I'm back from my lovely sunny holiday in Israel where I had a great time. Me and hubby sat around at a pool for most days, went to the beach once (cos it's a mighty trek up and down to the beach) and went to Jerusalem for the day which ended up being rather action packed: quadbiking, met my grandparents for lunch, Israel Museum and the Shrine of the Book, then we decided to be adventuresome and drive to the Dead Sea, which only ended up being about 40 minutes away. We rubbed some mud all over our legs (didn't want to get too dirty!) and then drive back to Jerusalem where we met some friends for dinner.
So when we got back it was the day before result day for hubby, and unfortunately, he didn't pass the exam, which means he might not be able to progress to the next year. It's really upsetting and we don't know what to do.
We're trying to appeal, but it's looking likely he'll have to retake. :(
As for me, still no joy with the job. Haven't heard back from the height of rudeness people, even though I've tried to call them. Got two interviews lined up over the coming weeks but I'll keep you posted.
Laterz
Wednesday 27 August 2008
Wednesday 6 August 2008
The time it takes to cook rice
I have just left the rice to simmer. I tend to follow instructions on packets of things because that way they usually turn out well.
So I have 12 minutes out of the 15-minute allotment (which has gone down to 11 minutes because I had to Google-check the spelling of allotment, which I spelt right first time, by the way).
So. I actually received a reply from the 'height of rudeness' employers. In fact, they want to offer me the job (a-woohoo). On the other hand, for some reason they are not able to hire anyone new for two weeks (hmmm). Strange as it may seem, it works out well for me because I have my summer holiday coming up next week, so the timing's just right. Unless they bail on me in the end. Then I can add this episode to my list of bad job luck. Fingers crossed (for the first option)!
Now, the rice is almost done. Sadly, it will be making up the entirety of my supper. It's the NINE DAYS a terribly annoying section of the Jewish calendar where we can't eat meat, listen to music, go swimming, and did I mention eat meat? And, to make matters worse chicken is included. And even worse, we haven't got any fish because I am a rubbish wife and have just sat around all day applying for jobs when I could have bought some fish for supper.
So my husband has begrudgingly decided to have a toasted sandwich, leaving me to make some rice.
I just took it off the fire. Perfect consistency I'll have you know. Problem is that rice is a bit plain. So I decided to flavour it with some delicate spices: cumin, garlic powder and pepper. Sadly it was too subtle and I couldn't taste anything, so I just lobbed a whole load of soy sauce in and it's now yummy.
Bon Appetit to me!
So I have 12 minutes out of the 15-minute allotment (which has gone down to 11 minutes because I had to Google-check the spelling of allotment, which I spelt right first time, by the way).
So. I actually received a reply from the 'height of rudeness' employers. In fact, they want to offer me the job (a-woohoo). On the other hand, for some reason they are not able to hire anyone new for two weeks (hmmm). Strange as it may seem, it works out well for me because I have my summer holiday coming up next week, so the timing's just right. Unless they bail on me in the end. Then I can add this episode to my list of bad job luck. Fingers crossed (for the first option)!
Now, the rice is almost done. Sadly, it will be making up the entirety of my supper. It's the NINE DAYS a terribly annoying section of the Jewish calendar where we can't eat meat, listen to music, go swimming, and did I mention eat meat? And, to make matters worse chicken is included. And even worse, we haven't got any fish because I am a rubbish wife and have just sat around all day applying for jobs when I could have bought some fish for supper.
So my husband has begrudgingly decided to have a toasted sandwich, leaving me to make some rice.
I just took it off the fire. Perfect consistency I'll have you know. Problem is that rice is a bit plain. So I decided to flavour it with some delicate spices: cumin, garlic powder and pepper. Sadly it was too subtle and I couldn't taste anything, so I just lobbed a whole load of soy sauce in and it's now yummy.
Bon Appetit to me!
Monday 4 August 2008
Gimp Soc
This isn't really about jobhunting, but seeing as this is the jobhunter's diary, and I am the jobhunter, so that makes this MY diary, I'll write about whatever I want.
A group of my friends have come up with what was originally known as the Classic Film Club. Upon its official christening, the name was expanded to the Classic Film Appreciation and Rinsing Society.
It entails a film to be selected. Criteria for the films are that they are classics - preferably pre-2000 - that everyone should see but probably hasn't. For example, the first film we watched was Casablanca.
The "President" - a friend of mine who is gifted at writing extremely amusing emails - sends out an email stating the film, time and place, and whoever wants to come, just turns up.
After the film, those present vote on ten categories (including let-down factor, scriptwriting and impact), plus an overall vote, which is recorded in the official minutes. Then we generally all make fun of oursevles and how gimpy we are. Hence the unofficial name of this ramshackle film club: Gimp Soc. So don't get the wrong idea: there are no leather masks or chains, just pizza, an old film and lots of banter.
