A Wonderful Christmas Time
I figure now is as good a time as any to write considering I cannot speak. I woke up on Christmas Eve with a sore throat that I tried to will away, but now it is Christmas morning, and I have no voice.
Despite this, I feel extremely happy and grateful this Christmas. After months and months (eight to be exact) I finally landed a job. I remember finishing my final term paper back in April and filling out a job application right away. I thought I'd hear back right away but I learned as time went on, that the job market in Glasgow was rough at the moment. My searches were becoming wider in field and in location. I rearranged my resume a few times, changed my answers on many applications, just hoping to find the right combination of the ideal candidate. But something else I noticed, after a few (hundred?) applications, was that unlike in The States, all these job listings seemed to come from recruiters. Companies were hiding behind them, so half the time I could not tell salary, location, or any information outside of the recruiter's listing. Of course, at some points, I did not care if it was a two hour train ride, as long as I had a job. But going through an agency like a middle man of sorts also felt like my application would be slowed down, even though it seemed like the only choice.
Eventually, I was signed up with several recruiters (local and international) who would send job alerts to supplement my own searches. In four months, I never even got to an interview. Most listings would say 'Due to the high volume of applications we receive, if you haven't heard from us within 7 days, we decided not to move forward with your application' and they meant it. Sometimes, I'd get an email a month later (rejection), but most of the time it was nothing. You'd think all these listings with 'urgently needed' and 'immediate start' would love a candidate like me, but there were hundreds of others applying for the same thing. I was applying to permanent, fixed term, and temporary roles, sometimes even down to just a 2 week job.
My first interview was in August, through a recruiter. It was a marketing/sales position, something totally out of my field, but I was desperate and did the interview. After hearing what the role was, along with the minimum wage pay, Pedro (along with my mom) reassured me that it was not worth it. I would be happier working at the local Morrisons. But that plan B was getting more and more real. I told myself that if I did not have a job by December, I would work at Morrisons while continuing my search. The only reason I held off so long was because I was holding onto that golden tag of 'immediately available' on my applications. I was convinced that being an non British citizen, with no Scottish references, or recent work history, was really holding me behind and I had to standout somehow.
I'm not going to lie, I was feeling depressed. I hated not having my own money, even though Pedro was very giving (and made sure I had what I needed, of course). There were things like Christmas and birthdays that were frustrating due to lack of funds. Without Pedro constantly plying me with encouragement and reassurance, I think I would have felt a hundred times worse. He made sure that I did not settle for a job that would be a detriment to my mental health, and would cheer me up on bad days.
But finally, around Thanksgiving, I got an interview. I found the listing myself, directly from the company, so I wouldn't have to go through an agency. It seemed like a perfect role for me, very similar to my previous job, where I was very happy. I felt slightly deflated that the listing was 8 days old (surely there's hundreds of applicants by now?), and the salary was hidden. But the company being right downtown and a role in a familiar field was too good not to take a shot. I sent my application, and immediately did some research on the company. The reviews were surprisingly positive and it seemed like a great place to work.
I felt good about the interview, and got a lot of green flags from my questions. Something I like to ask is why the position is open in the first place. You can usually tell if it's for a bad reason, like high turnover, but I was going to be replacing a promoted associate who was in the interview as well, and would actually be training me (which sounds perfectly ideal to me). I got a call back sooner than expected. The manager who interviewed me wanted to offer me the job, skipping the second interview phase and offering the top salary based on my experience and interview answers. I immediately accepted and got a start date for 2 weeks later. Pedro insisted on celebrating with my favorite dinner that night, so we had pizza and beer along with a movie marathon.
So far, starting my job has been relatively smooth. The only trouble was my records from The States. Their background screening service could not verify anything, so I had to dig up all the records I had, along with bank statements to prove my education and previous jobs. But eventually it was all sorted, and my coworkers told me even they had issues with their college records that were just up the road, so not to worry. I'm so happy to be working again. With my salary I am now able to take over our finances from Pedro, relieving him of additional loans while I get feel independent again. I also get to socialize, something I didn't think I'd be happy about as an introvert. I've learned a lot more about the local culture just from being at the office for a day or two, than living here for over a year.
