Part of job hunting is compromise. When you first set out to find a job, unless you are especially flexible you set a number of criteria which any potential job has to fill. These may be location based, occupation based, money based or based on an entirely different premise altogether. When I first set out to find a job I wanted a marketing exec position in the south that paid over 15,000.
The money was the first thing to go. After all its less important really. For many Graduates, a salary at all is just numbers and I picked 15,000 as a limit as I thought that was reasonable. Of course clever firms are cutting costs by offering significantly lower salaries because they know how tight the job market is.
Next I cut down to look for any marketing position and soon got a few interviews for marketing research positions. This is turn became any business based position which involved marketing which has led me to apply to some rather odd job titles.
Location cannot be changed. I am tied to a contract in Southampton and dont want to leave what I have here and in a way it limits me as much if not more than the others.
I am fortunate in that I have some savings and therefore do not have to literally take anything. The question is though how far do we have to compromise?
Last week I applied for a purely Admin position, a job description which could be filled my a school leaver and which duties include filing and making tea. I justified applying because it was a year contract and would give me office exeperience.
I think this is where I have chosen to draw the line. I don't see any light at the end of the tunnel with regards to the economic situation and I don't expect the job market to simply pick up. I have therefore ruled out jobs which have absolutely no application to my chosen career in business. I could go and work in a shop but then I am effectively just wasting time. Time which for the moment I can use to hopefully find one break. I am not naive to think that with that first job everything will be exceptionally easy, I do think I will be considered for more positions, and at least the excuse "you have no experience" will not be flung at me.
Incidentally I have an interview for a sales and marketing position with JPA tomorrow. When I originally applied the position was a marketing one, the sales was tagged on later. However I was impressed with the company and the position has marketing in the title. It is after all, all about compromise.
Monday, 30 November 2009
Friday, 27 November 2009
Wasting your life?
Despite what many people may think, being unemployed simply is not fun. If you have gone through what is effectively 17 years of education without so much as a breather you really want to be able to go out and start earning money, having a life and leaving exams, essays and procrastination far behind you in the dust.
Unemployment would be more fun if there were actually any goals you could have other than get a job. Goals that help you fulfil your potential and ultimately satisfy you.
The thing I think that a lot of people seem to miss is that job hunting may be a continuous process, but it doesnt take up a whole day. Far from it in fact. I have a catalogue of sites I check regularly for updates, but that only takes half an hour, and maybe another half hour on top of that if I need to apply somewhere. Ultimately its not worth a spending a whole day job hunting, even if a job is posted when you refresh the page for the ninth time it will still be there tomorrow and you could have discovered it then.
The point is unemployment leaves you with a lot of time sitting around on your own doing very little. This is where the depression side of being unemployed can really hone in and do its damage.
I for instance have spent a lot of this week playing Fifa 2010. Many hours in fact, day hours whilst other people are out earning a living. Occasionally (jokes about football games aside) you sit back and think am I wasting my life? When I went to university and got a degree and a masters was it so I could sit and play Fifa all day a year later?
The answer clearly is no. But its really difficult to motivate yourself to do other things, I love to read for instance, but I struggle to spend most of a day reading unless I really engage with a book. Games are escapist in nature, and hours pass easily and ultimately thats what I spend most of my time doing, passing hours, days, weeks until the next job based opportunity.
It can be depressing if you dwell on it too much, but if you try to accept the circumstances and look forward and on to the next chance its bearable. After all if all goes well once youve got a job, you will look back on those many free hours with longing because ultimately you have to persevere. There is no other option.
Unemployment would be more fun if there were actually any goals you could have other than get a job. Goals that help you fulfil your potential and ultimately satisfy you.
The thing I think that a lot of people seem to miss is that job hunting may be a continuous process, but it doesnt take up a whole day. Far from it in fact. I have a catalogue of sites I check regularly for updates, but that only takes half an hour, and maybe another half hour on top of that if I need to apply somewhere. Ultimately its not worth a spending a whole day job hunting, even if a job is posted when you refresh the page for the ninth time it will still be there tomorrow and you could have discovered it then.
The point is unemployment leaves you with a lot of time sitting around on your own doing very little. This is where the depression side of being unemployed can really hone in and do its damage.
I for instance have spent a lot of this week playing Fifa 2010. Many hours in fact, day hours whilst other people are out earning a living. Occasionally (jokes about football games aside) you sit back and think am I wasting my life? When I went to university and got a degree and a masters was it so I could sit and play Fifa all day a year later?
The answer clearly is no. But its really difficult to motivate yourself to do other things, I love to read for instance, but I struggle to spend most of a day reading unless I really engage with a book. Games are escapist in nature, and hours pass easily and ultimately thats what I spend most of my time doing, passing hours, days, weeks until the next job based opportunity.
It can be depressing if you dwell on it too much, but if you try to accept the circumstances and look forward and on to the next chance its bearable. After all if all goes well once youve got a job, you will look back on those many free hours with longing because ultimately you have to persevere. There is no other option.
Thursday, 26 November 2009
Bepuzzlement
As my main post today was about a general thing this is a shorter job related post.
Still waiting to hear from Amicus ITS a month on. Applied for a general admin job which is on a year contract.
Heard from College Chambers. Sounded like the standard conversation. It was a very tough decision, lots of good candidates...(yeah yeah get on with it)..so we are inviting everyone back for a second interview...
You will hear from us next week..
What?! I made a total hash of the interview. I looked nervous, clueless and totally unsuitable. Even if your giving everyone a second interview you may as well rule out some people, surely. Mystifying. I shall obviously wait to hear from them next week but it has left me a little bit of a predicament. From reading the earlier post you will know my thoughts on the job.
But its a job, which pays money and gives experience.
Its a difficult one.
Still waiting to hear from Amicus ITS a month on. Applied for a general admin job which is on a year contract.
Heard from College Chambers. Sounded like the standard conversation. It was a very tough decision, lots of good candidates...(yeah yeah get on with it)..so we are inviting everyone back for a second interview...
You will hear from us next week..
What?! I made a total hash of the interview. I looked nervous, clueless and totally unsuitable. Even if your giving everyone a second interview you may as well rule out some people, surely. Mystifying. I shall obviously wait to hear from them next week but it has left me a little bit of a predicament. From reading the earlier post you will know my thoughts on the job.
But its a job, which pays money and gives experience.
Its a difficult one.
