Tier Ranking 15 Job Hunting Moments
I graduated with a Bachelors degree around 6 months ago and I’ve been job hunting since then.
In short, it’s been unsuccessful.
Some people refer to this phase as the Golden period because it’s when you explore different paths, go on a self-learning journey, etc.
It’s one of those things that might make sense for a 40 years old to say who reminisces about their 20s. But living in that phase right now, it’s doesn’t feel that Golden to me.
Anyway, just applying for jobs hasn’t been working for me, not to mention the heavy competition even for entry level positions with a certain number of years experiences and language requirements.
My initial thoughts after graduating was that it would take me 3 months tops to get a job.
Once 3 months passed, I thought by the end of the year, I’d land a job and that’ll be the start of the next chapter of life.
Currently, there’s 1.5 months left until the year ends and I still don’t have a job.
I don’t know if I should cry or laugh.
Laugh because of how naïve I had been thinking this would be easy and I’d somehow eventually get lucky.
I’m not really going to get into the “whys” and “hows” of my entire job hunting journey, it’s probably going to be what you‘ve already heard and know. It would also just be too long to discuss fully in this single post.
It’s a part of life that most will have to go through.
Looking for a university to accept me years ago was a similar situation, also just a part of life. I eventually ended up where I didn’t expect to go. But it was never as demotivating as job hunting.
So, this post is just to have fun and reflect on some of the things I did while job hunting. Then tier ranking them. In short don’t take it too seriously.
Here’s the tier ranking system (from top to bottom):
1. Self-employed and making bank $$$. Happy and blessed. : What’s better than getting a job? It’s being your own boss and getting paid for it.
2. Will lead to getting jobs. : Self-explanatory.
3. Got something valuable out of it regardless. : Think failed projects and side hustle attempts.
4. Took me on another path and I don’t hate it. : Side quests are important for growth in the long run.
5. This was *a weak moment in this time space. : I don’t what I was thinking but whatever, it happened.
These are the events and moments to be ranked:
A. Went to a XYZ company career talk
B. Went to an “inclusive” job fair
C. Went to a career fair for gradates
D. Went to time management and communication talk with trainers from a big company
E. Did two tests and then got ghosted by a company
F. Did one test then got ghosted
G. Almost got in a scam MLM trap
H. Learned accountings to later get ghosted
I. 3AM humble sessions
J. Planning how to leave city
K. Art side hustle attempts
L. Second attempt at writing a fantasy novel
M. Trying to be a YouTuber attempt #1005
N. Feel guilty for having fun
O. AI crash out
Now, let’s rank:
Going to keep it brief since there’s a lot to rank.
A. Went to a XYZ company career talk
So back when I was in my final year and semester, I thought to be more active and go to company career talks that would be on campus. I went to one, it was a well-known big company.
One of the biggest issues I have is my language barrier. So I wondered about their requirements. They had actually mentioned that they don’t care about that and mentioned that people who possess the skills and qualifications are eligible to apply, for language, as long as they can speak to one another, its ok.
So that gave me some hope. But reality hit when I went on their job portal, which showed job listing requirements for 3 languages. Great.
Rank: This was a weak moment in this time space.
B. Went to an “inclusive” job fair
There was an inclusive job fair organized by the government for minorities, the elderly, and people with disabilities. All-in-one type of two day fair.
During this period, I noticed a lot of job fairs being organized, which lead me to assume that there were a lot of unemployed people statistically that’s why there were so many job fairs being being promoted.
Made me feel less alone I guess.
Anyway, I didn’t find much luck during this fair. It was weird how most minorities had language barriers but this fair which was supposed to be “inclusive” didn’t have any jobs that didn’t require speaking that language.
I ended up trying to find something amidst this. I found a lady I recognized online and ended up chatting with them and that was enjoyable and valuable.
While I was one of their target audience, it felt off and I didn’t see much that was useful to me. But that’s not to say someone else didn’t find it useful.
Rank: Got something valuable out of it regardless.
C. Went to a career fair for gradates
Now this was much more valuable to me. I was talking to HR reps of companies there and handing out resumes like it was flyers. Got some branded gifts which I ended up using a lot.
I did get some messages from them later on, but it didn’t work out in the end between us. Still, I think it was a rather eventful and useful fair that led somewhere hopeful. Also this was a targeted career fair for graduates was for both final year students and recent graduates. So it was quite relevant.
Rank: Will lead to getting jobs.
D. Went to time management and communication talk with trainers from a big company
So an NGO had partnered with a big company to give people a chance to talk with volunteering trainers based on the topic. This was part of a job series and this one was on time management and communication.
