certain topic. I wanted to write something in depth so that when somebody reads it they have a good grasp of the topic. The company paid me for 1.5hrs per article. Regardless, I did it for some time because I enjoy writing but in the end I decided I ought to search for something else. It was hard work, which involved going to the library, finding relevant information, watching videos, etc. I liked this job.

Overall, I consider myself as a working person. I decided to be honest while writing this cover letter. I know that I may have wasted your time reading this but I am tired of having to exaggerate. I decided to look for something that presents a challenge. I think that this job will present a challenge. Now, I will get myself a beer (advantages of the unemployed) and read an article in the Bagehot section of The Economist, called Tits, out.

Thank you for your time and have a nice day!