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March 29, 2024, 01:11:14 PM

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Advice on Careers Advice

Started by 23 Daves, September 02, 2005, 10:46:47 PM

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23 Daves

Well, this is yet another one of those "please help" type threads, but I've a sneaking suspicion it will be relevant to a lot of other Verbwhores as well.

I'm 32 and my career has gone way off track.  Some of you will remember I did some pretty low-grade freelance editing work for a publishing house a couple of years ago, but the opportunities in that direction seem to have utterly dried up - not only have the house in question made tons of their staff redundant, they've also shoved them in front of me on the "freelance" or short-term contract list, just to ensure they can feed their families now and then (which, I will concur, is fair enough, and I'm actually glad such corporate loyalty still exists.  Murdoch would probably just take the cheapest option available).  

Beyond that, my contacts are shite, and since returning from travelling most of my jobs have been useless.  The first, at a university, was working for a particularly disorganised bunch of managers who were too busy arguing with each other to actually get anything done, leaving me often with nothing to do.  When the project collapsed, I was made redundant (after four months).  

My present job is even worse - badly paid, largely consists of form-filling, and managed by a boss who actually complained to my agency on that really hot day a few days ago that I was "sweating too much" in her un-air conditioned office and "had BO" as a result.  Hardly fucking surprising, I mean, I was trying to keep it under control, but when you're working in a 1950s greenhouse without fans or air conditioning, then sometimes nastiness occurs.  I feel embarrassed bringing this up to you lot, quite honestly, but trust me I'm not normally a social stink-bomb.  Anyway, I'm possibly planning to tell her to shove it up her arse on Monday.  The pay's an insult anyway.

What's holding me back right now with agencies and at job interviews is that I just don't know what the hell I want to do.  I keep giving vague replies like "Um, I'd like to work in admin and maybe work up to middle management", but truth be told, I haven't the foggiest what direction to leap in, and know for a fact I'd make an appalling middle man.  This gets me funny looks.  I'd like to edit and write, but the insecurity of the freelance working patterns (which are most common) are something I'm tired and slightly afraid of now, and to be honest my experience isn't really good enough for anything other than a Junior job, which seem to come along once in a blue moon and generally get taken by graduates (or worse still, done for free by kids with wealthy families).

So then... does anyone know of a good, cheap careers advice place anywhere?  Or anyone online that offers good advice?  Has anyone been in a similar situation before, and if so, how did you resolve it?  Just wondering, like.  Sorry for waffling on.

Lt Plonker

Quote from: "23 Daves"I'd like to edit and write.

What sort of things? Articles? Fiction?

23 Daves

Quote from: "Lt Plonker"
Quote from: "23 Daves"I'd like to edit and write.

What sort of things? Articles? Fiction?

Anything, really - though I have to say that fiction is probably out of my league.

I could give the universities a try, but I think they generally tend to refuse advice to anyone other than paying students.

Might give the university who made me redundant a ring, though, and start trowelling on the guilt.