It was ironic but the trainer for my table was late for the time management section and the NGO rep had to take over that section for a while.
I did get some insights about how bad the job market is. The NGO rep told us that even with highly qualified applicants that he was helping couldn’t find jobs right now.
He later also explained that you shouldn’t apply for different positions at the company especially if its different in seniority. For example, a junior position and a senior position. It makes it seem like you lack direction and aren’t confident in yourself and your skills.
I admit being guilty for doing this. I hadn’t realized it then but I know now.
Then for the communications session, we got two trainers as an apology for not getting one in the first session.
Someone of the things they were saying seemed obvious but also had some insightful things to say. I liked the part where they discussed CVs and interviews. Biggest thing about CV that I didn’t hear before was to not put things you don’t want to do.
I asked what they thought about cold emails and messages, they said that it might work in some industries but can go unnoticed for some other. Also a key thing she mentioned was that connecting to people and networking will be more useful that cold emails as you can talk to them directly and it can actually lead somewhere, this will also help you get a sense of the person and see where you fit in.
Rank: Will lead to getting jobs.
E. Did two tests and then got ghosted by a company
Sometimes luck plays a big role. But a bigger role when you’re looking for a job as I’ve learned so far are connections and people you know.
So someone I know showed my CV to this company director and he ask to have me come for an interview.
I went and then did the first test for an entry role admin position and undisclosed pay. This is where I can admit, I didn’t do so well in the test. Anyway, they gave me the second test and I had submitted it. Then I got ghosted by them. I had messaged them but nothing.
I didn’t have a good feeling about this job anyway from the interview so I guess what happened was for the best. Still, I’d appreciated a clear rejection especially so far in to the application process.
This led me to try out different projects instead because I hated this process.
Rank: Took me on another path and I don’t hate it.
F. Did one test then got ghosted
This was another application I did which I had to do a test for. It was for a big role with good pay. There were so many people at this test so I knew competition would be high. So weeks had passed and not a single message from them.
Can companies stop ghosting their applicants? I’m tired of it. Just reject me or simple “If you don’t hear from us in the next 3 weeks, consider it a unsuccessful application.”
Rank: Got something valuable out of it regardless.
G. Almost got in a scam MLM trap
This was back in my final year of university. Someone had invited me to check out the company they were working at and they thought that I could be a good fit. It was supposed to be chill and kind of a get together to know each other more.
I thought it was a step into my career.
So I went and it was anything but chill. I felt like I was on the verge of getting scammed at every point. I hadn’t even mentioned that I thought it was a scam or a pyramid scheme yet they kept trying to keep me there and convince me it was a legit business (which ends up looking like a triangle and the whole recruiting people BS).
They even had a slide mentioning how people had made false accusations against them about being an MLM then went brought to court and lost everything.
I am grateful I knew what MLM was because of some videos I had seen before.
Red flags all around. There was no way I was going to agree to anything but I had to keep my cool and make my move slowly without raising alarms and somehow leave much earlier than I had intended.
I made up some believable excuse and left early.
PEOPLE, please be critical and suspicious of everything even if it seems innocent or from someone you know. That’s how you get scammed.
Anyway, I don’t remember the business’s name or anything but I warned my friends about it and that led to more discussions about how common this is and some mutual scam stories. Trust no one. The person who took me there, I considered an acquaintance and also she 100% believes that she’s in a legit business so it can be that you don’t even realise you’re in one.
These scams become almost impossible to leave once you’ve entered. So please research and don’t sign anything right away without reading and thinking about.
When one of the person there was explaining the process, she was drawing it on a paper. I had asked if I could think about it and take the paper home. They said no and it was private and kept trying to convince me.
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Rank: This was a weak moment in this time space.
H. Learned accountings to later get ghosted
This is related to one of the jobs I got ghosted for.
So for the job, I had to learn accounting. I hadn’t studied it before but if it meant I could get a job if I learnt it, I thought why not.
There was no point. Because I learned some basics and did their test. I ended up getting ghosted so there was no point.
I did get value in terms of learning and refreshing my accounting brain.
Rank: Got something valuable out of it regardless.
I. 3AM humble sessions
These are the late night scares I get when I realise I don’t have a job.
WHAT AM I GOING TO DOOOO????
No job means no money. No money means no independence and relying on family for support. Replying on them means becoming a burden. Becoming a burden means being a disappointment.
So I’m all positive and optimistic during the day but the tingle of scare hits late at night right when I’m trying to sleep. I go into a line of thinking that just brings me shame and pain.
Rank: This was a weak moment in this time space.
J. Planning how to leave city
So because of high requirements including languages, I thought perhaps I should try getting a job in another country.
