Generation Y Bother

Originally published on www.huffingtonpost.co.uk

Following the Baby Boomers and Generation X, my generation tends to be referred to as Generation Y, or the millennial generation. This group of people are often cited as being born around 1982 and lasting up until 1999/2000. The generation since is as far as I know, yet to be named.

Generation Y has been getting some stick, so to speak, over the last few years, which mainly comes from them being referred to as Generation Me. This is because surveys found people in their teens and early twenties from this generation had an increase in narcissism, and are predicted to switch jobs more frequently than other generations, due to high expectations.

Because of this many young people today are often considered lazy, ungrateful and as often cited in the press; are unwilling to work. But if this is true of members of this generation then whose fault is it? Surely high degrees of narcissism and great expectations couldn't have developed without having a sense of purpose or righteousness bestowed upon you?

When we look back, young people over the past thirty years were quite lucky; they benefited from the ecological and technological boom, many people's parents were much more affluent during this time, and many people had the latest gadgets bought for them because their parents wanted to try them out, or because there was disposable income to buy them. During this time higher education also became much more accessible, which meant more people could go to University, no matter what your background, and consider a career doing something they hadn't previously. No longer where people confined to do what their parents did, or acquire a job for life that they may not enjoy simply because they needed a job.

All the time this was happening, children were constantly being told by parents and teachers they could be whatever they wanted to be, allowing aspirations of being an artist or a writer flourish in young people's minds. Add on top of this a media saturated society that allowed anyone to become famous through reality television, whether they were talented or not, and be adorned by fans across the country in various glossy magazines, its no wonder Generation Y began to think they could be anything they put their minds to.

When you think about all that was happening whilst Generation Y were growing up, there's no wonder that many may have a slightly overinflated ego or feeling of superiority. But when you add on top of this the economic downturn that hit whilst many were in their teens or early twenties, many of these promises from the media and their parents looked far more unattainable, which for a generation brought up on promises can become depressing.

Therefore we have been left with thousands of highly educated being told they can't do what they want to do and that their expensive education was almost pointless. This seems to be breading a new strand of Generation Y; Generation WHY bother?

Many young people now feel as though they have been let down and lied to about their futures, so feel as though there's no point trying any more, and yes some may feel that menial work is below them, but this is a minority.

But what the general population needs to realise is, although there is a percentage of Generation Y that feels this way, there is a much larger portion of said generation trying their best to work with what they have, and live the dreams and promises they were given in the best way they can. This includes doing unpaid work and a more menial job in order to live and hopefully further their careers, which is what the majority appear to be doing.

Despite some inflated egos that were probably achieved because of the hopes Generation X or the Baby Boomers bestowed upon them; the majority of Generation Y aren't thinking 'why bother?' they are thinking about how to be the next great generation, despite the opposition they encounter.

The Application Complication

Originally published on www.instant-impact.com

For those who are trying to break into the creative industries whether its in journalism, marketing, fashion, advertising or PR it can feel as though it’s easier to get through immigration or break into a bank vault, wearing a very fetching yet itchy balaclava, than kicking down that otherwise heavily padlocked door.

It’s an annoyance that will come to all of us who are trying to make it in a very difficult industry where unpaid internships, extremely long hours and a second job are the norm. But aside from the fact that for many, the majority of these jobs are located in London thus making it hard to afford the move from wherever you’re currently located, the biggest annoyance when it comes to trying to crack the creative industries is the dreaded application form.

We’ve all endured it and we’ve sighed a nauseating sigh of disbelief once we’ve downloaded the seemingly never ending questions on the application form that wants to know everything about you, the fact there isn’t a question regarding your inside leg measurement is actually surprising.

The first thing they make you want to do is scream, run away and hide under your duvet at the sheer thought of filling out this form. It’s a generally tedious task that asks you everything that is already on your CV, so after spending a large chunk of time copy and pasting your previous experience and education into some boxes that clearly haven’t been formatted properly by a company that demands excellent Microsoft Word skills in their job description, you can almost feel the laziness pour over you.

However this isn’t the end as you then have to make yourself sound like the best candidate for the job in the relevant experience section, which is just asking you to tell them how you match up to the criteria in the person spec, which isn’t only a monotonous task that can take hours but also makes you feel vastly pretentious as it makes it sound as though the sun shines out of your behind. If that isn’t bad enough the section after this asks for more information about you that you may not have covered in the previous section, so you find yourself mentioning rubbish like you once mowed your grandmothers grass and that you were a top student in primary school because you have run out of self promotion in the last section and quite simply can’t think of anything else they would want to know. Maybe you drop your inside leg measurement in as a thought.

Alas the application form isn’t the only annoying thing about applying for jobs within the creative industries. If they aren’t asking for a 500-page application form to be submitted then they’re asking for a CV, cover letter and in my case examples of previously published work. Now for many people who have to work as well as apply for these jobs they don’t have the time to have written much for other companies, because they’re either searching though umpteen pages of search results on job sites to find jobs that in then takes 3 hours to apply for, there simply aren’t enough hours in the day.

Usually after sending this they usually then ask you for a written piece that they assign to you, if they haven’t already asked for this in the first instance. The worst part is after spending hours doing this you rarely hear back or get a rejection email that can’t give feedback due to the high volume of applicants, it just makes you think “why do I even bother?”

