To Dig, to Examine Artefacts or to become a Doctor?

Optimism expressed in my previous posts has faded due to recent job application experiences. These ‘experiences’ have left me thinking of alternative routes to the career goal of running my own archaeological project and presenting the findings; and ways of relieving the boredom I have discovered in this jobless state I find myself in. When applying for jobs I have found each and every one of them want experience. Even the roles that call themselves Traineeships demand a certain level of experience. I have applied for many roles away from the North East and heard nothing back; although one or two deadlines are yet to pass.

One alternative is to divert my path from excavation work to curatorial work. I recently attended an open afternoon at the Great North Museum about the future curator program run by the British Museum and its partners and I discovered that I had a lot to offer. One aspect of the traineeship is that it is a two way partnership between the curator of the host museum and the trainee. I believe I have a lot to offer on one of the traineeships that looks at Late Medieval European artefacts. I believe I can offer knowledge on the Byzantine influences and Byzantine artefacts that end up in Western Europe. The diversion from excavation is because to gain experience you tend to have to pay a lot to dig and stay in remote locations and pay for those lodgings just to volunteer. I need money to live. I believe the Archaeology Department at the University could add a vocational element that is taught by the lecturers to the degree; instead of just sending us away to look for digs we can not afford. They could offer an NVQ in Archaeology that students can gain for attending excavations.

My other alternative is to submerge myself back into education and go for a PhD and Dr Russell will be born! Premature? In the meantime I will have to volunteer and maybe use those coin identification skills I gained at the British Museum to gain the experience I need. I will also write some archaeological sci-fi adventures that I have dreamt up in my boredom. Am I going Insane?? Or am I just lost in the sea of thousands of graduates all going for the same roles??

If anyone has any advice about what I should do next, drop me a line!! If anyone knows of any free excavations, drop me a line!! If anyone knows any openings I have missed, let me know!!!

You may have heard of the graduate blues, but I reckon many final year students are suffering these prematurely; in the form of pre-graduation panics.

It happened. The question dreaded by all final year students/recent graduates hit my ears on Christmas day. Of all the days to bring this up, it had to be my favourite day of the year. This question is very easy to avoid at university; don’t talk to career advisers, lecturers or your parents, and your friends are quite firmly in the same boat to know not to ask. But on Christmas day, we arrive at my Nan’s for my favourite meal of the year, and I hear:

“So what are you going to do with your life?”

The only response I could muster was “try to get a job”. At least it was the truth. And I think most people would give the same response. But it is a terrifying thought. Come June I will be unemployed. No, I haven’t applied for any graduate schemes, because there aren’t any I want to do. No, I haven’t applied for any jobs because they all start before I graduate. And yes, I know this will leave me very stuck. So instead of writing my dissertation right now, I am wondering what a careers adviser would be telling me to do apart from sort my life out. I need more direct advice.

In all honesty, all I have done is created a LinkedIn profile. Just a page sitting on the World Wide Web begging someone to give me a job. Very unlikely but it’s worth a shot. I want to be an editor, preferably of Vogue. So my plan at the moment is actually get a degree, and send out some speculative letters to local newspapers and magazines asking for any experience or jobs they might have. My other option is to do a masters degree but this comes at a very high price. Slightly worrying, but what can you do?

If anyone has any advice I would love to hear it, as at the moment all I have is 10,000 words to write!

So what do I do, high street law? regional law? barrister (pffft, no chance) or do I have a complete and utter career revamp and follow childhood dreams of acting stardom and a pop career (I wish) But seriously, I wish someone would tell me what to do. Because I genuinely don’t know. For now, I’m thinking of embarking on a ski season next winter so I can decide whilst meandering down the slopes. Then onto America, then Australia, then possibly Thailand. Then I want to move to London. If anyone would like to give me £10,000 to get this all started, or buy me a lottery ticket, I’d really appreciate it!

This summer I was unbelievably fortunate enough to get a contact for one of the editors at the Guardian newspaper. She happened to know my former headmistress and went on the train with my Dad, which worked in my favour.
Luck had got me this far, but I had to make the most of the situation. If you can get an email address or a phone number, you’re half way there. I sent a friendly email explaining my situation, asking for any amount of work experience I could get, and hoped. I received a lovely reply, and we arranged a week in July. After meeting up for a coffee the week before, I got on the train to London. Despite initial nerves, I had a fantastic week, and was asked to go back for another week, and then two more in August.

And once you’ve arranged a date, here’s some really simple advice on how to make the most of an opportunity, however small.

