Since I graduated I have been trying to spend more time with friends again, but I have also started job hunting already. A week after my last exam, I was browsing job ads online and actually came across two that I wanted to apply for. Originally, I had not planned to start job hunting until August but you cannot pass up an opportunity like that. There was just one problem. I had to pick up my diploma first (something that was taken care of quickly), and I had to have application photos taken.
This is something that may confuse a lot of you. I know that in the US application photos are a big no-no. Here they are a big yes-yes. While, due to recent anti-discrimination legislation, you are no longer required to add a photo to your application, you are still expected to by most HR personnel. But it cannot just be any photo, it has to be a professional photo. So last week I made an appointment with a local photographer and got my picture taken. It turned out great, probably partially due to the fact that he photo-shopped away my imperfections. Yes, it is that kind of professional photo. I paid €32 for four copies and a CD of the photo. Luckily most applications nowadays are online, otherwise job hunting can get expensive very quickly here.
Saturday morning, my mom called me and told me about a job fair taking place in Munich the week before my move there. Because it is another opportunity I’d hate to miss, I applied right away. I passed the first round and got an invite to the job fair, but I am hoping that I will also score a job interview or two, despite applying so last-minute. Either way I will be going to the job fair in three weeks. Even if I don’t find a job there, it can be great for practice and networking opportunities as well as the workshops they offer.
I also bought two books on the application progress, because what with how bad the economy is, I do not want to mess up any chances at getting a job by not knowing application etiquette. And while I have written a few applications and had some interviews before, they were never for proper jobs, just internships. Applying for jobs is so complicated here, there is so much you can do wrong, so I really want to make sure I am doing this right. I know that it will probably take me a few months to find a job but I also know that some graduates with a degree in humanities like me take more than a year to find a decent job. That is a scary prospect and something I really do not want to happen to me so I am trying to seize every opportunity I get.
Am I the only one to find the job hunting and application process a little daunting?
I’ve started to look for job opportunities online this week and, I don’t know, it is just *so* discouraging! I feel like no one is interested in people who only have their BA; all open positions are for people with at least 5+ years of work experience and whatnot. That’s what I find daunting about the process.
I still have to get my picture taken as well but I’m thinking I might try to take one of myself – or have a friend take one – because I look absolutely HORRIFIC in the professional ones. ;) Yours looks great!
I’m terrified of job hunting when I get back to Sydney – if I get desperate, I’ll just casual teach – but I really don’t know where to start OR what I even want to do!
That’s wild! I don’t know quite what to think about the photos, but I kind of like the idea of having them :)
Yours are gorgeous!
Job hunting is definitely daunting, I’m going to be doing it again this fall & I’m not excited!
It’s rough. It’s stressful. But it’s all worth it in the end… Right? :)
“Am I the only one to find the job hunting and application process a little daunting?”
I think it’s far more unusual if someone doesn’t feel that way. I graduated quite a while ago now, when the graduate jobs market wasn’t as tough and I was genuinely terrified. I didn’t have any job-hunting horror stories at the end of it, unless you count the Ye Olde Stupid Interview Questions of Doom but I was definitely thinking, what if they don’t like me, what if I screw up in the interview, what if no-one ever employs me, what if, what if what if…
And that way lies madness. The fact is, someone did employ me. Someone also employed my sister and she graduated in 2009. I’m not saying that you won’t find it tough but eventually, you’re going to find a job you’re happy with. It might not happen overnight and you might have to take work experience or internships to begin with but there is always something you can do to improve your chances. :)