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By Rahma Unemployment sucks. I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again. Perhaps it’s not a scandalous statement, but one that people will unanimously agree upon. Unemployment has become more of a trending struggle recently. We see it every day: either a large number of people are abruptly let go from a big corporation, or recent graduates are grappling with landing a job in the first place. Needless to say, it feels like we’re collectively screaming into the void, constantly fighting with a system that is seemingly designed to make us feel like failures. So, in the cycle of resume editing and email writing, here are some things that might have helped me be less harsh and more graceful towards myself.
Needless to say, when you’re suddenly faced with a lot of free time, it is easy to start thinking negatively of yourself. And in a world where productivity equals value, your self-esteem naturally takes a deep hit. So it’s important to remember that, as urgent as it feels to apply for different jobs and gain career experience, it is critical to be gracious to yourself in the process. You are worthy and deserving of respect regardless of whether you’re employed or not. So take the time to ground yourself in different activities and prioritize your wellbeing during this time.
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By Rae A part of independently developing your finances and skills - that many people hate, but most of us have to go through - is rejection from a job. For some, it may put them off from applying to other jobs, or, at the very least, cause them to become hesitant. It may be a confirmation of your insecurities and perhaps trigger some anxiety. But I want to talk about how such a common experience can encourage self-development.
Some jobs require a traditional interview that you carry through like a formal conversation. A trial day is like an interview, but instead of answering questions, you perform the job you would typically do if you were given the role. The interviewer then judges whether you will be a good fit for the job by reviewing your performance once your shift is over. I recently attended my very first trial day, but it, unfortunately, did not go as planned. Before the trial day, I was initially quite nervous that I would do something wrong. On the day, however, I started getting the hang of what I needed to do pretty soon after it was explained. And as this happened, it became enjoyable to feel like I was contributing to something. But seeing that welcoming glint in the interviewer’s eye at the beginning of the trial day, turn into a sort of sympathy by the end of the trial, stirred up a sense of dread. I ended up just below the target performance score, and so underperformed. I definitely was disappointed, not only because it wasn’t the first of its kind, but also because of financial constraints. And so, my main way of handling such a thing is dealing with it in silence. But I soon found that using the isolation for reflection, rather than waiting for the feeling to pass, was a better way to recuperate. As a perfectionist myself, job rejections make me feel like I’m not good enough. But I recently came across a brief video, that same day, that quite harshly brought me back down to reality. Shortly and more compassionately, the video said:
This seems quite obvious, but I find it difficult when I don’t accomplish the expectations that I have set for myself - no matter how unrealistic they are. It’s something I’m currently working on, and so the advice here is for you, as much as it is also for me:
I learned that overthinking affected my performance during the interview, and comparing myself to others during the trial day not only worsened my performance but also fuelled my overthinking. Overall my self-perception at the end of the day was reduced, even if I did enjoy my time there.
That was one of the ways I quickly recovered from the setback. Yes, it’s difficult after multiple interviews, but turning it into a learning experience builds you up for the next time. It’s very easy to become discouraged from any type of rejection, and it’s especially easy after many job refusals to associate that rejection with your self-worth. But that doesn’t mean you are incapable, perhaps it just means that you have more to learn about yourself, and about the role. You tried the best you could, with the knowledge you had. By Kenzie For almost everyone, there will come a time in their life when they decide to leave their job. This can be for many different reasons - they may have found a new job, they may be moving, they might be retiring or they might just feel like it’s time for a change. Whatever the reason is, it often isn’t an easy decision to make or a pleasant experience to go through.