Customer Service vs Business Service
You may or may not have noticed a two day absence of blog posts. This was because of an issue with my laptop which meant I needed to get it fixed. This post is more of a general post, rather than related to jobs, its more just about marketing. Enjoy!
Because of the nature of the deal made when buying my laptop I am effectively covered by a business warranty for 3 years. Earlier this year when my power cable died I got a new one sent the very next day. This time I not only got a new power cable I got the entire bottom of the laptop replaced 2 days after I reported the issue (And this was only because the guy bought the wrong part the day before)
Compare this to the tales I have heard of customer warranties and you hear a very different story. It is closer to your standard it will take 2-3 weeks to arrive, parts missing and some things simply not being the companies responsibility. These warranties generally arent cheap either and offer very little.
Now its understandable why a business can get such an exemplary server. Businesses are usually worth big money. In this case my name is tied to a corporate so its unsurpising they want offer a fast efficient service. Often however, particularly in the current economic climate, the choice of the business to go with a company will come down to who offers the best deal, and that usually comes down to money.
In contrast your average home customer will buy for other reasons, efficiency, WOM, belief in the brand or simply previous experience. A home customer is likely to remember bad service and seek to avoid a company for the forseeable future. Admitedly their full lifetime purchases probably wont rival even a percent of a year business contract but if you add them and their street and then the town, region etc it soon becomes a lot higher. The fact is if you provide exemplerary service to a customer which goes beyond their expectation they will remember, they will tell their friends, they may even blog about it or share it on social networking sites. They are likely to purchase again, as well as drive the purchases of countless others. Now clearly in some businesses it may not prove economical to provide such a service to every single customer but it is something to be considered.
For one thing people may be willing to pay more for warranties if they actually believe in them and that may in turn fund the service. A loyal customer is a powerful asset and it does seem sometimes that big corporations who have multi million pound contracts with other corporates ignore this and thus fail to delight the grass roots consumer.
Because of the nature of the deal made when buying my laptop I am effectively covered by a business warranty for 3 years. Earlier this year when my power cable died I got a new one sent the very next day. This time I not only got a new power cable I got the entire bottom of the laptop replaced 2 days after I reported the issue (And this was only because the guy bought the wrong part the day before)
Compare this to the tales I have heard of customer warranties and you hear a very different story. It is closer to your standard it will take 2-3 weeks to arrive, parts missing and some things simply not being the companies responsibility. These warranties generally arent cheap either and offer very little.
Now its understandable why a business can get such an exemplary server. Businesses are usually worth big money. In this case my name is tied to a corporate so its unsurpising they want offer a fast efficient service. Often however, particularly in the current economic climate, the choice of the business to go with a company will come down to who offers the best deal, and that usually comes down to money.
In contrast your average home customer will buy for other reasons, efficiency, WOM, belief in the brand or simply previous experience. A home customer is likely to remember bad service and seek to avoid a company for the forseeable future. Admitedly their full lifetime purchases probably wont rival even a percent of a year business contract but if you add them and their street and then the town, region etc it soon becomes a lot higher. The fact is if you provide exemplerary service to a customer which goes beyond their expectation they will remember, they will tell their friends, they may even blog about it or share it on social networking sites. They are likely to purchase again, as well as drive the purchases of countless others. Now clearly in some businesses it may not prove economical to provide such a service to every single customer but it is something to be considered.
For one thing people may be willing to pay more for warranties if they actually believe in them and that may in turn fund the service. A loyal customer is a powerful asset and it does seem sometimes that big corporations who have multi million pound contracts with other corporates ignore this and thus fail to delight the grass roots consumer.
Monday, 23 November 2009
Always have a Plan B(F)
I have always had the philosophy that it is worth having a back up plan. Things are sometimes subject to failure, they dont go the way you planned, something unexpected occurs, someone or something lets you down or you simply misjudge the situation.
For Job hunting my plan B was to seek out agency work, temporary office experience. As has been previously explained this failed as agencies are also now playing it safe and unwilling to hire someone who hasnt made tea or photocopied a sheet of paper in an office before, even if they have an excellent understanding of how to make a cup of tea and photocopy a sheet, in fact having done so before but just not in the hallowed office.
Okay maybe I overstretched that a little.
The point is having a back up, but sometimes you dont expect to need a back up to the back up to the point where you basically have back ups reoccuring.
Last week I requested suggestions and a friend suggested looking into volunteering in an office environment. Thus meaning I can say I have made the cup of tea and photocopied a sheet. Not to mention volunteering always looks good and perhaps, just perhaps I could make a difference. Another friend then provided me with links.
Today after a standard job search warranted not one opportunity I followed those links, signed up to one of the main sites and have now applied for two seperate volunteering opportunities.
Always have a plan B, but if that fails formulate a plan C and so on. There are after all 26 letters of the alphabet.
For Job hunting my plan B was to seek out agency work, temporary office experience. As has been previously explained this failed as agencies are also now playing it safe and unwilling to hire someone who hasnt made tea or photocopied a sheet of paper in an office before, even if they have an excellent understanding of how to make a cup of tea and photocopy a sheet, in fact having done so before but just not in the hallowed office.
Okay maybe I overstretched that a little.
The point is having a back up, but sometimes you dont expect to need a back up to the back up to the point where you basically have back ups reoccuring.
Last week I requested suggestions and a friend suggested looking into volunteering in an office environment. Thus meaning I can say I have made the cup of tea and photocopied a sheet. Not to mention volunteering always looks good and perhaps, just perhaps I could make a difference. Another friend then provided me with links.
Today after a standard job search warranted not one opportunity I followed those links, signed up to one of the main sites and have now applied for two seperate volunteering opportunities.
Always have a plan B, but if that fails formulate a plan C and so on. There are after all 26 letters of the alphabet.
Friday, 20 November 2009
Blog Distributor comes acalling
Its amusing, this blog, at its origin at least seems pretty dead. There is one comment on one post and that is all there is. Yet apparently I am now being offered cash to carry on writing the blog by blog distributor. The catch? - you post entries that are linked to sites.
Given the purpose of this blog is to discuss the issues facing unemployed graduates I cant see myself linking to websites other than to mention Id been offered a job by them. The email says the offer isnt made to everyone, a pretty standardised lie. But whether it is true or not I am not particularly interested. It does amuse me the way people outrightly lie and spotting the obvious ones is just now part of everyday life. You have just won, you could be lucky, you were selected, this is not spam..are now just everyday encounters on our travels around the web. Still its nothing new, such things used to come through the letter box.