Last night my husband and I hosted the screening of Heat (1995), directed by Michael Mann. I saw it once, ages ago, but didn't remember it at all, and I really enjoyed it. It's quite long, but that helps build up the tension. It scored well, but didn't beat Leon, our all-time highest scorer.
Next up is West Side Story.
A group of my friends have come up with what was originally known as the Classic Film Club. Upon its official christening, the name was expanded to the Classic Film Appreciation and Rinsing Society.
It entails a film to be selected. Criteria for the films are that they are classics - preferably pre-2000 - that everyone should see but probably hasn't. For example, the first film we watched was Casablanca.
The "President" - a friend of mine who is gifted at writing extremely amusing emails - sends out an email stating the film, time and place, and whoever wants to come, just turns up.
After the film, those present vote on ten categories (including let-down factor, scriptwriting and impact), plus an overall vote, which is recorded in the official minutes. Then we generally all make fun of oursevles and how gimpy we are. Hence the unofficial name of this ramshackle film club: Gimp Soc. So don't get the wrong idea: there are no leather masks or chains, just pizza, an old film and lots of banter.
Last night my husband and I hosted the screening of Heat (1995), directed by Michael Mann. I saw it once, ages ago, but didn't remember it at all, and I really enjoyed it. It's quite long, but that helps build up the tension. It scored well, but didn't beat Leon, our all-time highest scorer.
Next up is West Side Story.
The height of rudeness
First, let me preface this post with a TV review. Unorthodox perhaps, but relevant.
Flight of the Conchords is one of the funniest and cleverest shows around at the moment. It's about these two New Zealand guys, trying to make it as a band in New York. They pretty much have no idea what they're doing. It's an Office-type mockumentary style show, but they intersperse the scenes with the band's songs, which are hilarious mockups of musical genres. I watched a couple of episides with my friends the other night and it was one where the duo get mugged and one of them, Bret, leaves his pal Jemaine stuck on a fence while he runs off. Later, discussing the abandonment, Jemaine describes it as the height of rudeness, a curiously posh understatement.
Anyway, you should watch that.
My personal story about the height of rudeness concerns, you guessed it, the j-o-b-h-u-n-t. I had an interview last wednesday for a job I was really interested in. It sounded great and it seemed like the sort of work environment I would fit in well with. They told me they would get back to me by Friday, but I don't mind that they haven't yet (although I do think that as a rule, companies should stick to what they say in terms of feedback, it presents a bad image otherwise). However, while having a look at the Guardian jobsite, I saw the exact same job advertised again - posted on Thursday, the day after my interview. At least they could've told me that I hadn't got the job. It's the height of rudeness!
Actually, I do have another story reeking with rudeness... It also revolves around job feedback. I managed to secure an interview with a really big, prestigious internet company, and was invited to an interview day. Crazily, the interview was in Slough, an arduous journey from my nice NW London abode. Taking the train would mean I'd need to travel into central London and then get another train back out westwards. So I drove. Traffic meant it took me over an hour and a half to get there, and about the same to get home.
Once there, myself and about eight other interviewees were subjected to four interviews and an hour-long test. The day lasted from 9-4.30. During introductions we were told that the company preferred to do it this way so that they can see all candidates in one day and then give us the feedback by the following day.
Well, guess what, that was about a month ago and I STILL haven't received a response! I mean, I'm assuming that I didn't get the job there, it's not like I'm still wondering, but they never got back to me, despite several emails and phonecalls from me.
Some people...
Flight of the Conchords is one of the funniest and cleverest shows around at the moment. It's about these two New Zealand guys, trying to make it as a band in New York. They pretty much have no idea what they're doing. It's an Office-type mockumentary style show, but they intersperse the scenes with the band's songs, which are hilarious mockups of musical genres. I watched a couple of episides with my friends the other night and it was one where the duo get mugged and one of them, Bret, leaves his pal Jemaine stuck on a fence while he runs off. Later, discussing the abandonment, Jemaine describes it as the height of rudeness, a curiously posh understatement.
Anyway, you should watch that.
My personal story about the height of rudeness concerns, you guessed it, the j-o-b-h-u-n-t. I had an interview last wednesday for a job I was really interested in. It sounded great and it seemed like the sort of work environment I would fit in well with. They told me they would get back to me by Friday, but I don't mind that they haven't yet (although I do think that as a rule, companies should stick to what they say in terms of feedback, it presents a bad image otherwise). However, while having a look at the Guardian jobsite, I saw the exact same job advertised again - posted on Thursday, the day after my interview. At least they could've told me that I hadn't got the job. It's the height of rudeness!
