Jobseeking

[fearmeforiampink]

So, I need a job.

Not neccessarily a full time job; not paying rent does wonders for reducing the 'costs' section of budgeting. But I still need an income for paying everything else.

So, much as I've prevaricated about it, time for job hunting.

I'm currently planning to look for temp work, probably office-based, as I understand London has a lot of that available, though I'm open to other suggestions. I'm not especially looking for stuff that's particularly long term or you have to fight to get into (which is why I'm not looking for

Skills-wise I have:

A Degree in Economics. A 2:2 aka Desmond.

Almost a degree in Graphic design. IIRC, having completed the 2nd year, I've effectively got an HND. I'll actually have a HND when I tell them I'm definitely not going back to finish off, or not doing so any time soon at least, which I'm not really wanting to do, even though I'm fairly sure I'm not going back.

Reasonable A Levels and GCSE's, somewhat focused in maths (2 A levels and 3 GCSE's in it)

Stage 1 qualification in British Sign Language (which means I can understand it, but I'm not qualified to be a translator)

Four-finger touchtyping, with fair speed and good accuracy, and a typing qualification from when I was in 6th Form. If it needs to be said, I'm good with computers, though not a programmer.

A good amount of experience with Adobe Creative Suite (Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign), some experience with the Corel equivalents to those, and a general understanding of graphic design, DTP, and so forth.

Extensive committee experience, having spent three years heavily involved in the student union, including being in charge of its constitution, and Chairing the Students Union for half a year.

Some experience of being a doorman and an equipment mover, from a Heeford choral music festival I've helped out in a few times.

Very little job experience beyond that

So I'm currently planning to beat my CV into a reasonable shape and track down what temping agencies there are in the area around me. Probably with a jobseeking buddy, which will make it a bit more fun and a bit less stressful, hopefully.

Suggestions would be greatfully received: Particular agencies to try, tactics (though I know the 'keep on pestering them about getting you something'), and whatever else.

Thank'ee all.

In other news, London is London, I may be developing a polution cough, or it might just be a cough. Maelstrom is coming up, and I need red facepaint, and to find my horns. Zeitgeist (London oWoD Minds Eye Theatre LARP) is fun, if somewhat silly in the way that MET is, especially high-powered MET. I'm likely to be getting a tenant/housemate/sofa-stealer soon, which will increase my non-electronic human contact, which is good.

Comments

[dbsurfeit.livejournal.com]

I love CV writing. Half truths are great. Quick pointers:

- Your degree and HND (and do list it as an HND; if they check it up, you should have that clarified by then) are good, but not essential. Don't worry too much about elaborating on them, but do mention/make up particular areas of applicable interest/expertise.
- Committee experience is a real strength. Make sure that your 'Volunteering' section is a major part of your CV, and you detail and exaggerate your responsibilities in a flashy conceptual manner.
- If your work experience was occasional, put the dates down as though it was continuous and mention that it was 'part-time work'. Doorman and equipment mover is 'a broad variety of tasks, from customer service to manual labour'. If anyone else was working at the same time, this means you did it 'as part of a close-knit team'.
- Put in a 'Profile' section at the beginning. This should be a sentence mostly filled with positive adjectives, plus a paragraph describing what you want to do and where you want to go. This cover-page-lite is a great way of adding a distinct touch.
- You're IT savvy. Put your competencies (even obvious ones like Office, Windows, Mac OS) together in a separate section. This is very important to a temp employer.
- Make a nice Interests section that details your hobbies and activities in an engaging fashion. Always include something social, something mental and something physical, even if this is misleading. Roleplaying can actually be sold pretty well, esp. if you've GMed. "...where I mediated the creative input of a number of participants to create an engaging combined narrative."

[freddiefraggles.livejournal.com]

Also, "doorman" can be translated as "Front of House duties".

Good luck with the hunt, and probably see you in London to do the same in a couple of months at this rate.