A Torturous Reality - Applying for Jobs

There comes a time in every person's life where they have to grab life by the horns and take charge of the way their life is headed. For many, especially for University Grads like myself, this means actually applying for jobs in their field of study. Then again for some, okay so maybe for most, there are no openings in their field and they are therefore forced to apply for basically anything. I am currently faced with having to go through this torturous activity and it is not only causing me to re-assess my life and career goals, it is also incredibly discouraging!

As you may or may not know, I have recently received all of my credits in order to receive my B.A in English Literature and Classical Civilizations from Concordia University, and am currently a few payments and reviewing processes away from receiving said degree. And for the past couple of weeks, okay so for the past couple of months, I have been in major denial over the whole thing and have been continuously postponing the whole job application process. This evening, however, I reached my boiling point and decided, with the help of my best friend, to write up my CV and start searching/applying for jobs online.

The process of creating a CV (a resume) is incredibly daunting. Especially for someone with literally no paying job experience! Instead I had to write about all of my volunteer work that I did on summer and Holiday breaks during College and University, and the work I did in the clubs during College. So basically my CV is incredibly short and consists of the fact that I am a hard worker, fast learner, semi-bilingual, and have volunteered as a Kindergarten Teacher's Assistant, Elementary School English Exam invigilator and correcter, helped Special Needs students with Video/Audio projects, and was a club secretary in charge of meeting minutes, membership, and event planning and organization. Oh and of course, as a Summer tutor in multiple subject.

So all in all, my CV basically screams the fact that I have been accomplishing nothing in terms of my career in writing and editing, and have in fact been helping my immediate world learn the read and write better English. Hopefully this fact is something that will interest my future employers because it is all the experience I have! I am so incredibly discouraged by how I've been living my life until now. I mean, I have no job experience that actually counts, and the list of references that I will supply upon demand should theoretically consist of the principal and teachers of the elementary school I volunteered at and the people I tutored during the summer. Well I have no idea how to get into contact with said teachers and principal anymore, since I strongly believe that they have either retired or changed schools. So no go there. And the people I tutored, were my cousins, and I was actually a stay at home Nanny and tutor. So that volunteer work was for my Aunt. Who I know would be willing to be a reference for me, but I mean she's my aunt, and does that really count?

The next process on this tumultuous ride was actually searching for an English Writing job in the Montreal Area. Anyone who knows Montreal, knows that, despite being a multicultural city, it is predominantly a French province with tons of job opportunities for those who are exceptionally fluent in French. I am, despite growing up in the Montreal area, am predominantly English with a moderate level of French knowledge. Basically what I mean is that I can read and understand written French with little problems, I can fumble my way through a French conversation, and with the help of a French dictionary or Translator I can write in French with little problems. But my abilities in French is NO WHERE near the kind of experience one needs to survive in the job world of Montreal.

Over the last couple of weeks, I've been periodically scanning the job postings on several websites (Craigslist, Monster, Careerjet, Jobs Montreal etc) and have noticed that most of the jobs in my area are requiring their potential employees to be fluently bilingual and have prior experience. I have neither.

Luckily, this evening I found some great postings for experienced and semi experienced English writers in the Montreal area. And all I needed to do was to email in my CV along with some sample writing pieces for them to look at. Of course, being an avid writer and English Lit Major I had a tremendous difficulty finding suitable pieces to send in. (Mostly because I am probably my own worst critic, as well as the fact that the piece I am the most proud of is a work in progress that I hope to get published one day and don't really want others to see and potentially steal). But I was able to chose three or four pieces that I've written and am happy about and submitted 3 applications this evening.

YAY ME! lol

I am incredibly worried now. I have no idea if I will be getting a call back from any of these companies, and if they do call back what I'll do, what'll happen etc. And if they don't call back? What then?

O.M.G. I'm so nervous!!!!

Nope, scratch that whole thing. I am an incredibly positive person, and as such I strongly believe that they will all want to hire me because I am ultra fab and perfect for their companies. ;)

That, however, is not going to stop me from applying at more positions tomorrow and the days following until I have applied everywhere I possibly can and have officially accepted the job of my dreams! or at least the job that'll best help me pursue those dreams.

I think that's it for tonight. I basically just wanted to express how torturous the whole application and searching process is and how troubled I've become because of it. If you have any tips on how to make this process any easier on myself, or if you have any tips, advice or information about the Montreal job Market. I will really appreciate all the help I can get!

Peace, Love and Happiness to all!