It has been six days...

It has been 6 days since I last posted in this blog. Congratulations, JobHungryGrad must be busy with her new, high-powered 9-5 executive graduate position! Well done JobHungryGrad!

*Cue hollow laugh

Instead I have been writing. Writing won't get me a high powered 9-5 but it has brought me a sense of fulfillment and happiness. But that's not as important as money, is it? Because when we die, after a short average of 78 years on this beautiful, wonderful planet we call home, whether or not we achieved enlightenment will be ignored: instead what will count is the financial legacy that we will leave to our children and grandchildren.

Isn't it?

Recently, I watched all three (long story) of my grandmothers die or grow old while losing all the money they had managed to put away for a 'rainy day' because they had money, so they had to pay full fees for their nursing homes or house-care. Those who had less, were given grants or their 'fees' for these NHS services were subsidized.

This is not me, at 23, throwing down my towel and declaring that from now on, I will forgo work because I don't want to pay my nursing home fees. That would be ridiculous. But my generation now has a painful and lengthy period of financial woe ahead of us: in my graduate job I worked my ass off. And for what? My current housemates get in at 10pm and leave at 6am. Why? And for what?

For money? To survive? To achieve? To fulfill their ambition?

Or because we are expected to?

What is the right thing to do?

My generation has many questions, and perhaps, Messrs Cameron and Clegg, we'd like them answered. Where will all this lead, and when will this stupidity, this waste of human resources cease? 

Life cannot continue like this.

Jumping through the hoops of frustration

 Today I got some feedback for a job I felt that I had pretty much nailed. I didn't get it after jumping through 3/4 interview hoops. (THREE OUT OF FOUR. I know).

"We thought you were polite, well mannered, kind, friendly, enthusiastic, a pleasure to work with, an asset to be proud of for any team, passionate about our company/brand/identity, intelligent and an excellent communicator. But you didn't tell us how you'd created real change." 

Fair enough. I bombed on one of the pre-prepared interview questions. And why is that? Because I have never created 'real' change. I'm 23. I'm not Mark Zuckerburg. Yes, I worked on the Living Wage Campaign for the cleaners at the Minsitry of Justice. Yes, I co-ordinated fundraising for Burmese refugees in Thai refugee camps, but no, none of these things created 'real, everlasting change'.

Anyway, for those of you who are applying to jobs right now or are also unemployed (ahem, freelancing), I'm sure you know exactly what I mean.

It is an insane achievement to even be invited to interview right now. You could have the bestest CV in the whole wide world, and there's still a fat chance it would just be deleted as it entered the inbox of your recruiter. Job hunting today feels completely arbitrary.

But of course, if you're going through the motions of trying to find a job, you have to try to maintain this positive happy facade. Friends and relatives don't understand.

"Oh, you have so much experience, I'm sure you'll get a job in no time." This comment makes my blood boil. I know that. But yet I'm still job-less. Having experience in 2013 means nothing. Having 'enthusiasm' and 'intelligence' means nothing.

Job hunting is a process of luck. You can market yourself out of the window but essentially, it feels pretty random to me.

Did I mention that I got rejected from a job and the feedback was as follows: You misplaced a comma.