I very recently left my first ever job. Since October 2018, I have been working at a college as a digital innovation assistant, supporting staff in using technology in the classroom with learners. I loved my job, and the people I worked with - however, I really hated the people I worked for. I’m talking about the big bosses at the top of the pyramid and the company in general. They made a lot of decisions that I didn’t agree with and it got to the point where it was damaging to my mental health to stay. I’d been browsing LinkedIn for a few months and interviewing for the odd job and in March 2022, I was offered a new position as an e-learning customer service advisor at a qualifications organisation. It was pretty much everything I had been looking for so you can bet that I leapt at the opportunity. It was such a relief to be surrounded by new people and new challenges. One thing I didn’t look forward to though, was going through the leaving process in my current role. The leaving process can be really difficult, for both the person leaving and the company they are leaving. No matter if it’s the right decision or not, it can be really uncomfortable and upsetting to leave. The following points will talk you through the process I had to go through and how to make each step a little easier. 1. Hand your notice in The first thing and most important thing I had to do was to make my resignation a formality and hand in my notice. This is a written letter to your employers telling them that you are leaving. Within this notice, you can give them your leaving date and you can also thank them for the time you’ve spent there if you wish. I had to hand in my notice to my immediate line manager and my HR/human resources department. I found this really difficult because I was scared. Handing in my notice made it real, made it so there was no turning back, and I was worried that my boss would be angry, but, I needn’t have worried - both were very understanding. To make the whole notice process easier, do it as soon as possible. Don’t try and procrastinate or put it off because of fear. Simply bite the bullet and go for it. If you don’t know what to say, there are plenty of templates online and the main thing to remember is to be polite. 2. Tie up any loose ends Once my resignation was accepted, I still had a month to go in my role. It was time for me to start tying up any loose ends I had. I loved the people I worked with so it wasn’t fun telling them I was leaving. I felt guilty that I was moving on and leaving them behind. The most crucial thing to me was to make sure that these people who had relied on me for support weren’t left high and dry. I wanted them to still feel supported and I feel that this goes for any profession. Make a list of your ongoing jobs and responsibilities before you go and finish any jobs that you can before you go. Anything that you can’t finish, make a note of it and have a comprehensive handover with someone before you go and make sure it is clear who you’re working with, what you’ve covered so far and what is left to be covered. It will mean a lot to those you’re leaving behind. 3. Say goodbye to your colleagues My colleagues are some of the kindest people I have ever met and I knew from the start that the hardest part of leaving was going to be leaving them. They are all incredible people and I miss them but it was just an inevitable side effect of my resignation. However, because they were and are still so special to me, I knew I had to give them a proper goodbye. The day I left, I wrote them a long email thanking them for everything and within that was an invite to my leaving party. It was important to me to still see them after we stopped working together. If your colleagues are as amazing as mine were, make sure to organise a time to meet up and celebrate your time together and keep in touch. We even have a group chat which we use to talk. It’s really lovely and it’s the perfect way to make sure that those special people are still a part of your life. 4. Exit interview The final part of my role and the last task I would ever do for the college was to fill in an exit interview form. This was by far the easiest part of my role because I just had to tell the truth and speak from the heart. The form came from HR and it asked me lots of questions about what my favourite part of my job was, what my least favourite part was, what I thought about the wage, what I thought about the company as a whole etc etc I didn’t find this difficult as I didn’t particularly like the company or have a good impression of them so I wasn’t afraid to tell them what I truly thought without repercussions. But I know for some people, an exit interview could be difficult especially if it’s in person. My only advice is just to be polite (even though I maybe wasn’t as polite as I should have been) and be honest. Things won’t change if people are lying to them about what they can improve on. Now I’m in my new role and it’s great. I have never been happier and leaving was definitely the right decision for me, even if it was difficult. Don’t be afraid to take the leap - the next best thing could be just around the corner. At some point in your life, you will want to go out and get a job for yourself. Sometimes it’ll be for money, to increase productivity, to get experience, or anything else really! One of the most requested items employers will ask for is a resume. So, what exactly is a resume?
A resume is a document that you will submit to your employer. It is a summary of your experience, contact information, skills, awards, references, and your goals for the job. The paper can usually be sent digitally or handed face to face, prior to interview or during the interview. In some situations, your employer may say that a resume is optional to turn in on the application you’re filling out. But should you still put a resume in? You probably should, as it shows you are prepared and they get to know your work ethic better. Next though, let’s go over more on what a resume includes. Please keep in mind this article will be going over a chronological resume, the most common and most preferred. Here are the four common things a resume consists of: Basic Profile – This is a big part of the resume, showing who you are and what you hope to achieve. Contact Information – How should people contact you? You can list your email, phone numbers, LinkedIn, and any other contacts you can think of. This is very important so that employers, managers, and fellow employees can contact you easily and don’t need to guess. Experience – What job or volunteer experience do you have behind you? This can be from your online moderation experience, any type of jobs, or anything that shows your responsibility. If you have extensive job history, put down the ones that are most related to the job you’re applying to. Skills – What can you do? This can be soft or hard skills, soft skills being skills like customer service, communication, teamwork, and more. Hard skills are skills like your typing speed, languages, and more. Just think of hard skills being able to be measured and soft skills being your character as an employee. AVOID using the linear points for this. Linear points are the items that say “3/10 with Microsoft Word”, and “1/5 with driving a truck” on resumes. Don’t use these as it doesn’t actually show how good you are at this skill and the employer doesn’t know how to measure it by. Are as an employee to increase the chances of getting the job, so contact your teachers and past co-workers (if you have any) to get a reference. So, a chronological resume will be mainly all of the key components up above, but how should you be writing this? 1) Don’t use bright colors but soft dim colors. You want your resume to be pleasant to the eye and not something that can make the eyes go sore. It’s more common to do a black and white essay, but you can use pops of colors as well (as long as they’re saturated). You can also do fully colored resumes, but make sure they’re saturated and balanced. 