The so called fantastic leads on Friday seem to just vanish after the weekend. I got 3 calls in the space of 2 hours last Friday all with excited agents with fantastic opportunities.
The best one was a perfect role for me, a freelance multimedia designer, specialising in email invites and similar areas for £160 a day. The client liked my CV and the job was to start either Monday or Tuesday - "we will let you know"
Monday arrives, I phone first thing. "Anthony is on leave today" - this was the guy who was dealing with me. Fantastic, absolutely fucking fantastic. Ok, no problem, I'll speak to his colleague. "Sorry, Paul is out at the moment"
I left 6 messages during the course of the day, eventually speaking to Paul, friendly enough "Yeah, we'll let you know"
Phone again today, Anthony is STILL on leave, spoke to Paul again "Looks like the client isn't interested in your CV"
Now wait a minute here ?
Firstly, the client was very interested in my CV and secondly I was prepared to start work Monday or Tuesday. What exactly is the problem with these bloody recruitment people ?
Evidentally, they are adept liars and change their tune when it suits them, one moment turning on the charm, the next trying to turn you away.
I applied for another 6 jobs today, then phoned an older lead about the possible freelance for £250 (the one I prepared a quote and a mockup for).
Now I sit here at 1:30pm wondering what the fuck to do. They have someone else they may go with, no doubt some dumb bastard willing to do the job for £50.
I went down the job centre to look for jobs, but there was nothing new from the last crop of leads I had.
The scary thing is that I've applied online to at least 150 jobs, my CV is out there at countless agencies, but I STILL haven't got an interview.
The agencies have everything wrapped up so tight, it's virtually impossible to find a job without going through them.
My job description also seems to confuse people, Web Designer. Everyone seems to assume your a programmer.
On most job sites, there is no "Web Designer" or "Web Design" category.
I really am starting to hate these agencies with a passion, you can no longer get an interview to sell yourself without being screened by these people first. Back in the old days, you would get a paper, circle 5 or 6 potential positions and actually get interviews. These days, your CV is processed, presumably to seperate the wheat from the chaff. The fact is, they pigeon hole people to such a huge degree, that you end up with a factory situation where people specialise in just one area.
There seems to be no diversity in job roles, or at least, this is the way the agencies seem to operate.
Once again, I find myself feeling extremely dejected and depressed, what the fuck do I have to do TO GET A FUCKING INTERVIEW !
It's not like I haven't tried, I must've spent upwards of £300 on phone calls and net access and have been going for long shots for weeks, or jobs that will require me to relocate elsewhere in the Thames Valley.
Now it's time for desperate measures, working ANYWHERE in the whole of the UK, so long as it is in my chosen profession. I don't want to do that, the idea of coming to London was to actually live and work here. It looks good on the CV and it's a fantastic city to live in. The thought of working in a depressing little town or big city through the winter doesn't appeal to me.
Perhaps I will write another CV aimed at bog standard data capture or desktop support roles to see me through until next year.
Round and Round we go ...
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