I know from talking to people that people do read this blog, mostly through facebook still if anyone can link me to a traffic counter that works and is free Id be grateful, its nice to know who passes through the actual site and whether people are just lurking and not commenting. Id like to think I was being read by people I dont actually know occasionally as well!
In other news I have returned to my parents home this weekend so job searching takes something of a back seat. Also wont be posting anything till Monday. Nothing new in the job news arena. From yesterdays post I have decided to follow the advice of two of my friends and look to volunteer in a charity office. My next avenue of exploration.
Given the purpose of this blog is to discuss the issues facing unemployed graduates I cant see myself linking to websites other than to mention Id been offered a job by them. The email says the offer isnt made to everyone, a pretty standardised lie. But whether it is true or not I am not particularly interested. It does amuse me the way people outrightly lie and spotting the obvious ones is just now part of everyday life. You have just won, you could be lucky, you were selected, this is not spam..are now just everyday encounters on our travels around the web. Still its nothing new, such things used to come through the letter box.
I know from talking to people that people do read this blog, mostly through facebook still if anyone can link me to a traffic counter that works and is free Id be grateful, its nice to know who passes through the actual site and whether people are just lurking and not commenting. Id like to think I was being read by people I dont actually know occasionally as well!
In other news I have returned to my parents home this weekend so job searching takes something of a back seat. Also wont be posting anything till Monday. Nothing new in the job news arena. From yesterdays post I have decided to follow the advice of two of my friends and look to volunteer in a charity office. My next avenue of exploration.
Thursday, 19 November 2009
The Big "C" Approaches.
Those of you who have been reading this blog since the beginning will know that Thursday is effectively Job Search day. Where I check all the sites for relevant positions I can apply for.
Today I find 0 suitable positions, not one single job which I was a candidate for. I put this down to the approaching of Christmas, which although still a month away begins to steal peoples consciousness about now, not helped of course by the media and the retail industry. It is a common joke that the appearance of Christmas stuff gets earlier each year. Soon we will be able to purchase over priced chocolates, novelty fish and decorations in August.
With the looming vastness of Christmas I think many firms are not looking for change. Its not a good time to break some one into the company only to have them disappear for a week or more over the Christmas holidays. This is especially true of Graduates who at times require hand holding and training.
I am left with a choice then really, a question that has been haunting me and I imagine other graduates since their unemployment:
Do I look for a part time job or do I spend the time spamming organisations with speculative applications when no other jobs present themselves or seem likely to in the foreseeable future.
Part time job
Pros: Money- obviously the biggest pro as a little extra cash around the holiday period is always welcome
Experience - Unless you get it in a relevant discipline then this is pretty minor
Something to do - Sitting around on your arse most days isnt fun, at least a part time job will give you tasks and allow you to meet people
Reference- That all important employer reference, gives you some variety on your C.V at least.
Cons: Money- Working more than 19 hours a week will mean you are unable to claim JSA and subsequently housing benefits. This may mean you earn less then youd get from the government, which seems counter productive if your not getting anything that makes you more employable and could be using the time for better purposes
Time consuming- Part time jobs especially around Christmas can be very time consuming, you usually end up working in the retail sector and working several days a week.
Working until Xmas - Chances are, you work for a retail firm and they will want you until Xmas Eve. Travelling home then isnt going to be fun.
Speculative Applications
Pros: May get you a job - The whole part of a speculative application is to show an employer that you would be an asset to their company so that when a position opens up they think of you, that or if you really impress them they open a position just for you.
Contacts - Even if a person reading the application doesnt want to hire you they might write back and you may be able to contact them in the future
Cons: Wasting your time? - Last year when I was searching for a position I sent out a number of speculative applications. One responded. Just one of the eight I completed and that required significant chasing only to get an almost automated thanks but no thanks letter.
Christmas - Here it is again, are people really going to be interested in your application with the piles of work they have to complete before they can make merry with their family, probably not. I sent a spec application to Twinings last year and took nearly 2 months to deal with as it got lost over the Xmas period
So there we go, a difficult decision. There is always do nothing, or maybe something I have not thought of. Thoughts?
Today I find 0 suitable positions, not one single job which I was a candidate for. I put this down to the approaching of Christmas, which although still a month away begins to steal peoples consciousness about now, not helped of course by the media and the retail industry. It is a common joke that the appearance of Christmas stuff gets earlier each year. Soon we will be able to purchase over priced chocolates, novelty fish and decorations in August.
With the looming vastness of Christmas I think many firms are not looking for change. Its not a good time to break some one into the company only to have them disappear for a week or more over the Christmas holidays. This is especially true of Graduates who at times require hand holding and training.
I am left with a choice then really, a question that has been haunting me and I imagine other graduates since their unemployment:
Do I look for a part time job or do I spend the time spamming organisations with speculative applications when no other jobs present themselves or seem likely to in the foreseeable future.
Part time job
Pros: Money- obviously the biggest pro as a little extra cash around the holiday period is always welcome
Experience - Unless you get it in a relevant discipline then this is pretty minor
Something to do - Sitting around on your arse most days isnt fun, at least a part time job will give you tasks and allow you to meet people
Reference- That all important employer reference, gives you some variety on your C.V at least.
Cons: Money- Working more than 19 hours a week will mean you are unable to claim JSA and subsequently housing benefits. This may mean you earn less then youd get from the government, which seems counter productive if your not getting anything that makes you more employable and could be using the time for better purposes
Time consuming- Part time jobs especially around Christmas can be very time consuming, you usually end up working in the retail sector and working several days a week.
Working until Xmas - Chances are, you work for a retail firm and they will want you until Xmas Eve. Travelling home then isnt going to be fun.
Speculative Applications
Pros: May get you a job - The whole part of a speculative application is to show an employer that you would be an asset to their company so that when a position opens up they think of you, that or if you really impress them they open a position just for you.
Contacts - Even if a person reading the application doesnt want to hire you they might write back and you may be able to contact them in the future
Cons: Wasting your time? - Last year when I was searching for a position I sent out a number of speculative applications. One responded. Just one of the eight I completed and that required significant chasing only to get an almost automated thanks but no thanks letter.
Christmas - Here it is again, are people really going to be interested in your application with the piles of work they have to complete before they can make merry with their family, probably not. I sent a spec application to Twinings last year and took nearly 2 months to deal with as it got lost over the Xmas period
So there we go, a difficult decision. There is always do nothing, or maybe something I have not thought of. Thoughts?