2) Be accurate and honest with your information. Make sure to put the dates of when you started and left past jobs, know what you did there and be truthful about what skills you have. If an employer finds out you’ve been lying, it can get you in trouble. 3) Be updated. Most likely you will use your resume multiple times, so make sure to update your information depending on the job, time period, and for your updated experience, education, and skills. This will show you’re on top of your responsibilities. 4) Don’t rush; make it neat. Make sure to not use Comic Sans but perhaps Time News Roman as a font. Use black or white text depending on your colors only and make sure it’s readable. Use columns to organize the resume to be more appealing and accurately name each section. Don’t forget to proofread it as well! 5) Be confident! Be confident in your experience and skills. Confidence is a huge plus because it shows how ready you are for the job and your overall mood about the job. If you act sluggish, they will get the wrong impression that you don’t want to be there. Show them that you do! Always feel free to look into resumes more and build on it by yourself. Try to make your own form of resume by testing out Word or Google Docs. Both programs are great for building them. You can also ask those around you such as teachers, parents, and friends. Now you know how to effectively write a resume, what’s included in a resume, and what to expect. Good luck out there! Emi Work experience can range from lots of different things and reactions, from excitement to dread and nerves to downright fear. Well, I’m here to shed a little light on work experience as a whole and to hopefully reassure you that it isn’t as scary as you may think. In the UK, a lot of schools designate a week(or more) to enable their students (usually those in Year 10 or 11) to go out and practice helping out in a real-life workplace. My school was a bit stingy and forced us to do everything for ourselves- which was very daunting- but, I think that most schools that enforce work experience tend to help you out along the way. The first thing I’d recommend to do is think about what you are interested in. It can even be something that you’re partially interested in and want to learn more about, even if it’s a career path you are 90% sure that you don’t want to go into, you still can’t allow yourself to disclude it entirely. This opportunity is less likely to show you the exact career path you’re meant for, but it’s still important to keep your options open, and with this, it can also give you an insight into what scenarios you hate, don’t mind, and enjoy! Secondly, If you’re interested, I would highly suggest checking to see if any local businesses offer work experience placements to students like yourself. With this stage, I would also recommend asking around to all associates and people that you are close with. They’ll likely know someone who works at a place you’d be interested in working for, and you may even get the placement easier because of knowing this person. I struggled to find a placement, even though I started searching for positions super early, I just couldn’t find a place I was truly invested in that was close enough for my parents to drive me back and for every day for a week. Luckily, when I told my form tutor this, he told me about a friend of his who worked at a vet, and from there, I managed to get a placement, even though they rarely take in students, simply due to this acquaintance. Connections are important when it comes to student occupations. If you still can’t find any student placements, use any online resources that are available to you. My school gave us the link to a website which listed loads of businesses that were open to having work-experience students, and yours may do the same. Although most of these were too far away from us to be realistic, doing this search gave me a good insight into the range of job prospects there are in the world, even if I didn't take much interest in any of them. So, by this stage of the process, you should have a list of around 5-10 possible placements that you are interested in. Before contacting these businesses, I would recommend you talk with your guardian/parent about each of them, and do your research on these businesses, verify that they are all commodious to you. It’s also important to know that you will need to be able to get transport there and back for the entirety of your placement, and this is something you should consider at this stage. After the researching of these businesses, you will have a remainder of about 3-6 companies, the next step is to send an email to them. This should include your name, the name of your school, dates you would like your placement for, description of why you would like the placement (I know this sounds bad, but you can lie here- just as long as you don’t pretend you have any qualifications- but even if you don’t want a career in science, it’s fine to say: ‘I am passionate about science and am considering a future career in this field.’). Make it short but sweet. Then, you wait. If you get multiple companies responding with “yes” then you need to think about which would be the most beneficial placement for you. Don’t feel bad if you need to send an email saying you’ve been offered another placement which you have decided to take instead. I promise it won’t affect them in the slightest. Overall, getting a work experience placement is nowhere near as daunting as it may first seem after trying these steps, which will allow you to get the best out of your placement and will hopefully aid you in the future when trying to decide your career. I hope this helped, - Non Non |
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Teenagers With Experience is an online organisation created to provide teenagers worldwide with an online platform to share their own experiences to be able to help, inform and educate others on a variety of different topics. We aim to provide a safe space to all young people.
Please note that the content on this website is created by teenagers. While we strive to provide accurate and helpful information, it is important to remember that we are not professional experts. If you are experiencing a crisis or need professional advice, please reach out to a qualified mental health professional or a helpline. |