Actually, I do have another story reeking with rudeness... It also revolves around job feedback. I managed to secure an interview with a really big, prestigious internet company, and was invited to an interview day. Crazily, the interview was in Slough, an arduous journey from my nice NW London abode. Taking the train would mean I'd need to travel into central London and then get another train back out westwards. So I drove. Traffic meant it took me over an hour and a half to get there, and about the same to get home.
Once there, myself and about eight other interviewees were subjected to four interviews and an hour-long test. The day lasted from 9-4.30. During introductions we were told that the company preferred to do it this way so that they can see all candidates in one day and then give us the feedback by the following day.
Well, guess what, that was about a month ago and I STILL haven't received a response! I mean, I'm assuming that I didn't get the job there, it's not like I'm still wondering, but they never got back to me, despite several emails and phonecalls from me.
Some people...
Sunday 3 August 2008
Let downs
I've been quite unlucky with my jobs in the past.
I loved working there, but sadly, they were only able to keep me on as a freelancer, which meant... no long-term contract. They could only let me know about my employment for a month or two in advance. And then it was coming up to my wedding. My husband is a medical student, so we needed to have at least one steady income. So I had to tell my boss that I'd be forced to leave and take a more secure job unless they could give me something more permanent. He tried, but it couldn't be done. So I took the youth job I'm just finishing now because it offered a fairly good salary and promised job security.
I've spent the past year wishing I could go back to working on amazing books. But I believe they are still unable to hire any more full-time editorial staff, so while I hope they'll one day give me THE CALL, I can't hold my breath.
Third disappointment. A few months ago I replied to a job ad asking for writers. 'I'm a writer,' I thought, so I sent in my CV. I got through to the final email interview round and then was told I should pitch for one of four book projects to write. I pitched for an unoffical fan's guide to Indiana Jones. And lo and behold, I got the commission!
During the summer of my second year at university, I managed to get a whole load of work experience placements (weeks and weeks of coffee getting and interview transcribing for free - yay me). Fortunately, one of them, at a magazine called Total DVD, went really well and I got a couple of film reviews published in the mag - which was really exciting for me.
Even more thrilling: they asked me to stay on as temporary staff writer for the rest of the summer, and they were going to pay me! Score.
So I worked for about two months, churning out the reviews, interviews and features which now make up the majority of my portfolio. And then... no money. They kept saying that they were putting the invoices through, but by the time I returned to uni, I hadn't seen any payment. All I had were some email IOUs.
A couple of months later the magazine went into liquidation. I put in my claim, but three years on, nothing! So that was a shame, but at least I got lots of work published, right?
Next: My first job. This was working at a publishing company who produced supermassive books on obscure topics for wealthy peeps. It turned out to be my dream job; researching and writing features and articles for these books which are incredibly detailed and beautifully designed.
I loved working there, but sadly, they were only able to keep me on as a freelancer, which meant... no long-term contract. They could only let me know about my employment for a month or two in advance. And then it was coming up to my wedding. My husband is a medical student, so we needed to have at least one steady income. So I had to tell my boss that I'd be forced to leave and take a more secure job unless they could give me something more permanent. He tried, but it couldn't be done. So I took the youth job I'm just finishing now because it offered a fairly good salary and promised job security.
I've spent the past year wishing I could go back to working on amazing books. But I believe they are still unable to hire any more full-time editorial staff, so while I hope they'll one day give me THE CALL, I can't hold my breath.
Third disappointment. A few months ago I replied to a job ad asking for writers. 'I'm a writer,' I thought, so I sent in my CV. I got through to the final email interview round and then was told I should pitch for one of four book projects to write. I pitched for an unoffical fan's guide to Indiana Jones. And lo and behold, I got the commission!
So I set to work, having received a contract (I'd learnt my lesson there!) and was a third of the way through writing the book when I get an email telling me that the project has been scrapped, there are too many issues because of the impending fourth Indy film about to hit cinemas. So I had to stop. Surprisingly, they did actually pay me for the work I'd done, which was nice, but in this case I was more excited about the prospect of writing a book. Then, I could call myself an author!
Such a shame when things like that happen. I tried to pitch the book to various publishing companies, but to no avail. So now I have a third of an Indy guide written. Useful.
Skillz
Applying for lots of jobs is a great way of finding out how many skills you lack.
Apparently one route into writing is as a sub-editor. But, never having completed a postgraduate journalism course, I've never had proper training in this field. I'm quite handy on the computer, and have used Quark and Photoshop quite often. I even used InDesign during my time at Gloria, a books publisher. So I know I can do it, but my lack of training makes me feel bad.
I've messed about quite a lot on Photoshop, it's really fun! Even though half the time I have no idea what I'm doing. Often the results can be impressive. Recently I was working on removing backgrounds. Here's what I came up with:
(We weren't actually there!)