Wednesday, 18 November 2009
Dissecting the disaster / Sods Law
This particular post will take a more personal standpoint as it essentially reviews my interview last night and what went wrong.
I arrived at College Chambers 10 minutes before my interview. I was directed to a small reception area outside a set of doors where I had to wait. The previous candidate was being interviewed, and the doors were far from sound proof. I have to say this was un-nerving whilst your waiting. The interviewers spoke quietly so I could not catch their comments but I could hear everything the guy said and the one thing that shone across was he knew his stuff.
I think should I find myself in that situation again I will find a reason not to stay directly outside the door. Some people believe you might pick up tips to better prepare you. For me it just made me feel generally and entirely bad.
When I was finally issued into the room it was several minutes past 5 and in fact the next candidate was sitting right outside able to listen to my entire interview.
The interviewers consisted of a panel, two barristers clerk and a barrister. They were across a wide table and there was no opportunity to initially shake hands.
The centre barrister clerk began by asking questions off a printed piece of paper. He did not have my C.V, covering letter he was just asking each candidate the same set of questions regardless. There was no attempt to put me at ease and he went straight in to the first inevitable question, "What do you understand by the role of Barristers Clerk?".
Typical the one time I dont basically memorise the job description is the one time it comes up. I had done some research but missed key points and it was downhill from there.
A later question asked what I knew of college chambers, as you may know from an earlier post this was very little due to their current lack of public promotion and the fact their website is under construction. I could therefore only use the information I gathered from other sources.
Also over the course of the interview it was revealed how the job was 90% barristers clerk and 10% marketing, a fact not clearly explained in the original advert. Marketing was effectively tiny small print to the size 50 "Barristers Clerk".
I think another issue was my understanding of the role, the term clerk, and the wages offered made it seem like a fairly minor thing, a junior role, necessary to the chambers but basically a role in which you were a dogsbody performing all the needed but unwanted duties of the barrister. Nothing had given me the impression it was a career in itself until I met the middle aged interviewer who had been a clerk his whole life. I dont entirely know why my mind could not properly comprehend this previously but it was another thing that made the interview that much harder.
I sweated my way through the other questions, even suffering a mind blank at the marketing one before the final question which asked where I saw myself in 3 years time at which I stuttered to a fairly generic answer.
As I left the room I made sure to shake one hand at least. The girl waiting gave me an apologetic smile, she had inadvertently witnessed the train wreck, whether it had helped or hindered her it is difficult to say.
I know I will not get the position. I am amazed I was even interviewed for it in the first place. After all my C.V and covering letter were marketing focused and put the barristers clerk bit almost as a footnote. A few extra duties that added to the actual job.
Next up in two weeks an interview for a sales and marketing position, where again the marketing seems to be a footnote. Im aware of it this time and each time I err in an interview simply makes one more mistake learned, to be avoided there after.
I arrived at College Chambers 10 minutes before my interview. I was directed to a small reception area outside a set of doors where I had to wait. The previous candidate was being interviewed, and the doors were far from sound proof. I have to say this was un-nerving whilst your waiting. The interviewers spoke quietly so I could not catch their comments but I could hear everything the guy said and the one thing that shone across was he knew his stuff.
I think should I find myself in that situation again I will find a reason not to stay directly outside the door. Some people believe you might pick up tips to better prepare you. For me it just made me feel generally and entirely bad.
When I was finally issued into the room it was several minutes past 5 and in fact the next candidate was sitting right outside able to listen to my entire interview.
The interviewers consisted of a panel, two barristers clerk and a barrister. They were across a wide table and there was no opportunity to initially shake hands.
The centre barrister clerk began by asking questions off a printed piece of paper. He did not have my C.V, covering letter he was just asking each candidate the same set of questions regardless. There was no attempt to put me at ease and he went straight in to the first inevitable question, "What do you understand by the role of Barristers Clerk?".
Typical the one time I dont basically memorise the job description is the one time it comes up. I had done some research but missed key points and it was downhill from there.
A later question asked what I knew of college chambers, as you may know from an earlier post this was very little due to their current lack of public promotion and the fact their website is under construction. I could therefore only use the information I gathered from other sources.
Also over the course of the interview it was revealed how the job was 90% barristers clerk and 10% marketing, a fact not clearly explained in the original advert. Marketing was effectively tiny small print to the size 50 "Barristers Clerk".
I think another issue was my understanding of the role, the term clerk, and the wages offered made it seem like a fairly minor thing, a junior role, necessary to the chambers but basically a role in which you were a dogsbody performing all the needed but unwanted duties of the barrister. Nothing had given me the impression it was a career in itself until I met the middle aged interviewer who had been a clerk his whole life. I dont entirely know why my mind could not properly comprehend this previously but it was another thing that made the interview that much harder.
I sweated my way through the other questions, even suffering a mind blank at the marketing one before the final question which asked where I saw myself in 3 years time at which I stuttered to a fairly generic answer.
As I left the room I made sure to shake one hand at least. The girl waiting gave me an apologetic smile, she had inadvertently witnessed the train wreck, whether it had helped or hindered her it is difficult to say.
I know I will not get the position. I am amazed I was even interviewed for it in the first place. After all my C.V and covering letter were marketing focused and put the barristers clerk bit almost as a footnote. A few extra duties that added to the actual job.
Next up in two weeks an interview for a sales and marketing position, where again the marketing seems to be a footnote. Im aware of it this time and each time I err in an interview simply makes one more mistake learned, to be avoided there after.
Tuesday, 17 November 2009
The day of an interview
Everything has been leading up to this point, the day of the actual interview. Butterflies flutter around in your stomach. You go over planned questions and answers, thinking about worst case scenarios, best case scenarios. You question whether you are actually the right person for the position and why you applied for the job in the first place. You try to figure out what went wrong in the past. Plan the travel and timetable meticulously.
That is if you are anything like me.
Today is my second evening interview. I think I prefer when they are in the morning, less time to fret and worry. Similar to exams in many ways, you know there is prep you should be doing but you just dont know exactly what it is, sometimes its better to go in fresh, rather than with a jumble of thoughts cascading through your mind. I think at least evening is better than afternoon, this way you can give it very little thought in the morning and its only the afternoon for the fretting and prep.
