Tag: unemployment

Fact worse than fiction

Mia2 Comments

any questionsIf things would be so much easier, I could actually get something done. But the fact is worse than fiction. It doesn’t matter what you do. Things are always made complicated. Then again if it was easy everybody could do it.

I’m on a course about entrepreneurship. It mostly happens online. There already been two meetings with the group of 25. There will be 3 more. It’s always nice to meet new people but most of the time it’s not my cup of tea. Everyone else seems to be bonding so easily. It feels like my introductions put people off. I absolutely hate speaking in front of strangers. I always forget to say things I’ve thought about it. After my introduction, no one asks me anything. Maybe it’s just a Finnish thing. Maybe people just don’t think I’m interested enough. I don’t look for friendship but I wish there would be some connection where I feel comfortable. I’m like a fish out of the water. I’m not sure if I really belong to this course. Especially when networking is so important if you want to have your own business.

Speaking of that. In entrepreneurship there’s so much you have to do. About taxes and all that. If you’re unemployed and start your own, you’re in the hands of the job centre. They’re the ones who decide if you’re a part-time or full-time entrepreneur. It would be much easier if you weren’t signed to their books. But if you’re not, you won’t get unemployment benefits. You don’t get success overnights so you have to live on welfare for a while. If things were fiction, you could just start your business and clients will roll in. But the fact is, it’s not that simple. You have to work on it so maybe working for someone else would be better. But what can you do when you can’t find anything. It’s either entrepreneurship or falling down the society crack.

You probably don’t understand what I write but I just write what I think. It doesn’t have to make sense. If it does, then it’s alright. Sometimes I doubt my writing is confusing and the subject change too quickly in one post. But that’s how my mind works. Blogging won’t save my life but that’s not the point. It’s a hobby and that fact will always be better than fiction.

Cavity of employment

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cavity in a treeThe endless talk about unemployment. It’s the same everywhere. There are jobs but not the right ones. It’s the cavity of employment. It’s like a cavity in a tooth. When a hole is small, it’s easier to fix. But if you let it be, small things become bigger. When people say you can find a job if you really want to, they probably can do any work they can. But if you have restrictions, like allergies, there are jobs you can’t do. In some occupations, there are limited jobs and they don’t appear like a package on a conveyor belt. You can’t risk your own health in a workplace that isn’t good for you. They say you should study to an occupation where there are jobs. Yeah, like a nurse rolls eyes Sorry but not everyone is suitable for that job.

I don’t how many degrees you need to have to get a job. If you apply to study, nothing is certain if you even get in. All these job search courses are useless. It employs other people who have the courses but not the unemployed who take part in them. The Internet is full of information about job search so you don’t need to get it from a course. The problem in a job search is that no matter what you do, no one still don’t find interest in you because there’s always someone better. More social or a lot more job experience.  You need a lot of luck in job search and the bigger your social circle is, the better. But what if you have none of that, what then?

Not everyone has relatives or friends who could help you get a job. You can’t really go to LinkedIn and add random people to your list. It’s not Twitter. How can you make contact with anybody if you never been lucky enough to meet people? You might meet people and talk to them but that’s about it. Especially if you’re socially awkward or are not good with people. It seems the only way to get a job is with connections. It’s easier to put the blame on the unemployed. Some people think it’s their own fault they don’t have a job. The person who looks for a job can’t choose who gets it. All they can is to do is trying their best. There will always be people without jobs but the attitudes must change. Everyone who can work should have the same opportunities to get a job. It shouldn’t matter if they’re young, experienced or with a disability. Most people want a job but they can’t get one because they don’t suit the companies image. Or some other excuse. Unemployed only want someone to believe in them. If only employers would think less about money and more about hiring people without a job. Maybe that’s too much to ask.

Not extravagantly cozy yet

Mia5 Comments

relaxed wool socksSo I went to that job interview yesterday. The job wasn’t the way I expected though. But I still managed to get through it with a clean slate. The job is through Studentwork which is a Nordic recruiting company who help graduated to find jobs. I did forget to say a few things just like I thought I would. One of them was to the question, what makes me different from other applicants. I should have mentioned I’m bilingual. It probably wouldn’t have changed much. Maybe I gave the same answer to a different question but it was quite similar anyway. I wasn’t very nervous before it. I thought I will get through it and give the best answers I can. I mentioned I’m careful when I meet new people but I’m always working on it. This interview wasn’t the final one though. If the employer gets interested, I get another interview. I will find out next week or so.

Even if I don’t get picked for this job, I still have that job interview experience. There is no time to be cosy. It’s a bit extravagant this job searching thing. Next year here in Finland people are forced to look for jobs or they get fewer unemployment benefits. It’s called the active model. It’s probably the stupidest idea to increase employment. You can’t buy a job from a store. No matter how active you try to be, not everyone will have the chance to find a job. It will also give the employers a lot more work to do. The government is trying to say that it’s all the unemployed fault they can’t find anything. Some things you can’t control. The job centre is a joke too. They claim the try to find work for people but that’s nonsense. I speak from experience. Like my mother used to say, you should hit your fist on the table and tell them you’re serious. Figuratively speaking, of course. If you want to do things, you have to do it yourself.

All the schools and internships I’ve been to, I always found them myself. When you apply for educations it’s not sure you get in. The same with real jobs with real pay. You can send all the applications with all your heart’s content but yet no one wants to hire you. You’re not in control of the result. You’re neither fit for the job or you’re not the person they’re looking for. I wonder if politics even know what job search really is. They have unrealistic views on it and they think they’re smarter than the average people. It’s so easy for a person who has a job to make up solutions how to reduce unemployment. Job search is not fun. Everyone hates it. Most people would rather have a job than live on benefits. It’s a complex process to find a job these days. You just can’t walk into a company and get hired as soon as you step in. Maybe that could have worked 60 years ago but now it’s totally different. It’s who you know that counts and how can you get that connection if you can’t find a job? Everyone doesn’t have that friend or relative with good connections.

I’ve been in the same job search circle for years and my dislike of dealing the with job centre is getting stronger each year. I don’t want any of these 9 euros per day or wage subsidies that they seem to shove my way. I want a real job with real pay. If I was younger, it would be different but it doesn’t help anymore. We’ll see how it will go with this job. I’ll only know next year what things will come. I hope it’s on a positive note.