- Be friendly, likeable and approachable
- Do absolutely everything possible – even if it’s something small which ‘isn’t urgent’, people will appreciate that you took the time and effort. And if it’s something really big, even better. I was asked to do some research and write a piece for the Careers network blog; I’d never written a blog before and had no idea how to go about writing it. But I went for it, and now have something to show from the work experience and a valuable skill.
- Stay in contact with the people you meet – get connected on LinkedIn, preferably with a recommendation, or on Twitter.
- If you’re asked to go back – go out of your way to do this.
- Get to know your colleagues, and take the time to ask about their career paths.
- Take cookies/chocolate/sweets in to brighten up everyone’s day.
- Show your appreciation of the opportunity, express your enjoyment and how much you’ve learned and you might just get asked back (fingers crossed). Make sure you send a thank you email or card on completion of your placement.

Another tip I’ve found useful is to keep a note of what I’ve done and what skills I’ve learned. This is a good way of jogging your memory when it comes to adding the placement to your CV, or discussing it in an interview.

And lastly, do remember to enjoy your placement as well as getting as much as possible out of it!

The answer? Well I actually think it’s actually a resounding yes. Have I taken on board my feedback and learned more about the City? Yes, I can tell you all about initial public offerings, how inflation affects the markets, how this would have an effect on a law firm and its operational structure. Have I learned what the role is of a trainee is in a transaction. Yes, they’re not just glorified document-checkers, they’re a critical part of helping the firm meet its client’s goals quickly, effectively and impressively and play a critical role in helping them meet their business perspectives. Have I engaged in more extra-curricular activities and widened my CV? Yes, with two jobs and a dissertation, I think I can manage my time quite well!

So with that, I shall press on with my applications. Hopefully, things will work out the way I want them to this year. Fingers crossed!

The job Application Form

• Make a list of FAS’s (Frequently Asked Scenarios) in a word document. In all application forms we get asked to give examples that show we have specific qualities such as the ability to work in a team or how we have overcome a difficult problem. By making a list of these scenarios you can simply cut and paste them into the personal specification.
• If you are in a current job and during your day you succeed in solving a problem, write it down into the FAS document because we are likely to forget many things we do on a day to day basis.
• In many applications we are often to ask to give full addresses for all previous employers; this information is not normally on a CV. You could keep these addresses in the same document as the FAS’s; again this allows you to quickly cut and paste.
• Do not be afraid to give examples of day to day successes at university such as having to do a bit of research because your university skills are transferable and not all your examples have to come from previous employment.

Sometimes a job advert gives a contact name for an informal chat; CONTACT these people. Before you do try and think of a sensible question that not many people will ask, such as for one job I am applying for I asked if the work I would be doing could offer opportunities to develop a PhD idea. By contacting these people you are making yourself known before an application is even submitted.

There are benefits of having a Masters in the application process. While filling out countless application forms I have been feeling a little more confident about being successful then I did when I graduated with just a BA. This feeling is because I have an MA and I now know that I will stand out from those thousands all with BA’s or BSc’s If you have an opportunity to do a Masters degree; TAKE IT!

Sadly we do not live in that alternate reality where we walk straight into a job, but taking the time to follow these steps which will allow you to apply for many jobs quite quickly it will not be long before success comes your way. I certainly hope success comes my way soon otherwise I will have to find a way to the parallel universe where I am highly successful.

It simply would not land me a graduate job in a year’s time. No way. No how.
From this panic-stricken moment onwards my goal, aside from getting a degree, was to become more employable. And so the theme of most of my blog posts will focus on things I did, and things you can do, to make yourself more employable by the time you finish university. So I’m making my first post about taking every opportunity. This might seem like old news but there is a reason people are always banging on about it.

Opportunity is missed by most people because it is dressed in overalls and looks like work ~ Thomas Edison

And here’s a great and extremely easy place to start: your university email.

If you’re not someone who persistently deletes emails, I am almost positive there will be something in your inbox which you could do to enhance your CV and learn essential skills employers are searching for. So give it a second thought next time your cursor is hovering over the delete button for the ‘student opportunity – volunteers wanted’ email. This is the last time opportunities are literally going to land in your inbox with no input from you.

This is exactly what I did, and bagged myself a placement on the editorial team of a fashion website and magazine (starting soon so more about this to come!). These opportunities are also a great way to get connections, get networking and have something interesting to talk about in interviews!

Definitely loving not being a student anymore, though the jury isn’t out yet on my results. Yes, you guessed it. I am one of those who have decided to blog on about their career-related experiences and little bits on the side, even after leaving the four (or uncountable) walls of Newcastle University.

Munching peanuts at the moment

My last post was about exploring options, and you won’t guess where that has left me. I am currently in Coventry working as a marketer (great city btw)! For someone who wanted an entirely different path, it is definitely a deviance.

However, even though I won’t call myself a very optimistic person, I do see my new job as a marketer as being very advantageous; a means to an end, if you will. It is definitely building my confidence, my people skills, and, of course, my bank account <wink>.