I certainly have not got interview days down to a tee yet. If I can I like to research the position and the company (not always that useful-see earlier entry) but as far as actual questions go they have been so varied at the various interviews I dont really know where to begin.
I can advise on what I do do, however as I am still unemployed and thus unsuccessful in my previous interviews I understand if you take them with a pinch of salt. In no particular order.
1. Decide on a weakness which will not greatly inhibit your application and may also help it - The question on your greatest weakness doesnt always come up but if it does and you say something which makes you seem like a bad applicant its game over. I made this mistake once and never since.
2. See if there is any information on the person interviewing you - its good to put a name to a face, can help you feel more at ease.
3. Research company and position- already covered but one thing you can definately do is reread who they want. Think about how you fit that criteria.
4. Similarly to point 1 decide on a strength - sometimes interviewers phrase the question in such a way that you can reel off a whole string of positives, other times they want one.. so decide which of the many strengths you possess best fits the position.
5. Think about course experiences, what do you want to talk about and what might you find yourself talking about - If you have no experience, they are going to base everything off the academic, think about positive moments, or how to at least put a spin on the inevitable negative ones.
5 potentially useful points there, although as I said maybe I am doing it all wrong.
That is if you are anything like me.
Today is my second evening interview. I think I prefer when they are in the morning, less time to fret and worry. Similar to exams in many ways, you know there is prep you should be doing but you just dont know exactly what it is, sometimes its better to go in fresh, rather than with a jumble of thoughts cascading through your mind. I think at least evening is better than afternoon, this way you can give it very little thought in the morning and its only the afternoon for the fretting and prep.
I certainly have not got interview days down to a tee yet. If I can I like to research the position and the company (not always that useful-see earlier entry) but as far as actual questions go they have been so varied at the various interviews I dont really know where to begin.
I can advise on what I do do, however as I am still unemployed and thus unsuccessful in my previous interviews I understand if you take them with a pinch of salt. In no particular order.
1. Decide on a weakness which will not greatly inhibit your application and may also help it - The question on your greatest weakness doesnt always come up but if it does and you say something which makes you seem like a bad applicant its game over. I made this mistake once and never since.
2. See if there is any information on the person interviewing you - its good to put a name to a face, can help you feel more at ease.
3. Research company and position- already covered but one thing you can definately do is reread who they want. Think about how you fit that criteria.
4. Similarly to point 1 decide on a strength - sometimes interviewers phrase the question in such a way that you can reel off a whole string of positives, other times they want one.. so decide which of the many strengths you possess best fits the position.
5. Think about course experiences, what do you want to talk about and what might you find yourself talking about - If you have no experience, they are going to base everything off the academic, think about positive moments, or how to at least put a spin on the inevitable negative ones.
5 potentially useful points there, although as I said maybe I am doing it all wrong.
Monday, 16 November 2009
No job news, no new jobs
A short entry today as it has been entirely uninspiring. Sometimes you get a day where nothing new appears, you dont hear from any individuals or companies and those days can always be pretty hard.
Fortunately I have an interview to prepare for tomorrow. Time to do some reading on law.
Fortunately I have an interview to prepare for tomorrow. Time to do some reading on law.
Saturday, 14 November 2009
Preperation
Its a well known fact that you are meant to prepare for interviews. Consider which questions are going to be asked, have a couple of well thought out questions you can ask the company, make sure you know lots about the company and the job. That last one at least has never served me well, I have researched the company when possible using their public outputs such as PR and website as extensively as I could. Yet most interviewers seem to spend the first 10 minutes telling you about the company, wasting all the time you spent information gathering.
Only in 1 interview so far was I asked about the company, only to be interrupted and to have the guy go on himself. Maybe its something to do with marketing jobs, who knows?
My next interview is with a law firm, College Chambers. Its for a position with an unusual job description, one I have subsequently lost. To make matters a little worse, on visiting their website I find that it is now under construction, thereby meaning I cannot gather more information on the firm.
How likely is it now the first question in the interview is "What do you know about College Chambers?"
If there is one thing I have learned from this particular job application it is to always copy and paste job descriptions, the information you are given when you originally apply. After all if you are applying to maybe 3-5 jobs a week you dont always remember the specifics of each one.
A lesson for the future, as for the coming week I just have to cross my fingers.
Only in 1 interview so far was I asked about the company, only to be interrupted and to have the guy go on himself. Maybe its something to do with marketing jobs, who knows?
My next interview is with a law firm, College Chambers. Its for a position with an unusual job description, one I have subsequently lost. To make matters a little worse, on visiting their website I find that it is now under construction, thereby meaning I cannot gather more information on the firm.
How likely is it now the first question in the interview is "What do you know about College Chambers?"
If there is one thing I have learned from this particular job application it is to always copy and paste job descriptions, the information you are given when you originally apply. After all if you are applying to maybe 3-5 jobs a week you dont always remember the specifics of each one.
A lesson for the future, as for the coming week I just have to cross my fingers.
Friday, 13 November 2009
Preying on the Needy.
In the world we live in there will always be disreputable people willing to make a quick buck or to con people for their own personal gain. We have all seen the emails puporting to be from Nigerian Princesses or wealthy single old ladies attempting to make us reveal bank details or to even give money. They are part and parcel of using the internet.
Recently the level of scams has began to evolve with the targets becoming more wide ranging.
Yesterday I recieved a job offer from a company in America offering me the position of Financial Representative. I was initially suspicious but read the email anyway, after all an unemployed graduate cannot just ignore a job offer completely, that and the email suggested it was from reed.co.uk, a site I was signed up with. On opening the job specification it was several pages long and quite authenticaly produced. I followed the link to the website of a venture capitalist firm in the U.S.A. Thinking it would be mad just to ignore it I forwarded it to my Dad who confirmed it was a scam. On further examination I found a site that showed it was one that had previously been operating in a number of different countries incl. South Africa, Australia and Thailand.
Now I am naturally suspicious but if someone desperate for a job recieved that they may just give the "employer" everything they want. The fact the bogus company are using reed as well just adds to the illusion of believability.
For anyone who is interested/who recieves the email. It looks a little something like this
> Date: Thu, 12 Nov 2009 14:21:47 +0300
> Subject: [Reed.co.uk] Anthony March, we have a great job offer for you!
> From: careersuk@assetmanwork.com
> To: cariassus@hotmail.com
>
> Dear Anthony March,
>
> This is David Hanson from Asset Management Company. I was assigned your
> Regional Instructor and from now on you'll be working under my
> supervision. I'll be providing you with all necessary information and
> submitting tasks to complete. I do hope we'll enjoy working together.