I find myself asking what’s wrong with a simple application process of your CV and a brief hello in the email because surely they will find out if you’re right for the job at the interview? That’s if you even make it to the interview. But apparently this would make it far too easy for you and the people reviewing the applications may have to do some serious interviewing, when clearly they’d rather interview a small handful.

It’s a sad state of affairs that so many creative people are failing at cracking the industry because they just can’t get their big break due to excessive job searching and application forms, which can restrict the time to be creative and create published work, or simply because the vast size of the application form is just emphasising a wave of laziness that has already been brought on by months of daytime TV and unsatisfying menial work.

Inexperienced and Overqualified: A Catch 22 for Graduates

Originally posted on www.huffingtonpost.co.uk

After a regular visit to the job centre where I had to convince the person sat behind the desk that I had been looking for work on a daily basis, it got me thinking about why I was still in this predicament.

Six months after losing my job I still go to my fortnightly appointment and explain the fact that employers are still not employing me. The woman who deals with my claim told me I looked a bit fed up and maybe this was coming across at interviews. The comment annoyed me slightly as I'm not a stupid person, despite what some may say given the predicaments I've gotten myself into in the past, I'm educated to degree level and work extremely hard to try and get where I won't to be, yet I just seem to fall flat at the final hurdle.

It's not just me either; youth unemployment is extremely high these days given the current economic crisis. You only have to read BBC news and you will most likely find a story at some point during the week detailing these issues.

At the age of 22 I feel that a vast amount of people my age are caught in a catch 22 situation. That situation being; we are both under-experienced and overqualified.

From a young age we've been told we can be whatever we want to be whether it's a doctor, a teacher, a writer or even an Olympian. We have been told that education is the key. We were told to get our GCSE's and then when those were done we were told to get A-Levels, as GCSE's weren't quite good enough. Finally after a two-year slog to get those A-Levels completed we were told we needed to go to University to complete our education and secure ourselves a job.

However they never prepared us for the lack of job prospects when we left, or what to do if a situation like this should arise. I mean we can't blame our teachers for the economic crisis, but when you're told from around the age of seven that you can be whatever you want to be and this is how you do it, you never think of the negative outcomes of not quite reaching your goal.

So by this point after completing a degree you can safely say that you're qualified enough. But when it comes to applying for jobs you then have to compete against thousands of other applicants who were told the same thing as you, and some are lucky enough to get the job and others aren't.

As the clock ticks on more students finish University every year creating a new batch of competitors as you seemingly get left behind and re-join the queue at the job centre time and time again, as employers tell you; "you don't have enough experience."

Now a sensible thing to do whilst hunting for your dream job is to find something that will help you get by and live. Many go and work in bars or call centres or work as waiters, but this is where the overqualified situation raises its ugly head.

I myself had to deal with a situation like this a few weeks back when I attended an interview for a cleaning position. I've worked as cleaner before for two different companies, which were both on my CV. However the woman conducting the interview seemed more concerned with how overqualified I was than my previous experience, but as I said to a friend when you're poor and need money you'll do any job you can. Needless to say I didn't get the position.

It may have been because I was overqualified or not, and if it was I can understand where they are coming from as I may up and leave the job in six weeks time.

The simple fact is when you have friends, family, the job centre, the media and the government telling you to get off the sofa, stop watching Jeremy Kyle and go and get a job it can make you feel worthless because even though you are trying it's just not that easy and you're stuck in this catch 22 situation. As some people think you don't know enough to do one job and others think you know too much to do another. Sometimes there's just no winning but a lot of losing.

My unemployment/job centre frustration ....

So here I am at 3:15 in the afternoon sat on the floor drinking tea in a dressing gown and pyjamas, I am totally living the student lifestyle, the only problem is that I am no longer a student!

After 17 years of education and a nice big fat load of student debt I now finally find myself unemployed and with no money ... So much fun!

I finished uni nearly two months ago but only officially finished last week when my results came out ... Got a cheeky little 2.1 so that's always good. 

However now no one seems to want to employ me at all, I have GCSE's, A levels and a degree but the jobs I apply for doing what I want to do either don't reply or say I am not what they are looking for ... Please tell me how a recent journalism graduate with a decent degree isn't suitable for a graduate entry level journalism job? On top of that I have experience as a cleaner but no cleaning company wants me either, please tell me how I am not good enough to do a job I've done before?

So anyway after a trip to the job centre I was told I wasn't entitled to anything to help me live off because I haven't worked, which I have but due being a student I was exempt from paying tax but no one seems to care about that at the job centre. My trip was also topped off with a lovely stand outside in the freezing cold due to a fire alarm, so that absolutely made my day (detect the sarcasm?).

I just don't understand how some people who have never worked or done anything can claim so much money, yet someone who has put themselves through an education and worked can't have anything to help them until they find a job? Apparently if I had dependents I could, so no wonder so many people purposely get pregnant (and they do I've seen it myself).

So yeah here I am now ranting on a blog (that no one will probably read) because I have nothing to do except look at my little 'job diary' to show someone that I've been looking for a job, I really don't see how this folded piece of paper will help me find a job any quicker considering I was already doing exactly what they are asking me to do, but now I need to keep a record of it ... Such fun I must say!!!

Seriously this unemployment lark is getting a bit much now, the only daily company I have is the cast of Loose Women, I know more about Kate Thornton's  and Sherrie Hewson's love life than I know about my own (that's a lie but it sounded dramatic).

Anyway before I go on any further I am going to leave it at that ... At least I have a trip to Wales this week to help me through the constant boredom!!!!

Laters ....