No I'm not talking about the state of the Australian public service now that the 24 November election has been called, I'm talking about my life in Edinburgh. When I was planning out my travels (as well as agreeing to pre-determined dates for travel) I didn't really think about how this would impact my life up here. I always intended to take my time settling in, enjoy the Edinburgh festivals and find somewhere permanent to live without putting too much pressure on myself to find a job immediately. So I spent the last two weeks in August walking around, exploring, watching shows, soaking up the festival vibe, relaxing back into a more stable life after five weeks of travelling around Eastern Europe on a pretty tight schedule.
By the time I found my fantastic new flatshare and settled in here, it was early September. At this stage, my Greece trip was only four weeks away. I registered with three recruitment agencies but they weren't having much luck finding me short-term jobs. With their assurance that they could find me work once I returned from my holiday, I accepted that I was looking at another few weeks of unemployment, shifted into "caretaker mode" and resolved to tighten the purse strings. Drawing on some more of my Aussie savings, I had a fantastic time entertaining the friends I had visiting from London, York and Aus during the rest of September.
Greece was amazing, and on arriving back in the UK the first thing I did was contact all my recruiters in addition to signing on with a new agency. Two weeks in and still no work has eventuated. Now they're complaining that it's difficult to find roles that end before 30 November, which is my last day in Edinburgh before travelling to London and on to Australia for the summer. And it's not like I'm being fussy here. Despite my work background and experience, I've told them I'll fill in on reception, be a filing monkey, type letters, anything!
So I don't know if this is typical of the Edinburgh job market, whether they just don't go in for short-term temping assignments, or whether the four recruitment agencies I've chosen are completely rubbish. Regardless, the thought of another five weeks in caretaker mode with no income is annoying me immensely. I'm now inquiring about working at an internet cafe with one of my flatmates. The money is abysmal, but it might just mean I get paid to play on Facebook and piss around online. Which, if you think about it, technically makes it my dream job :-)
By the time I found my fantastic new flatshare and settled in here, it was early September. At this stage, my Greece trip was only four weeks away. I registered with three recruitment agencies but they weren't having much luck finding me short-term jobs. With their assurance that they could find me work once I returned from my holiday, I accepted that I was looking at another few weeks of unemployment, shifted into "caretaker mode" and resolved to tighten the purse strings. Drawing on some more of my Aussie savings, I had a fantastic time entertaining the friends I had visiting from London, York and Aus during the rest of September.
Greece was amazing, and on arriving back in the UK the first thing I did was contact all my recruiters in addition to signing on with a new agency. Two weeks in and still no work has eventuated. Now they're complaining that it's difficult to find roles that end before 30 November, which is my last day in Edinburgh before travelling to London and on to Australia for the summer. And it's not like I'm being fussy here. Despite my work background and experience, I've told them I'll fill in on reception, be a filing monkey, type letters, anything!
So I don't know if this is typical of the Edinburgh job market, whether they just don't go in for short-term temping assignments, or whether the four recruitment agencies I've chosen are completely rubbish. Regardless, the thought of another five weeks in caretaker mode with no income is annoying me immensely. I'm now inquiring about working at an internet cafe with one of my flatmates. The money is abysmal, but it might just mean I get paid to play on Facebook and piss around online. Which, if you think about it, technically makes it my dream job :-)
No comments:
Post a Comment