Shakespeare used to say that nothing is good or bad, it's just thinking that makes it so (or something like that). And I've often found this to be true. Sometimes buried inside a disappointment is the seed of a future success, although the opposite can also be true. This being the case, it's probably a good idea not to go too bonkers over success, or to get too crushed by disappointment, because one could quite easily be hiding behind the other.
Which also reminds me of this old Taoist parable.
This year's job search has been a bit like that. After months of dead ends job-wise I applied for a job at Waterstone's in May but in between me finding out about the job, and me going for an interview, the job had ceased to exist (budget cuts). And I was really disappointed that day, because I was desperate not to work in the cake factory anymore, and this seemed like a way out.
But indirectly out of that day, came my next job. This was because the manager at Waterstone's knew someone from Manpower, and the someone from Manpower was recruiting for Student Loans. And I wasn't going to apply to Student Loans, because I'd already been turned down by them twice, but because she suggested it, I tried again. And this time I got in.
But even the Manpower job, I didn't really want. When it was advertised it was to work evenings until 2 am, and I totally didn't want to do that, but because I couldn't find anything else at the time, I applied. Even after I'd passed all the pre-screening and the interview, I spent the next six weeks (between being offered the job and my projected start date) desperately trying to find something else, because of the unsociable hours.
But I couldn't find anything else, and so I was resigned to working evenings. Then the week before I was due to start, they rang me and offered me days, which was exactly what I wanted, but which had never been advertised as a possibility. And so, from the disappointment of having an interview for a job that didn't exist, via applying for a job I didn't want, I ended up in a really good job, working with people I really liked. It may have only lasted 4 months, but that 4 months was better than nothing, and it got me back into work, and got my confidence up again.
Then at the end of October, after working hard for those 4 months to try and earn myself a more permanent job with Student Loans, I was laid off, completely arbitrarily, along with all the other agency staff. And it was a big disappointment, because I was out of work again, and at first it seemed like all the effort I'd put in to be good, hadn't paid off.
A few days later, newly jobless again, my car broke and then my internet got accidentally cut off, and this is just adding insult to injury I thought. And having to sort these things out also delayed my planned trip into Middlesbrough to look for temporary shop work at Christmas.
The other thing which had delayed my trip into Middlesbrough, was waiting for the outcome of an interview at Marks and Spencers, which I'd had the week before. Because I thought I was likely to get that job, I didn't try too hard looking for anything else in the meantime. Only when it became apparent that I wasn't getting that job, did I get my finger out and get into Middlesbrough.
When I eventually did get myself into Middlesbrough, after being delayed twice by having to organise car and internet repairs, and after wasting time hanging around waiting for the results of an interview for a job I didn't get, I managed to walk into HMV just at the right time to bump into the store manager, who it transpired was looking for someone just like me. And so, by another series of accidents, I've got another job.
And so tomorrow I'm back to the drawing board again. I'm 44, and I'm facing another first day at work. And at the moment that feels like a good thing.
But as I know from what's gone before, only time will tell....
Post Script. Yep, once again triumph has turned to disaster. The job I was really pleased to get at HMV turned out within days to be a job I couldn't wait to get out of. I've got to hope the next one is better, this is driving me nuts!
Which also reminds me of this old Taoist parable.
This year's job search has been a bit like that. After months of dead ends job-wise I applied for a job at Waterstone's in May but in between me finding out about the job, and me going for an interview, the job had ceased to exist (budget cuts). And I was really disappointed that day, because I was desperate not to work in the cake factory anymore, and this seemed like a way out.
But indirectly out of that day, came my next job. This was because the manager at Waterstone's knew someone from Manpower, and the someone from Manpower was recruiting for Student Loans. And I wasn't going to apply to Student Loans, because I'd already been turned down by them twice, but because she suggested it, I tried again. And this time I got in.
But even the Manpower job, I didn't really want. When it was advertised it was to work evenings until 2 am, and I totally didn't want to do that, but because I couldn't find anything else at the time, I applied. Even after I'd passed all the pre-screening and the interview, I spent the next six weeks (between being offered the job and my projected start date) desperately trying to find something else, because of the unsociable hours.
But I couldn't find anything else, and so I was resigned to working evenings. Then the week before I was due to start, they rang me and offered me days, which was exactly what I wanted, but which had never been advertised as a possibility. And so, from the disappointment of having an interview for a job that didn't exist, via applying for a job I didn't want, I ended up in a really good job, working with people I really liked. It may have only lasted 4 months, but that 4 months was better than nothing, and it got me back into work, and got my confidence up again.
Then at the end of October, after working hard for those 4 months to try and earn myself a more permanent job with Student Loans, I was laid off, completely arbitrarily, along with all the other agency staff. And it was a big disappointment, because I was out of work again, and at first it seemed like all the effort I'd put in to be good, hadn't paid off.
A few days later, newly jobless again, my car broke and then my internet got accidentally cut off, and this is just adding insult to injury I thought. And having to sort these things out also delayed my planned trip into Middlesbrough to look for temporary shop work at Christmas.
The other thing which had delayed my trip into Middlesbrough, was waiting for the outcome of an interview at Marks and Spencers, which I'd had the week before. Because I thought I was likely to get that job, I didn't try too hard looking for anything else in the meantime. Only when it became apparent that I wasn't getting that job, did I get my finger out and get into Middlesbrough.
When I eventually did get myself into Middlesbrough, after being delayed twice by having to organise car and internet repairs, and after wasting time hanging around waiting for the results of an interview for a job I didn't get, I managed to walk into HMV just at the right time to bump into the store manager, who it transpired was looking for someone just like me. And so, by another series of accidents, I've got another job.
And so tomorrow I'm back to the drawing board again. I'm 44, and I'm facing another first day at work. And at the moment that feels like a good thing.
But as I know from what's gone before, only time will tell....
Post Script. Yep, once again triumph has turned to disaster. The job I was really pleased to get at HMV turned out within days to be a job I couldn't wait to get out of. I've got to hope the next one is better, this is driving me nuts!
"...an old Chinese farmer lost his best stallion one day and his neighbor came around to
express his regrets, but the farmer just said, "Who knows what is good and what is bad."
The next day the stallion returned bringing with him 3 wild mares. The neighbor rushed
back to celebrate with the farmer, but the old farmer simply said, "Who knows what is good
and what is bad." The following day, the farmer's son fell from one of the wild mares while trying
to break her in and broke his arm and injured his leg. The neighbor came by to check on the son
and give his condolences, but the old farmer just said, "Who knows what is good and what is bad."
The next day the army came to the farm to conscript the farmer's son for the war, but found him
invalid and left him with his father. The neighbor thought to himself, "Who knows what is good
and what is bad."