Community: Real Life

Job hunting joke


Rosie O'Hagan

Rosie, 18, is studying for an English A-Level. She attends a creative writing group, and spends the time she's not buried under application forms, reading, watching movies and ranting to her friends.

Rosie is drained from her miserable part-time job hunt.

Like many students I'm fed up of being poor and would really like to earn some extra cash. Nobody said that job hunting would be easy, but finding a simple part-time job seems to be tougher than convincing Victoria Beckham to go to McDonald's, and that's before you've even started to answer employers' stupid interview questions.

First of all, the hunting part of finding a job is doing my head in. I live in a rural area so jobs are few and far between. Even if you live in a city bustling with opportunity you won't find all the jobs in one place. You'll find some in local newspapers, others in job centres, some are advertised under parent company names and let's not forget old-fashioned adverts in shop windows. Even if you do find one job in all of these places you can guarantee that one advert will detail the hours, and another the pay, so finding an advert is just one piece of the puzzle.

As for the application process, I know why we have to go through it but I'm fed up with employers taking it too far. I understand they need to check who they're hiring and they need to know they've picked the right person for the job, but why can't methods be in proportion to the job offered? Unless they're looking a person whose list of qualifications is longer than the Nile, they should cut out the crap and stop messing us about.

"I swear the employers and interviewers are having a laugh at our expense. I once applied for a weekend check-out assistant job at a local store and was invited to a recruitment evening where 18 applicants sat in rows competing for one of three weekend positions."

Bearing in mind I'm only looking for a shop or admin assistant position, why does the interview process need to be so harsh? You'd think I was looking for a job in Parliament. During my 'hunt' I applied for a Saturday job in a photo shop. The interviewing process I was faced with for this alluring position was two interviews, five multiple choice scenario-based questions and a selection of questions about my employment history, education, and personality. They asked me the classic question: "Where do you see yourself in five years?" I'm sorry; I missed the part where I was applying for a Saturday job for the best part of the next decade. Am I being judged on what I haven't done yet? After more questions about my traits and what I thought made a good salesperson, I was told I'd be contacted if I'd "performed well enough". I was then released from the charade and had to double-check I'd applied for a Saturday job and not The Apprentice.

I swear the employers and interviewers are having a laugh at our expense. I once applied for a weekend check-out assistant job at a local store and was invited to a recruitment evening where 18 applicants sat in rows competing for one of three weekend positions. We were all asked to introduce the person next to us and then, in groups, come up with an original jingle and radio advert for the store, which we had to perform. Who knew a check-out assistant's job isn't to serve customers at the till at all? Actually it's to be part of an all-singing all-dancing team of radio presenters. I must have missed that part of the job description.

So, I'm fed up of answering stupid questions and I hope I don't find myself job hunting in five years' time. I need the money and I'm willing to put in the graft, so can someone just give me a damn job?

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