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?
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