Allie
Please don't feel discouraged because if you do so, I'll have to feel discouraged right along with you! One refusal is not the end of the world. It's horrible to think like this, but you have to expect to apply for many jobs before you get one. It's a harsh life we live! If you get a job after application number one, two or three, that is a bonus, not the norm.
I met an academic last year who told me that he'd accumulated two lever-arch files full of defunct applications and had spent two
years job-hunting before he found his current post. Believe it or not, he was trying to console me at the time.
I am, as some people here know, also job hunting at the moment. Like you, I have applied for jobs that appeared to be perfect for me -- including one that was essentially the job I was already doing, for my current employer. The only difference was that it was a permanent rather than temporary contract.
Result: you've guessed it! I came a close second, but the permanent job went to some guy from outside the institution. The result of this was, not only did I not get the job I applied for, but, since I was on a fixed-term contract that was coming to an end, I ended up 'losing' the one I had. (Okay, so it's more complicated than that, but that's what it felt like!)
I've applied for other jobs in the same field -- mind you, there have only been about five or six of these in the last year, so there haven't been many opportunities. And the opportunities that there have been? You've guessed it: I've been shortlisted, and told on several occasions that I'm appointable, but haven't been appointed. And, in two cases, the jobs that were advertised were frozen between advertisement and interview.
I've applied for other jobs in related fields, but I suffer from being too expensive while lacking the practical experience that I need. I have some more applications in the pipeline, which may or may not come to anything.
I'm thinking about a fairly radical change in career direction, but I've got to get it right, whatever I decide.
Meanwhile, volunteering. The careers advisor I spoke to at the university where I work seems pretty keen on the idea of volunteering, although I suspect that the benefit it has depends on how much experience you already have in the field you want to work in. If you already have a lot, why volunteer to get more?
People have said to me that I shouldn't 'settle' for volunteering; why work for nothing when I'm worth more than that? I would say to you, think about your reasons for wanting to volunteer. Then, if you think you are doing it for the right reasons, go for it!
In my case, I wanted to volunteer in a field in which I have very little work experience, but which is related to one of my leisure interests. (The reasons for my deciding to volunteer were several. First, I thought it would be a fun and constructive way for getting out of the city for a while -- a complete break with my current job at the end of the contract. Unlike you, I don't have children to worry about, so decided that I actually had the freedom to indulge myself for once. Second, it will give me some very... different... experience, which may or may not stand me in good stead in the future.)
In case anyone is interested, I've applied to work for an NGO, doing conservation work. At the moment, it looks as though I will be spending a month (perhaps more) on a farm on one of the Scottish islands in
February. (If this doesn't cure me of any romantic notions of Scottish life, nothing will!
) I gather, in amongst the various tasks I'll get to do, a certain amount of shovelling of cow dung is involved! The odd thing is, I'm really looking forward to it... which surely says something about my current job!
)
I'm sure that that is more than you wanted / needed to know. In short, Allie, don't be discouraged. Things will come right in the end. For both of us.
Good luck,
Chris