This year has been crazy. In good and bad ways. But now I feel like I will start the New Year off right.
Despite this, I feel extremely happy and grateful this Christmas. After months and months (eight to be exact) I finally landed a job. I remember finishing my final term paper back in April and filling out a job application right away. I thought I'd hear back right away but I learned as time went on, that the job market in Glasgow was rough at the moment. My searches were becoming wider in field and in location. I rearranged my resume a few times, changed my answers on many applications, just hoping to find the right combination of the ideal candidate. But something else I noticed, after a few (hundred?) applications, was that unlike in The States, all these job listings seemed to come from recruiters. Companies were hiding behind them, so half the time I could not tell salary, location, or any information outside of the recruiter's listing. Of course, at some points, I did not care if it was a two hour train ride, as long as I had a job. But going through an agency like a middle man of sorts also felt like my application would be slowed down, even though it seemed like the only choice.
Eventually, I was signed up with several recruiters (local and international) who would send job alerts to supplement my own searches. In four months, I never even got to an interview. Most listings would say 'Due to the high volume of applications we receive, if you haven't heard from us within 7 days, we decided not to move forward with your application' and they meant it. Sometimes, I'd get an email a month later (rejection), but most of the time it was nothing. You'd think all these listings with 'urgently needed' and 'immediate start' would love a candidate like me, but there were hundreds of others applying for the same thing. I was applying to permanent, fixed term, and temporary roles, sometimes even down to just a 2 week job.
My first interview was in August, through a recruiter. It was a marketing/sales position, something totally out of my field, but I was desperate and did the interview. After hearing what the role was, along with the minimum wage pay, Pedro (along with my mom) reassured me that it was not worth it. I would be happier working at the local Morrisons. But that plan B was getting more and more real. I told myself that if I did not have a job by December, I would work at Morrisons while continuing my search. The only reason I held off so long was because I was holding onto that golden tag of 'immediately available' on my applications. I was convinced that being an non British citizen, with no Scottish references, or recent work history, was really holding me behind and I had to standout somehow.
I'm not going to lie, I was feeling depressed. I hated not having my own money, even though Pedro was very giving (and made sure I had what I needed, of course). There were things like Christmas and birthdays that were frustrating due to lack of funds. Without Pedro constantly plying me with encouragement and reassurance, I think I would have felt a hundred times worse. He made sure that I did not settle for a job that would be a detriment to my mental health, and would cheer me up on bad days.
But finally, around Thanksgiving, I got an interview. I found the listing myself, directly from the company, so I wouldn't have to go through an agency. It seemed like a perfect role for me, very similar to my previous job, where I was very happy. I felt slightly deflated that the listing was 8 days old (surely there's hundreds of applicants by now?), and the salary was hidden. But the company being right downtown and a role in a familiar field was too good not to take a shot. I sent my application, and immediately did some research on the company. The reviews were surprisingly positive and it seemed like a great place to work.
I felt good about the interview, and got a lot of green flags from my questions. Something I like to ask is why the position is open in the first place. You can usually tell if it's for a bad reason, like high turnover, but I was going to be replacing a promoted associate who was in the interview as well, and would actually be training me (which sounds perfectly ideal to me). I got a call back sooner than expected. The manager who interviewed me wanted to offer me the job, skipping the second interview phase and offering the top salary based on my experience and interview answers. I immediately accepted and got a start date for 2 weeks later. Pedro insisted on celebrating with my favorite dinner that night, so we had pizza and beer along with a movie marathon.
So far, starting my job has been relatively smooth. The only trouble was my records from The States. Their background screening service could not verify anything, so I had to dig up all the records I had, along with bank statements to prove my education and previous jobs. But eventually it was all sorted, and my coworkers told me even they had issues with their college records that were just up the road, so not to worry. I'm so happy to be working again. With my salary I am now able to take over our finances from Pedro, relieving him of additional loans while I get feel independent again. I also get to socialize, something I didn't think I'd be happy about as an introvert. I've learned a lot more about the local culture just from being at the office for a day or two, than living here for over a year.
This year has been crazy. In good and bad ways. But now I feel like I will start the New Year off right.