>
> We have received your resume. We are happy to say to you that you are
> qualified for the position of Financial Representative. This position is
> limited. You may find more about salary, hours and duties at job
> description.doc
>
> Application process:
> 1.Read job description document and respond me back with your agree word.
> 2.I will send you employment agreement and application form, you need to
> fill it out and send back signed
> 3.I will forward your application documents to our HR dept
> 4.You will be noticed about acceptance by e-mail
>
> Note:
> You may find more information at our web-site or feel free to ask any
> questions about your job duties and salary.
>
> My job is to assist you in managing payments and I'll be happy to do the
> utmost to help you whenever possible.
>
> My e-mail is: david@assetmancompany.com
> Please don’t use e-mail careersuk@assetmanwork.com for asking questions.
>
> I will serve as your account manager. Feel free to contact me regarding
> any issue.
> I will co-ordinate your work; therefore you can contact me anytime via
> e-mail and get an answer to any question of yours within 12 hours.
> Besides you can leave me a message on my answering machine anytime.
> Feel free to contact me anytime. My contact information is given below.
>
> This is not a spam! If you don't wish to apply - just notify me.
>
>
>
> --
> Best regards,
>
> David Hanson
> Employment Manager
> E-Mail: david@assetmancompany.com
> Phone: +1 646 462 4591
> Fax: +1 646 619 4183
> Address: Asset Management Company
> 2100 Geng Road, Suite 200
> Palo Alto, California 94303, US
I emailed Reed to warn them but I am not sure really what they can do. There really needs to be more stringent laws to catch this internet scammers. Another common one is to suggest there has been an issue with your bank account, with emails seemingly coming from banks such as HSBC, Lloyds and Natwest. It seems that the only defence the actual banks have against these is to state they would never send an email asking for such important details. Yet some people must be fooled
Later on in the same day I recieved another email. It thanked me for sending my C.V and then preceeded to ask for my Resume and details. It wasnt even signed by a company or individual.
Now I know I have sent a lot of C.V's to random places, but if in in the incrediably unlikely case it wasnt fake, if a company is quite so blaize about recruitment I am not sure I want to work for them anyway!
Recently the level of scams has began to evolve with the targets becoming more wide ranging.
Yesterday I recieved a job offer from a company in America offering me the position of Financial Representative. I was initially suspicious but read the email anyway, after all an unemployed graduate cannot just ignore a job offer completely, that and the email suggested it was from reed.co.uk, a site I was signed up with. On opening the job specification it was several pages long and quite authenticaly produced. I followed the link to the website of a venture capitalist firm in the U.S.A. Thinking it would be mad just to ignore it I forwarded it to my Dad who confirmed it was a scam. On further examination I found a site that showed it was one that had previously been operating in a number of different countries incl. South Africa, Australia and Thailand.
Now I am naturally suspicious but if someone desperate for a job recieved that they may just give the "employer" everything they want. The fact the bogus company are using reed as well just adds to the illusion of believability.
For anyone who is interested/who recieves the email. It looks a little something like this
> Date: Thu, 12 Nov 2009 14:21:47 +0300
> Subject: [Reed.co.uk] Anthony March, we have a great job offer for you!
> From: careersuk@assetmanwork.com
> To: cariassus@hotmail.com
>
> Dear Anthony March,
>
> This is David Hanson from Asset Management Company. I was assigned your
> Regional Instructor and from now on you'll be working under my
> supervision. I'll be providing you with all necessary information and
> submitting tasks to complete. I do hope we'll enjoy working together.
>
> We have received your resume. We are happy to say to you that you are
> qualified for the position of Financial Representative. This position is
> limited. You may find more about salary, hours and duties at job
> description.doc
>
> Application process:
> 1.Read job description document and respond me back with your agree word.
> 2.I will send you employment agreement and application form, you need to
> fill it out and send back signed
> 3.I will forward your application documents to our HR dept
> 4.You will be noticed about acceptance by e-mail
>
> Note:
> You may find more information at our web-site or feel free to ask any
> questions about your job duties and salary.
>
> My job is to assist you in managing payments and I'll be happy to do the
> utmost to help you whenever possible.
>
> My e-mail is: david@assetmancompany.com
> Please don’t use e-mail careersuk@assetmanwork.com for asking questions.
>
> I will serve as your account manager. Feel free to contact me regarding
> any issue.
> I will co-ordinate your work; therefore you can contact me anytime via
> e-mail and get an answer to any question of yours within 12 hours.
> Besides you can leave me a message on my answering machine anytime.
> Feel free to contact me anytime. My contact information is given below.
>
> This is not a spam! If you don't wish to apply - just notify me.
>
>
>
> --
> Best regards,
>
> David Hanson
> Employment Manager
> E-Mail: david@assetmancompany.com
> Phone: +1 646 462 4591
> Fax: +1 646 619 4183
> Address: Asset Management Company
> 2100 Geng Road, Suite 200
> Palo Alto, California 94303, US
I emailed Reed to warn them but I am not sure really what they can do. There really needs to be more stringent laws to catch this internet scammers. Another common one is to suggest there has been an issue with your bank account, with emails seemingly coming from banks such as HSBC, Lloyds and Natwest. It seems that the only defence the actual banks have against these is to state they would never send an email asking for such important details. Yet some people must be fooled
Later on in the same day I recieved another email. It thanked me for sending my C.V and then preceeded to ask for my Resume and details. It wasnt even signed by a company or individual.
Now I know I have sent a lot of C.V's to random places, but if in in the incrediably unlikely case it wasnt fake, if a company is quite so blaize about recruitment I am not sure I want to work for them anyway!
Thursday, 12 November 2009
Thursdays
Thursday, the day before the day that signals the end of the week. It sounds strange but on Thursday most people tend to be looking to the weekend whilst considering what they should have done in the week.
For me Thursday is one of the days I like to do a big job search. Dont get me wrong I job search every day in some places but its not worth doing an extensive job search everyday, you just get disappointed as nothing new gets posted. By Thursday however most new jobs in the week have appeared and you can be sure of something new to look at, as well as the old traditional time wasters. The Thursday job search has served me well in the past, I have found and applied for at least 1 job every Thursday for the past month. Today is no exception, a marketing assistant position in Winchester.