This lead to finding out that some countries offer a working holiday pass to recent graduates.
The one that I was considering was the one for Singapore and I meet the eligibility.
The problem comes in when I start to really think about how would do this without money in the first place. I’d need ticket, pass, living and daily expenses before going there.
Their age limit is 18 to 25. I’m almost 23, so I’ve got two years left.
So I started to think about what if I found a job here first, a F&B one to just save up and then apply for the Singapore one as an entry level, which I could hopefully and the language won’t be a problem.
Crazy but that’s where I’m currently at. Maybe it’s time for change.
Rank: Will lead to getting jobs.
K. Art side hustle attempts
I tried Red Bubble and Tee Public as print on demand services.
I put my drawings up and my account got suspended without explanation right away.
Another that I tried was InPrnt which is application based. I applied and got rejected.
Honestly, these put me off trying print on demand. Also the fact that they randomly suspended my account for no reason was rude.
I tried something new and gave it my best shot and it failed. I still got some drawings out of it and it led me to trying a new software where I used the style of one my drawings.
Rank: Took me on another path and I don’t hate it.
L. Second attempt at writing a fantasy novel
Yes, I’m trying again.
This needs a deep dive and it’s own posts, so I won’t go too into it.
The best thing this unemployment period is brought about is that I feel more creative then ever.
I’ve been working on a story that is actually seeming like it will work out this time. The biggest differences from my first attempt are more time, patience, and research.
The book I got from the career fair is now my favourite notebook, I’ve been plotting so many ideas on it. Then I used some of my drawings to come up with characters and an adventurous plotline.
It’s been so much fun and I love the experience of stringing the ideas together. I try to add a bit more to the story every day whether its writing itself, a dialogue, the fantasy map and more.
Rank: Took me on another path and I don’t hate it.
M. Trying to be a YouTuber attempt #1005
Self explanatory.
I’ve tried so many times and it just hasn’t worked for me.
I attended a video editing class and it was fun and it helped me discover a new software and techniques which I plan to use.
Rank: Took me on another path and I don’t hate it.
N. Feel guilty for having fun
No job = no money.
I have been saving though. I sometimes use it to go out and have fun but like that 3AM humble sessions, I feel guilty for having fun.
It’s about balance and I know that but my mind tends to wander off into the unknown.
Anyway, it can lead to feeling like I’m wasting money I don’t have.
It feel good to just hang out with friends and let go of everything in those moments, so I don’t completely regret spending money on it as long as I’m not being crazy with it.
Rank: This was a weak moment in this time space.
O. AI crash out
A very relevant to this age type of crash out.
I can’t lie when I first discover it as a student, I was in a field of roses thinking my life will be so much easier now.
But it was definitely making me more reliant on it and dumber. So I slowly stopped using it to generate ideas and whatever else.
I felt like I couldn’t think for myself anymore and hated that I wanted to reach for it for every little thing. So as I distanced myself with it especially in the ideation part, I realized how much more creative I can be.
One of the reasons that led me my second attempt at writing a novel. I was having so many ideas, I was filling up my notebook with them.
Then I started to learn from longer videos on writing by taking notes myself instead of an AI summarizer. I was actually able to get concepts into my brain quickly. That was months ago and I still remember what I learnt from those writing videos.
So, now I stay away from AI when I can. When I see AI stuff, I just don’t want to engage with it. Like AI “Art” or AI “Books” or whatever else.
I’m not completely hating on it since I can find uses for it here and then, but it’s got a long way to go before I can fully trust it. It also just gives out the wrong information so confidently.
It’s another reason I’ve not been sharing my art publicly as well. I don’t know it just feels like its should stay private for the time being.
In the context of job hunting, AI is used a lot in the recruitment process. For screening through CVs and more. Then, it also decreases the need for admin or entry level jobs, which is what more graduates would try to apply for.
Rank: Took me on another path and I don’t hate it.
Summary
This was actually fun and helped put into perspective what I’ve been doing in during this “Golden period”.
Every small action or seed has lead me somewhere else unexpected.
I feel like this phase can get you in the blues so let’s just laugh about it and get to the next day. As long as you try, it matters. Everyday matters. It can feel like there’s no prospects but progress and moving forward is the way to go.
Whenever I see that I’ve made progress, it makes me feel like I’m moving forward even it all feels like I’m a lab rat in maze starving for cheese.
This was a all-in-one kind of post. There’s so much going on in my life right now that I haven’t really sat down to write about every single one of these, so I kind of put bits of it together. This random idea helped me recognize that I have tried and it doesn’t mean I suck or am less than just because I can’t find a job.
I’ve talked about some of the topics mentioned here before, check them out if you’re looking to know more :)
