This week was a bit different on the job application front. A recruitment person called on Monday and wanted to send in my CV for a science policy-ish type job here in Dublin. It would be absolutely awesome if I got it, but I get the feeling they're really looking for someone with more experience. I told her to go ahead and do it, but I have no high hopes for it. On Tuesday, I sent my CV to a specialist science recruitment company in the UK. Haven't heard back from them yet, so we'll see about that.
Also on Tuesday I had a phone interview with an HR person for the big UK company I applied to last week. I thought I did quite well, despite babbling on the HR-y questions like "Tell me about a time when you had a conflict with a co-worker." I hate those questions. Just ask me if I think I can do the damn job! Anyway, I thought I did well, and the interviewer said she'd send the transcript to the hiring manager and they'd let me know. So the next day they e-mailed and said they wouldn't be "progressing [my] application". At least they were quick. I wrote back to ask why, and was really impressed when the interviewer actually rang me back to talk to me about it. Apparently, she'd had more details from the hiring manager, and they were really looking for someone with more food industry experience. Once again, a better written job ad could have avoided all this. However, she also said that I presented myself well and that the interview was good. Big whoop.
On Wednesday I had a phone conversation (she kept saying "This is not an interview") for an American-based research and consultancy firm. They're looking to hire some people in Europe for their Europe-based clients. It sounds very business-y and out of my league, but at the end, she said she would set up an interview for me with their research director dude. At one point in the interview, she told me she'd just Googled my name, and, despite being entirely a-religious, I started praying that nothing incriminating came up. Luckily, she only found professional things about me. Whew.
Yesterday I worked on an application for an associate editor position with one of the big academic science journals. It requires a writing sample in the style of one of their articles. It's the most work I've had to do for an application yet, and I don't know how successful I'll be with it.
The weird thing is, since I've put my CV up on-line, I've had a few calls from recruiters, and after some talking about what my background and experience are (do they even read the CVs?), they've all admitted to me, baldly, that there are really no jobs here for me in Ireland. Ain't life great?
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3 comments:
It's like it must be a Dublin thing - because I'm having virtually the same experience - albeit in a different field.
Fingers crossed we both have some better luck soon!
I wish you luck too - it's the same with every special job/knowhow I guess... hope it turns out all right!
It´s crazy, I don´t know why the Government is so keen to push people in to science degrees if there is no work out there at the end. A friend of mine was in a similar situation -got a science degree, no jobs out there so went back and did a post grad but still nothing. In the end she went back to do a business course. I hope you have better luck! Sorry, I just realised that wasn´t a very shiny happy friday afternoon post.. Have a good weekend!
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