Nothing from Amicus who are apparently still conducting interviews a week after they were originally meant to be finished. I dont believe this bodes too well. If a company holds interviews after the original date they intended to this suggests to me that they have not been too impressed with the previously scheduled interviews. After all if you have 5 candidates suitable for the job, why spend more time looking for more?
For me Thursday is one of the days I like to do a big job search. Dont get me wrong I job search every day in some places but its not worth doing an extensive job search everyday, you just get disappointed as nothing new gets posted. By Thursday however most new jobs in the week have appeared and you can be sure of something new to look at, as well as the old traditional time wasters. The Thursday job search has served me well in the past, I have found and applied for at least 1 job every Thursday for the past month. Today is no exception, a marketing assistant position in Winchester.
Nothing from Amicus who are apparently still conducting interviews a week after they were originally meant to be finished. I dont believe this bodes too well. If a company holds interviews after the original date they intended to this suggests to me that they have not been too impressed with the previously scheduled interviews. After all if you have 5 candidates suitable for the job, why spend more time looking for more?
Wednesday, 11 November 2009
Chasing Companies
The day has finally arrived, you have sent out a plethora of applications and finally you got the call, the recognition you deserved offering you the chance to have an interview, to get that one step closer to finding a job. You wear your best suit, plan everything meticulously and make sure your prepared for anything the interviewer throws out you.
Leaving the offices you cannot help but smile, sure, there were a few curve ball questions but you handled them and hardly looked nervous at all. You bonded on a common interest and were able to talk at length about the company and what your role involved.
Now to play the waiting game. The interviewer said they would let you know in a week.
A week passes. Then comes the question, should I email them? Will it seem pressuarising or over eager, or seem you dont trust them. Better leave it a few days
Another half week passes. Time to Act. You send an email, careful with your wording so that it is an enquiry that will not cause offence, after all you dont want to suggest your future employer is incompotent.
Sound familiar?
In my experience so far not one company (all who have turned me down) have got back to me when they said they would. I have had to chase all but one, only to be told my application is unsuccessful. Now I understand that companies have limited time but to respond to the people who make interview from any SME cannot be that taxing.
The worst is asking for feedback. After all as a graduate you arent sure where you went wrong. You have not had the years of experience to know exactly how these things work.
Normally so far it has been just that. A lack of experience, most companies have been quick to stress that it is not a personal thing and that therefore they cant provide tips or pointers. One company laughably suggested my suit was too big and it made me look inexperienced. Unsurprisingly as an unemployed graduate I cant afford a tailored made sharp looking suit and besides if thats a reason for not employing someone you have to question the organisation.
Today, chased Amicus ITS, pretty sure I will be turned down but sometimes its nice just to get closure.
Leaving the offices you cannot help but smile, sure, there were a few curve ball questions but you handled them and hardly looked nervous at all. You bonded on a common interest and were able to talk at length about the company and what your role involved.
Now to play the waiting game. The interviewer said they would let you know in a week.
A week passes. Then comes the question, should I email them? Will it seem pressuarising or over eager, or seem you dont trust them. Better leave it a few days
Another half week passes. Time to Act. You send an email, careful with your wording so that it is an enquiry that will not cause offence, after all you dont want to suggest your future employer is incompotent.
Sound familiar?
In my experience so far not one company (all who have turned me down) have got back to me when they said they would. I have had to chase all but one, only to be told my application is unsuccessful. Now I understand that companies have limited time but to respond to the people who make interview from any SME cannot be that taxing.
The worst is asking for feedback. After all as a graduate you arent sure where you went wrong. You have not had the years of experience to know exactly how these things work.
Normally so far it has been just that. A lack of experience, most companies have been quick to stress that it is not a personal thing and that therefore they cant provide tips or pointers. One company laughably suggested my suit was too big and it made me look inexperienced. Unsurprisingly as an unemployed graduate I cant afford a tailored made sharp looking suit and besides if thats a reason for not employing someone you have to question the organisation.
Today, chased Amicus ITS, pretty sure I will be turned down but sometimes its nice just to get closure.
Tuesday, 10 November 2009
A Visit to the Job Centre
Being the second Tuesday of the month, today heralded another scheduled visit to the Job Centre, a pre-requisite of recieving any JSA. For any unemployed graduate this is effectively extra financial aid you shouldnt do without and in the end its worth the time spent feeling out of place and the small cost of time and money to travel to it.
With in an increase in the number of unemployed continuing I imagine it gets busier every week but this week I had to wait half an hour for my appointment. Sitting on the laughably bright blue and red sofas scanning the faces you could tell no-one wanted to be there. Looking around you note the closed body language, heads down, arms crossed, silent, waiting for the moment each name is called so they can find freedom, minutes afterwards. Every stereotype you would expect there is represented and then a few people who clearly feel out place, myself included.
As part of the process you are asked to keep a record of everything you do to find a job, including job searches, applications, interviews etc. This is then checked every two weeks at the scheduled time, you sign to say you have been there and leave, guaranteeing yourself another two weeks worth of money. Watching those who came before these can last anything from 5-10 minutes as the adviser discusses what you have done and what else you could do.
Mine lasted a minute, quite literally. I was asked two questions, signed and left.
As simple as that. So if an graduates out there are not on JSA or loooking at the benefits open to them, you are just losing out.
No new job news today although will email a firm I was meant to hear from last week. I have to say I had expected some communication whether I got the job or not. There are some firms who you know will just not respond, but normally with smaller firms you expect to hear something if you get an interview.
With in an increase in the number of unemployed continuing I imagine it gets busier every week but this week I had to wait half an hour for my appointment. Sitting on the laughably bright blue and red sofas scanning the faces you could tell no-one wanted to be there. Looking around you note the closed body language, heads down, arms crossed, silent, waiting for the moment each name is called so they can find freedom, minutes afterwards. Every stereotype you would expect there is represented and then a few people who clearly feel out place, myself included.
As part of the process you are asked to keep a record of everything you do to find a job, including job searches, applications, interviews etc. This is then checked every two weeks at the scheduled time, you sign to say you have been there and leave, guaranteeing yourself another two weeks worth of money. Watching those who came before these can last anything from 5-10 minutes as the adviser discusses what you have done and what else you could do.
Mine lasted a minute, quite literally. I was asked two questions, signed and left.
As simple as that. So if an graduates out there are not on JSA or loooking at the benefits open to them, you are just losing out.
