004.

There are many things that irritate me about job hunting.  These are the top ones:

1. Lack of proof reading  Recently I looked at a job advert that stated hours were "12am-8pm".  Now, I'm going to go out on a limb here and say that they meant midday, which, as most semi-intelligent people know, is 12pm.  This begs the question, if you can't tell time properly, why are you in charge of hiring people?  Then there's the little things, like 'teh' and 'wto'.  Really, people, if you don't start proof reading your adverts, I will.  Your in-boxes will be full of me correcting your mistakes and asking if your three year old typed it up for you.
2. Internships  I have no problem with internships as a concept, for some professions they're the only way you can get your foot in the door, but when I see companies advertising for interns every 3 months, to do the same work, I can only assume they're bastards who don't want to hire someone to do the job.  They'd rather use unpaid labour in the form of a bunch of people who hope this will lead to a job, but never does.  The worst one I saw was someone asking for an intern to, essentially, run their business.  Stop being cheap.  Hire people.
3. Degrees being essential  Now, I admit I might be a little sensitive about this because I left Uni halfway through and, now, even if I wanted to go back, I wouldn't be able to afford it.  There are some jobs where you need a degree in a subject that relates to that particular profession, and that's fine.  It's the rest that bothers me.  I'd love to know what use a degree is for being a secretary, or a receptionist.  Or, in fact, a sales assistant.  What exactly does having a degree bring to those jobs that would be missing if someone without a degree was hired?  Not many people want to hear this, but having a degree doesn't make you smarter than everyone else.  Doesn't make you better than everyone else.  It just means you have a piece of paper that shows you studied a subject for three years. 
4. Inability to spot interchangeable skills  I used to work at a club in Camden.  I've also done a lot of voluntary work that involved dealing with a wide range of people in a very professional manner.  Between the two, I've probably dealt with any sort of customer you could care to throw at me, but for most employers this doesn't translate as experience.  Personally, I think the fact that I worked at a club in Camden and was never arrested for punching someone shows just how excellent my customer service skills are, but when they look at my CV and see that I worked at a club, all they think is 'Hostess'.  And I don't want to be a hostess forever, it's tiring, your hours are funky, you spend 80% of your time being hit on and then you have to get nightbuses home.  Besides, I'm almost 26, there's a whole new group of hotesses coming up the ranks, I'm over it!

So there we have it.  Job hunting, especially at the moment, is all too often a thankless task with no result at the end of it.  Make you wonder why we bother, doesn't it?  Oh, wait, to survive.  Can I not just marry a rich man instead and spend my days writing and watching movies?  No?  Oh, alright.

xo