Well, it took me through February, March, April, May and most of June but I finally got my first job interview for a 'proper' graduate job with a salary worthy of that title. Although it looks as though I've been highly unsuccessful as they assured me I would have heard by now if I'd got it... Back to square one I guess. I can't help but feel slightly depressed.
I'm getting pretty fed up now. It looks like I'm stuck in the house I shared with my ex-boyfriend, unable to move out to get the fresh start that I'm craving for a good while yet. For example, I spent most of Friday trying to explain to the staff at my bank the very purpose of a graduate loan after they turned me down flat. I finally managed to convince someone that my case was legitimate, despite the fact that it was glaringly obvious in the first place. Having surmounted that hurdle (which was no mean feat), they then decided that because I didn't have £500 of DISPOSABLE INCOME every MONTH (after rent and bills), I wasn't eligible. When I tried to tell them that was ridiculous because if I had that much disposable income every month I wouldn't need a loan I simply got a response somewhere in the vein of "Computer Says No". Great. So I stormed off back home to be angry. Grrrr...
So what am I to do now? I hardly think I have the patience to spend another five months trying to secure one interview when my financial situation is so, well, stagnant. Do I adjust my career expectations now when I've come this far already? Everything just seems so, well, grim. I'm still writing of course, currently for The Vibe, a political website for young people. As it goes, I'm writing on the very subject of graduate employment at the moment. There's no denying the dismal reality of my situation of course (which some might say serves me right for trying to break into the most difficult industry in existence), but after speaking to a wonderful lady called Linda Buckham who works at my university's career centre, even I feel as though my confidence has had a fair old boost. And I've been assured I'm doing the right thing, which is a relief. After all, this can't last forever... I'll post my article here when it's published. Hopefully you'll find it fairly interesting. Thankfully, it's a slightly different take on the situation, opposed to the image of 2009 graduates as "The Lost Generation", which the newspapers keep shoving in our faces to make us feel hopeless and dismal.
In the meantime, I'd love to hear how other graduates are finding life after uni at the moment. Personally, I'm finding it's taking all the courage I have not to give up on my dream, and it's especially hard to juggle a million different things at once whilst trying desperately to carve out a name for myself in a tiny part of the media world.
God, I hate this not-being-a-student malarkey. I want rewards, not knock backs... But I guess for now I just have to just keep my head down, keep my confidence and toughen up. Oh, and actively seek out positive advice - watch this space for my feature!
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