Fourteen months ago I closed my retail store and re-entered the job market. After three months of applying for jobs I secured a part time position in a small boutique, only to be made redundant four months later when that boutique closed down also.
The job hunting scene is depressing at the moment for everyone, but especially for the retail sector as more small businesses close and even big international companies go into voluntary administration and announce mass closures of their Australian stores. I am fortunate that my partner is highly educated and holding a secure job which covers out home loan, business loan and various monthly expenses, but it leaves very little wiggle room.
1. "Have you tried getting a job? Are you applying for places?"
I was discussing my unemployment while helping out in my friends bistro kitchen when his other kitchen hand, a 50-year-old woman, asked where my ideal work places would be. I reeled off a few high end boutiques I’d consider dream retail jobs for me. “You know what you need to do…” she said, “apply for those places.”
It's lucky the bistro chef never allows me near anything sharp or I would have caused an accident, as it was I almost dropped the tray of dirty dishes I was carrying.
“I have applied for those places,” I said, trying to sound as calm as possible, “some more than once.”
Does she really think I sit around twiddling my thumbs waiting for a job to fall into my lap?
People who don’t need to work, or are past the age of looking for a job, usually are the ones who ask these questions. They don’t understand how fierce the job market is at the moment. One woman at the bistro also commented that there are “hundreds of jobs on Seek!” as if it was as simple as picking one and getting on with it. I had to explain to her that many positions are advertised more than once - often by the company and then by two or three recruitment agents.
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If you are truly desperate for a job then you will be willing to take anything or do anything, even if that means going back to school and getting a degree in something and maybe even a little bit of debt.
I can relate to this, although it's my husband who has been job-hunting. In his late 30s, he's either over-qualified or under-qualified and it's quite disheartening.
For the first few months he was reasonably choosy, only applying for jobs that were in his field, assuming that this was a sensible strategy. And then he started applying more broadly, and then everything - stacking shelves, bar work, Sunday shifts at the local fish shop.
He's worked many corporate jobs with broad experience but he's not quite niche enough with the right professional qualifications - not quite enough management experience, or experience in a particular industry, or in a particular role. Strangely this has mainly been a result of past jobs coming from people he has known who had positions available and were keen on his broad skill set across sales, customer experience, administration etc.
So he's clearly too experienced for front office jobs. And who would employ a man his late 30s with lots of corporate experience to stack shelves or serve fish and chips? And while he'd happily take the hit to his pride to make ends meet in the short-term, naturally he's really hanging out for a permanent position in his field (logistics).
He's had many interviews that went really well, and twice he's actually been offered roles that have fallen through before he signed the paperwork. So that's at least given us some hope.
In the meantime, both my husband and I have been given all the same judgements and poor advice - don't set your sights too high, maybe you're just bludging and not trying hard enough, maybe you're not targeting the right jobs etc. It's very stressful.