Huzzah! I finally managed to pick up a job! I admit that it isn’t the most glamorous, or the field (Marketing) that I’m interested in getting in to but I still felt incredibly happy just to get a job working in a coffee shop. I suppose one of the reasons was that it was completely unexpected. A lot of people, and I’m sure many of you can sympathise with me on this point, have had great difficulty in finding employment after they finish school or graduate from university – jobs are scarce and competition has increased so much that it turns off a lot of people from even trying. It’s important to stop yourself from giving up but sometimes it’s hard to pull yourself from out of a rut (no one likes to be given two rejection letters for working in McDonald’s! Alas… that was me).
What I experienced today though was an incredible set of events that made me stumble into a job. Firstly, I felt incredible confident and set out wearing my best and bringing with me as many CV’s that I could carry and I would hand out to employers… I sort of had a little route mapped out in my head of all the shopping arcades that I would snake through asking various businesses along the way. I felt prepared.
I was coming to the end of my quest… handing out all but one of my CV’s until I came across one of the last shops in the shopping arcade I was in with my last CV in hand… and there was no advertisement in the window but I thought I would go in regardless and try my luck. I went inside and asked the girl behind the counter if they had any job vacancies… and she sort of smirked a little and said to me “Actually yes, I do. One of our staff walked out 20 minutes ago… can you do a trial shift for an hour or so right now and we’ll see how you’ll do?” wait… what?? YES PLEASE! She then persisted on asking me about my experience and thought I was going to choke. I’ve had no experience in coffee shops, I’ve only had one job before and that was in a supermarket but I insisted that I was a quick learner, good with people (back through volunteering I had done in the past) and had worked on cashier desks before. I convinced her to give me a trial because I believed in myself… and in turn managed to make someone, who looked pretty unsure, to believe in me too.
She was impressed with my shift, the other employees are lovely, I got a free muffin and cup of coffee afterwards for doing the trial (And boy did it taste good!) and I got the job! 
All in all it has been a very fortuitous day and I feel quite pleased with myself. I came home to find that a production company is interested in featuring me and my blog on one of their upcoming programmes as well – more on that at a later date! It may be a small victory but it’s definitely an improvement and I plan on making the most of the situation so that I can start building upwards to reach my goals.
What small victories have you experienced this week? Or simply share an incident that has brightened your day – I would love to hear your stories!
Well done on getting a job. Doesnt matter if its not what you wanted, we all have to start somewhere at the end. And you are right, in our economic climate, life is tough for students like myself. We are all in mountains of student debt, with not many jobs around. But I guess what we can learn from your blog is keep trying and trying till you get what you want
Well done Tim, that’s ace. Remember each and every customer COULD BE a potential employer on your field too…use your charm !
Also too, if you grow your own veggies ( don’t know if you do ) you could begin a coffee grounds recycling system from the store to your garden.
Thanks Fran! I never actually thought about that. We serve a lot of customers who are employees of surrounding businesses as well so that is very relevant
I’ll have to look into that… but since it’s a chain café, I bet they are bound by a load of health and safety rules… but I will look into it. My dad would appreciate more things to grow in the garden! We’ve just about mastered growing lettuces, peppers and beans as well as the usual herb garden on our kitchen window. I haven’t been as involved as I should though… I will give my dad a hand more often, it’ll be good practice for when I have my own vegetable garden!
Hey, good on you. My first full-time job after uni (an LLB (Hons) followed by a PgD ILS) was frying chicken (continuing one of the part-time jobs I’d had during the diploma year). Such is life. I worked with a great team of girls, continued to pay the mortgage on my flat, and had enough money to buy food. It was one of the most relaxing periods of my life. Hard physical work but no mental strain or self-pressure for a while (a relief after five years study.)
Took me about three months to find a job in my field (Law Librarianship) and, even then, that was a fluke more than a skilled search for a position…
A job is a job. Enjoy the company and the lack of pressure for a while.
Karen (Scotland)
I am smiling the entire time i’m reading this post! You are incredibly blessed! And I’m extremely happy for you
I always thought that a job that involves talking, dealing and connecting with people is the best! It may not be the one that you like nor ever dreamed of but I’m pretty sure that you will learn a lot of things there. I can’t wait to hear more about your progress 
and also more about that production company 
Don’t mean to sound like a mother ( even though I am old enough to be )- but I am so proud of you. This is great. Wonderful picture too. You my boy- are going places. Keep up the great world from your Tasmanian Fan !!!