So tell me about yourself…

The most cliché question to come out of… yes you guessed it interviews! Argh!

I, like many other graduates have struggled to find a suitable career after finishing my degree, damn you recession! So obviously there is odd jobs, retail jobs and maybe the not so well paid slavery type jobs. However when you have gotten yourself potentially in a lifetime of debt, you don’t want a job that you could of had without the debt. So after attempts to “build my way up” the career ladder, I realised my attempts at creating a career were quite stagnant. This made me consider a back up career, so what can I do? Go and get in some more debt lol. Yes so basically I am currently a student again doing a post-graduate degree.

As I’m coming to the end of my year of study I’m going through the dreaded procedure of looking for a job. This means interviews! I can whole heartedly say I hate interviews, sometimes I can be a bit of a pessimist so the weight of awaiting the judgement, then the whole procedure of the judgement day and then the anxiety of waiting for the result of judgment. It really doesn’t help when its on top of the stress of your studies, but so is life.

Sooo, this is my second degree, some more debt, second attempt at starting a career, need to pay of my debts, living off money that is rapidly running out, need money to get back out of parents house, wait I need money to pay for my life, I’m 24 and I haven’t started my career, I’M 24 AND I DON’T HAVE A JOB! OMG! What if I don’t get a job this year I’ll be 25 without a job? I’ll be 5 years away from 30! Shit, this article says that my eggs reduce by 90% at 30, I’ll be 5 years away. What if I’m 30 and I still live with my parents, I haven’t started my career, I don’t have no money, couldn’t afford to have kids, then I won’t be able to have kids. I’M GOING TO BE THE CRAZY LADY WITH 12 CATS!!!

Anyhoo so what was I saying? Ah yes interviews, so knowing my anxiety I’m going to be a prepared bugger, GOOGLE! Research interview questions, write up answers practice, I am freaking awesome! Walks into interview “Hi, so tell me about yourself?” eeeeeeerrrrrrrr? Really? Really? All that practice and I don’t know who I am! My mind just goes blank, and its always that hand shake moment when everything I forgot to say floods back into my mind, Oh hey I just remembered a few paragraphs you can add to your scribbling there as I’m about to walk out the door. So interview after interview, “its all good practice” they say, but its bloody depressing, and with the list of consequences ever growing in my head as the weeks go by. Another “Unfortunately you have not been successful”… Screw you sir! Erm could I get some feedback please?

Persevering when so close to wanting to give up then today… I GOT A FLIPPING JOB!!! I am so happy, the anxiety and negativity feels a million miles away. I can appreciate all those experiences helped build my confidence and got me to where I am now. Sometimes in life we might not know the benefit in something, but there is always something we can learn from it. Turns out they were right, persistence and perseverance, if you can manage to muffle out the growing negative thoughts and keep plodding on, believe in yourself, believe that you can and will succeed, have patience and you will.

“Nothing in the world can take the place of persistence. Talent will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful men with talent. Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education will not; the world is full of educated derelicts. Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent. The slogan “press on” has solved and will always solve the problems of the human race.” –Calvin Coolidge