This job is definitely (how many times have I used ‘definitely’?) not what I’m going to spend the rest of my life doing. I still have dreams of becoming a renowned writer, and getting my PhD soon; and, I am still working towards these.  I am working on my PhD proposal and have even been in contact with certain schools. Also, I have already submitted manuscripts to a myriad of agents and some publishing houses (some of which have sent rejection letters to me; if they only knew how unfazed I am). <singing> If only you knew, I ain’t gonna stop, I’m gonna keep pushing till I smash that door open <singing>. (P.s. Don’t  waste your time trying to look for this song).

So, here I am. I got peanuts instead of a cake, metaphorically speaking (of course; and if you’re not a big fan of cake or peanuts, feel free to substitute). Big deal, I’m making the best of my peanuts; it’s only an appetiser for the cake that is yet to come. Yum, I’m salivating in anticipation – I do have a sweet tooth!

Forget the 'happy birthday', this cake literally has my name written on it!

You may be working at a job you don’t like or you might even still be

jobless, but try to make the best of your situation. Use whatever you have or can find to build yourself, so that when you finally achieve your goal, you will be fully prepared for it. Again, even though you might not be where you want to be right now, never stop working towards the actualisation of your dreams.

Peanuts today, cake tomorrow… remember that.

Peace out!

I went to a friend’s wedding a couple of weeks ago,  and only really knew the groom and a couple of other people (and to top it off, I was a plus-one, so not even directly invited!). Situations like that are always incredibly awkward – even for me, who is one of those weirdos who will actually talk to people at bus stops and suchlike – but between the ceilidh and copious amounts of free booze, I ended up talking to the wedding photographer. Having an ex who made a part-time living off doing his job, I struck up a conversation with him about how he got into it, and how very shiny his shiny camera was (the right things to ask, according to my ex).

Turns out his day job was actually as manager in a local pharmaceutical company, and they’re always on the lookout for graduates, apparently. “Here’s my business card – email me and I’ll pass on your details to HR”. Wow. All that, just from being nice to a random person at a relatively random event. It is, as they say, a very, very small world.

Let’s face it, being unemployed is hard. Although it is a little easier to get away with it after you have graduated from university, there is still a certain amount of discrimination, and jealousy, too. Your employed friends complain about their job, and the lucky ones even picture your unemployment as something to be jealous of, like it’s a holiday. Although you might be getting up at 2 o’clock in the afternoon, the fact that you are earning little money can be soul-crashing, especially with newly acquired students debts.

So what do you do? You send e-mails, and cross your fingers, and get your boyfriend and your mam and your dog to read and reread your CV, and keep sending it. You fill in annoying and lengthy applications for a part-time shop assistant vacancy that is forty minutes away. If you have my luck, you will spot a job you think you are perfect for, and then, when you click on it, it will say ‘vacancy expired’. It’s very tiring, really. Here is some advice which will make it, maybe, a little easier for you when you feel like giving up and think that hiding under the couch, snuggling with your cat is a totally sensible idea.

1. Underemployment is not always better than unemployment: Congratulations on your doctorate in advanced astrophysics! Sorry you can’t get a job. Maybe you went into that path because you want to be in academia. I don’t know, but what I do know is that there is nothing more demoralizing than spending 7+ years in upper education and getting the same job you had when you graduated from school. It is a job, and it does have it’s advantages, but if you feel like your degree is getting wasted and that you have given up a lifelong vocation, then maybe it’s time to think of something else: perhaps, setting up your own business or building your web precense with a science blog would be ideal. Think outside the box!

2. Underemployment is not always worse than unemployment: Everybody needs money, it is a fact. Underemployment will still mean having to cut back, but perhaps you will still be able to afford your car payments, or whatever it is you spend your money in. Additionally, underemployment comes with the benefit of great experiences (say, if you dealt with customers in a grocer’s or were bar staff, you can always speak to your potential employers about your great communication skills and ability to deal with customers in all degrees of stress), and it gives you the added benefit of making friends and new connections and mantaining your mental health

Are you actually unemployed?

This sounds like a really stupid question, but before you walk away from your computer indignantly hear me out: yeah, you might not be getting paid, but if you are volunteering or maybe writing a blog, you are not strictly unemployed – think of it as not earning money off things yet! These give you experience and make you so much more likely to be hired. Additionally, it doesn’t come with the stigma of being unemployed – although saying you are a blogger might earn you a bit of scorn!

Take a break 

Yes, you are working hard. Your job search should be your full-time job at the moment, but it can be very frustrating and annoying. You don’t have to do anything expensive, you can go camping, or just take a walk around the park. Read a good job. Play some games. Go for a jog. Do whatever. It doesn’t need to be expensive, you just need to take a little time and remember – your life isn’t so bad, and it will soon be better. So chin up!

If you have any other tips, please leave a comment!