They say that every day's a school day and today has been a prime example of this.
I attended the Job Centre last week and the experience wasn't exactly a pleasant one. Whilst I don't wish to stereotype those who frequent the job centre, there is an unavoidable stigma attached to these places and 'signing-on' isn't the preferred way to spend a day.
As you would expect, the uniform of choice for the infamous species that we've come to know as 'the chav' was in abundance. And when there's Security Guards knocking around the place, you know they're usually there for a very good reason. The reality of it all though, is that I am now one of those very persons who must use and utilise the services of Job Centre Plus.
At my first appointment last week, I met with an Advisor and having reviewed my work history, she suggested I attend a course specifically for people who've previously worked in a professional environment. The course was developed by an agency called Calibre and despite my initial cynicism, I really enjoyed attending today and found it very useful.
'Quality over quantity' is the main lesson I've learned and it's a method I intend to apply when the job search resumes for a fourth week on Monday.
When looking for work, it's easy to fall into the numbers game, where you begin challenging yourself to apply for 'X' amount of jobs per day. Human nature dictates that as time progresses, you try to 'beat' the previous total and invariably, this has a negative effect on the quality of your output.
I have definitely been guilty of hitting the panic button over recent days and this has resulted in me applying for jobs that are not suitable, or perhaps out of my reach. In the end, all this is serving to do, is to increase my chances of rejection.
Over the coming days, I plan to spend much more time seeking out fewer, but good quality positions that are better suited to my skills. I appreciate that these will be hard to come by, but by having a shorter hit-list, I hope this will allow me additional time to draft bespoke cover letters and much more relevant supporting notes.
I began writing tonight's blog whilst watching an episode of The Simpson's and a little bit of wee nearly came out as Homer tried to run away from his hospital bill! Unfortunately, this was straight after an operation on an anterior cruciate ligament injury and his leg snapped straight back on itself! I actually know how that feels but I couldn't stop laughing!
With me, it's the stupid things that make me giggle the most and on that note, I leave you with a huge smile and hope you enjoy your well-earned weekend.
Many blessings,
Jason
No comments:
Post a Comment