Plan B

An extract from an email home:

Soooo, it's been 41 days since I landed in Sydney. Allowing for the "settling in" weekend that means I've been job hunting for 37 days. As I've said in previous emails that involves 5 days a week of calling recruiters, meeting recruiters, applying for jobs through online listing websites, contacting people I know in Sydney for potential leads and on one occasion actually going in for an interview.

In the last few weeks I've upped my recruiters again taking on Marcus, Jonathan, Lisa and Daniel to add to Ian, Sophie, Will, Bruce, Martin, Cliff, Darragh, Pater, Willem, Tasha, Deanna, Mark, Petina and Sean. This pretty much covers all the financial recruiters in Sydney so I have my bases covered. Out of those I have the guys that I know are "on my side" who I call every day. The others get a call once a week and an email too for good measure just to remind them how great I am.

Today has been a decent day as I have a phone interview at 4pm with Canon for an 8 week contract role doing reconciliations and also have scored an interview for a permanent position at a pipelines company on Friday at 4pm.

Looking for a job is a full time job so I haven't been able to get any other work as of yet such as data entry, bar work etc though I have started to look into it. I know that if worst comes to worst then Fi O'Toole's mate in Melbourne definately has bar work available! That said I'm holding out for a "proper" job.

It's a lot of work so far and sure it's gotten me down a bit now and again but it's all part of the rich experience of life. In the time here I've managed to go to three frisbee tournaments, see a few museums, go to Manly, do some clifftop walks, hit the beach frequently and do various nice things like that. I've cut out all entertainment that costs money such as going out at night as things are a little tight. Good to live like that now and again to get a grip on reality.

Occasionally one does let oneself go though and this happened two weekends ago when I was talking to someone on the beach in Terrigal between games. She had just completed a trip around Australia in her van and was looking to sell. She wanted €2000, I offered €1000 and she accepted. The best bit is that I don't have to pay until I can afford it :) So now I have a Plan B which is sitting outside the house. His name is Harald and he's a 1988 Hiace with 400,000kms on him. He's got a double bed in the back, three seats up front, 4 gears, a full kitchen and lots of other stuff I've yet to find. A pretty good Plan B if you ask me. You can check him out here: http://tinyurl.com/ctvs8e



You see I've given my months notice on the house I'm in as I can't afford the rent which means I have exactly one month to find a paying job to live a normal life. If that doesn't happen I'll hop into Harald, find some mates to share fuel and head off north to sunnier climes working on farms / finance / admin / whatever jobs to pay my way. It sure beats sitting around waiting for non existant jobs to turn up! This is very much a Plan B at this stage though it is kinda exciting knowing that it's an option.

In the current economic climate...

A month of job hunting, five hours a day online, at least ten
recruiters working for me and countless CV revisions has pulled up one
interview so far. I'm doing everything I can, using all my contacts,
calling all my recruiters, responding to all the ads but not much is
happening. I'm taking time to reflect on what the "current economic
climate" actually means. It means I have the opportunity to really get
to know myself through building the CV, talking to recruiters
answering questions that we should really be asking ourselves regularly:

What motivates you?
What are your strengths and weaknesses? (clichéd? yes, but have you
actually thought about yours?)
How would your friends describe you?
Describe your ideal job.
What are your goals in life?

These are tough questions that can really put things into perspective.
Think about them and all of a sudden the change of circumstances, the
reduction of pay doesn't seem to be the end of the world. I'm loving
the challenge of finding a job that I might actually enjoy. I'm loving
the challenge of feeding and transporting myself for €10 a day.

Admittedly Sydney isn't a bad place to be unemployed. After I put in
my hours searching for jobs and contacting my recruiters I either go
for a long run along the beachside clifftop between bondi and coogee
beaches or head to the beach for a few hours if reading, swimming,
thinking, appreciating and usually hanging out with mates.

Now if all this sounds a bit like a hippy has taken over sensibAL you
may be a little right. While I don't do drugs ("dope is for dopes",
right?!) and barely drink (it's expensive and I'm enjoying that smart
feeling that comes when you don't have a hangover) I have taken the
precaution of buying a campervan.

By campervan I mean of course a 1988 white Hiace van with bed in the
back. He's got two personalities, Harald and Casper II. I've yet to
pick him up but I'm sure we'll get on just fine. I said that I've taken the
precaution of buying him as if the job situation doesn't pick up I can
just find some willing travellers and take off up the coast to sunnier
climes, working in random jobs as I go.

So that's the backup plan. I feel an oxymoronical sense of calm and
adventure when I think of it. What better way to spend a year when
there simply aren't enough "proper" jobs to go around.

So don't be alarmed, I'm the same person, just a happier more content
one who's loving being challenged to make the most of life.

Hippy out,

al