No new job news today although will email a firm I was meant to hear from last week. I have to say I had expected some communication whether I got the job or not. There are some firms who you know will just not respond, but normally with smaller firms you expect to hear something if you get an interview.
Monday, 9 November 2009
Offer of an Interview
Just got a phone call from a barristers firm I applied for nearly a month ago. The position is rather usually entitled barristers clerk and marketing assistant. I have an interview next Tuesday at 5pm. So hopefully this blog may be short lived.
Also got correspondence from JPA Dementia informing me the job I applied for entitled "Marketing Assistant" is actually mostly sales. However I am not ruling anything out and have basically informed that I will be short listed if I am interested.
Spent the afternoon trying to get the blog noticed by adding it to blog sites and trying to network with contacts.
Also got correspondence from JPA Dementia informing me the job I applied for entitled "Marketing Assistant" is actually mostly sales. However I am not ruling anything out and have basically informed that I will be short listed if I am interested.
Spent the afternoon trying to get the blog noticed by adding it to blog sites and trying to network with contacts.
First Day of a New Blog
Well this is the beginning of my new blog, an idea that has been knocking around since I finished my Masters course at the end of September.
According to latest figures the number of unemployed young people is set to rise past 1 million, many of whom are graduates. That a lot of skilled, intelligent, young, moldable individuals out there. I am just 1 in hundreds of thousands and so far through my job search I have found little that allows them to connect.
To the many employers out there we are just nameless, faceless individuals who don't have the experience to join their companies. We are not just a statistic to be bandied about by government, we are people and we deserve better. After all, University is meant to enhance employment prospects, particularly if you achieve qualifications from red brick institutions or learn vocational skills. I have done both and it hasnt helped, not in the slightest.
So this blog will charter me, just one in the mass, and my attempts to join the gainfully employed. I will update what I have done each day, and the relative success or failures of my actions. I will also dicuss University, the general job environment, government "attempts" to address the issue and anything else related to jobs, graduates and business.
Its an unprecedented situation and certainly does raise interesting questions. The problem as I see it has of course been bought about the economic recession. The following points are the reasons I think it is so hard for graduates to gain employment in the current climate.
1. Unemployed or dissatisfied employees in other industries are going after Graduate jobs which offer salaries they would have previously scoffed at. This means that instead of being up against a biochemist from Leeds and a historian from Manchester for the position of Marketing Assistant, your now going up against a claims adjuster with 5 years of experience and a secretary with 3 years of experience.
2. When given the choice of a graduate leaking raw talent and someone who has experience in an office in the present climate most companies will take the experience. Its playing it safe and safe is a watchword of the recession.
3. Practical is everything in a recession. Knowing the theory and the practice is not good enough. If you have not applied it then it really does not count for much.
4. Companies can offer jobs with tiny tiny salaries and still be confident of filling them, there will be competition for every job and as point 1 states the extent of that competition has changed.
5. Perhaps the most controversial, Universities are no longer the elite, people can go to University so long as they just avoided failing their A Levels. The government wants more and more people to go to University, thus devaluating the whole process. This is just one other factor which makes experience more attractive and graduates less palatable.
6. One of the biggest employers are the graduate programs. But if your not interested or fail to get onto any. What then, companies just dont look to cater for graduates outside of carefully designed graduate programs.
7. Even Agencies wont take people with no experience. Yes apparently if you have never worked a photocopier before then you will struggle to do so in an office environment. This just leads to the vicious circle. No experience = no job, but if agencies wont even give you the experience then its impossible to get anywhere.
8. "Graduate" jobs are drying up. Retail companies are focused on Christmas and other companies arent generally looking to get new employees at the end of a year.
All in all its pretty grim out there. All I can do is cross my fingers, keep flinging out applications and hope that someone is willing to take a gamble on me. I'll be so grateful to them that I will go out of my way to make sure they arent mistaken.
According to latest figures the number of unemployed young people is set to rise past 1 million, many of whom are graduates. That a lot of skilled, intelligent, young, moldable individuals out there. I am just 1 in hundreds of thousands and so far through my job search I have found little that allows them to connect.
To the many employers out there we are just nameless, faceless individuals who don't have the experience to join their companies. We are not just a statistic to be bandied about by government, we are people and we deserve better. After all, University is meant to enhance employment prospects, particularly if you achieve qualifications from red brick institutions or learn vocational skills. I have done both and it hasnt helped, not in the slightest.
So this blog will charter me, just one in the mass, and my attempts to join the gainfully employed. I will update what I have done each day, and the relative success or failures of my actions. I will also dicuss University, the general job environment, government "attempts" to address the issue and anything else related to jobs, graduates and business.
Its an unprecedented situation and certainly does raise interesting questions. The problem as I see it has of course been bought about the economic recession. The following points are the reasons I think it is so hard for graduates to gain employment in the current climate.
1. Unemployed or dissatisfied employees in other industries are going after Graduate jobs which offer salaries they would have previously scoffed at. This means that instead of being up against a biochemist from Leeds and a historian from Manchester for the position of Marketing Assistant, your now going up against a claims adjuster with 5 years of experience and a secretary with 3 years of experience.
2. When given the choice of a graduate leaking raw talent and someone who has experience in an office in the present climate most companies will take the experience. Its playing it safe and safe is a watchword of the recession.
3. Practical is everything in a recession. Knowing the theory and the practice is not good enough. If you have not applied it then it really does not count for much.
4. Companies can offer jobs with tiny tiny salaries and still be confident of filling them, there will be competition for every job and as point 1 states the extent of that competition has changed.
5. Perhaps the most controversial, Universities are no longer the elite, people can go to University so long as they just avoided failing their A Levels. The government wants more and more people to go to University, thus devaluating the whole process. This is just one other factor which makes experience more attractive and graduates less palatable.
6. One of the biggest employers are the graduate programs. But if your not interested or fail to get onto any. What then, companies just dont look to cater for graduates outside of carefully designed graduate programs.
7. Even Agencies wont take people with no experience. Yes apparently if you have never worked a photocopier before then you will struggle to do so in an office environment. This just leads to the vicious circle. No experience = no job, but if agencies wont even give you the experience then its impossible to get anywhere.
8. "Graduate" jobs are drying up. Retail companies are focused on Christmas and other companies arent generally looking to get new employees at the end of a year.
All in all its pretty grim out there. All I can do is cross my fingers, keep flinging out applications and hope that someone is willing to take a gamble on me. I'll be so grateful to them that I will go out of my way to make sure they arent mistaken.
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