Apparently one route into writing is as a sub-editor. But, never having completed a postgraduate journalism course, I've never had proper training in this field. I'm quite handy on the computer, and have used Quark and Photoshop quite often. I even used InDesign during my time at Gloria, a books publisher. So I know I can do it, but my lack of training makes me feel bad.
I've messed about quite a lot on Photoshop, it's really fun! Even though half the time I have no idea what I'm doing. Often the results can be impressive. Recently I was working on removing backgrounds. Here's what I came up with:
(We weren't actually there!)
A bit of history
So don't think I've been doing youth work for my whole life and then suddenly sat up and decided I wanted to be a journalist. No, no, no. If you would read the sidebar 'About me' (over there -->) you'd see that I've written articles, features and film reviews for several publications, and now classify myself as a freelance writer.
I think freelance is quite vague, but sounds pretty good. I think I'm justified in saying that I'm a freelancer: I have been paid by several publishing companies for my work. But I am also looking for a full-time job.
I'm only 24, I want to have a proper job that I enjoy, and I don't reckon that many people my age are successful and full time freelancers. You have to have contacts for that... or so I'm told. A couple of weeks ago, I temporarily came out of my stupor where all I did was surf the net all day looking at various job boards and company vacancy pages over and over again, and I decided to actively pursue a freelance career.
So... I spent a couple of days researching who the features editors were at various magazines and put together a selection of pitches for them. I sent emails to different categories of magazines: film, bridal, general culture, men's and women's. In total I sent about 54 emails, each outlining multiple feature ideas and some background about me. And I've had a response from exactly 14 responses. One of them was very brusque, and I quote: "Sorry - ideas not for us. Kindest regards," and she didn't even sign her name, just left her digital signature to sign off. Nice.
A couple of people have expressed an interest in one or two of my features, and said they would get back to me. And two or three have said that I should try pitching again with slightly altered ideas. So I have, and we will see.
But overall, I felt a bit annoyed. People in this industry don't seem so nice. As if they haven't got time for you.
But, back to the history. So I have worked at various places before, but none of my contacts are very helpful. There don't seem to be any jobs out there.
I think freelance is quite vague, but sounds pretty good. I think I'm justified in saying that I'm a freelancer: I have been paid by several publishing companies for my work. But I am also looking for a full-time job.
I'm only 24, I want to have a proper job that I enjoy, and I don't reckon that many people my age are successful and full time freelancers. You have to have contacts for that... or so I'm told. A couple of weeks ago, I temporarily came out of my stupor where all I did was surf the net all day looking at various job boards and company vacancy pages over and over again, and I decided to actively pursue a freelance career.
So... I spent a couple of days researching who the features editors were at various magazines and put together a selection of pitches for them. I sent emails to different categories of magazines: film, bridal, general culture, men's and women's. In total I sent about 54 emails, each outlining multiple feature ideas and some background about me. And I've had a response from exactly 14 responses. One of them was very brusque, and I quote: "Sorry - ideas not for us. Kindest regards," and she didn't even sign her name, just left her digital signature to sign off. Nice.
A couple of people have expressed an interest in one or two of my features, and said they would get back to me. And two or three have said that I should try pitching again with slightly altered ideas. So I have, and we will see.
But overall, I felt a bit annoyed. People in this industry don't seem so nice. As if they haven't got time for you.
But, back to the history. So I have worked at various places before, but none of my contacts are very helpful. There don't seem to be any jobs out there.
Frustration
I'm just in the final few days of my contract with a job that has been the bane of my existence for the past year. Youth work used to be fun, I used to enjoy it and find it exhilarating, challenging and rewarding. But that was years ago. Now I find it depressing, futile and booooring!
August means summer holidays, which means I haven't got much to do, but I'm still being plagued with instructions and to-do lists. I hate micro-managing. During this year I've definitely proved my abilities and efficiency. I've done everything they've asked of me, and with a smile on my self-loathing face. But now I believe they've twigged that I despise my job and everything associated with it, so they are ensuring they get their fifty cents worth.
For the past three months I've been looking for a new job in the journalism/publishing field and I've gotten exactly... nowhere!
So, instead of depressing my husband, who's currently studying for medical exams and giving him even more to stress about, I'll be venting my spleen here, so watch this space. There'll be plenty of anger!
August means summer holidays, which means I haven't got much to do, but I'm still being plagued with instructions and to-do lists. I hate micro-managing. During this year I've definitely proved my abilities and efficiency. I've done everything they've asked of me, and with a smile on my self-loathing face. But now I believe they've twigged that I despise my job and everything associated with it, so they are ensuring they get their fifty cents worth.
For the past three months I've been looking for a new job in the journalism/publishing field and I've gotten exactly... nowhere!
So, instead of depressing my husband, who's currently studying for medical exams and giving him even more to stress about, I'll be venting my spleen here, so watch this space. There'll be plenty of anger!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)