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Following the photography ‘course’, I have another workshop today; something about committees. I have no idea what I’ll be doing but it sounded like it might be useful for my cv, so I signed up.
I love taking workshops and courses and increasing my knowledge. My ideal holiday would be a week of summer school. I don’t think my family would be so keen on it. However, if we took a games console with us, they wouldn’t notice.
Between 1997 and now I have taken three-and-a-half A Levels, an honours degree, three computer courses, two writing courses, one job course, countless poetry workshops and many skills workshops. There hasn’t been one I didn’t enjoy, though the year of the Open University English Language course bummed me out a little.
I also have extensive volunteer experience: you need someone to make tea, paste worksheets into books, wipe the poo from the bottom of a child’s shoe and take money at the door? I’m your man.
None of this is doing me any good in my job search. Employers naturally prefer the recently redundant but up-to-date skills-wise to the eager to learn and willing to turn her hand to anything but hasn’t had paid employment for twenty-one years novice.
It’s probably just as well: if I had a job, I’d miss today’s committee thing and the free lunch beforehand.
I’ve signed up for seven more workshops so far this year; who has time to work?
The Laughing Housewife 
Yay, summer school: the best part of all my OU experience.
Committees have to be the most boring thing ever invented. Collective decisions are never arrived at without hours of repetitive circumlocutions argued over to the nth degree and never entirely satisfactory. Or, with a bad chairman, two minutes of “This is what we’re doing and who does it”. I’ve been on all sorts in my time.
You are not reaching high enough in your job search: you would be a superb publisher’s editor. No-one I know does it as well as you.
Which English language course did you do? I gave up half-way through U210 – mostly because of a paranoid tutor, rather than the interest of the course.
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I also did U210. I had to take it for the degree but a year later they gave the option of Creative Writing instead and I was livid 🙂 I did learn not to be a snob about accents, though, so it wasn’t completely wasted.
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Or how about this one? http://www.pw.org/content/staff_writer_0?destination=joblistings
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Checking it out now.
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I do hope to move to the States at some point…
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But wasn’t it Bernard Shaw/Pygmalion at summer school in Manchester who got you off accents?! I still remember how much you HATED U210. I really nearly gave up on the Approaching Literature – it was Aphra Behn what nearly done me in. And didn’t do U210 as a result of your hating it so much!
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No, GBS may have sown the seed but U210 reaped the harvest.
I’m so glad I saved you from a fate worse than grinding teeth.
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Keep going Tilly, you never know … soon you’ll be clever enough to present your own courses!
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You may be onto something there…
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I’d look for voluntary work that could be more job relevant than taking money at the door. Aren’t all the companies looking for free ‘interns’ these days? There’s bound to be a charity somewhere that could do with your skills- and they’d give you expenses to cover your lunch 🙂
I like the sound of your range of courses- hope committee stuff isn’t too dull!
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That’s really good advice. Thank you 🙂
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grrrrrrrrrrrrr it still makes me see red that you haven’t been snapped up by someone. You deserve a stimulating, well-paid job.
I mean that.
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Although I realise that blind faith doesn’t help one bit in Harsh Reality World.
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🙂
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You’re sweet xx
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Speccy gives sound advice, I feel. What are you looking for job wise?
(I had a visit from Stockport Writers’ Group, by the way… any connection?)
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Oops! Sorry, that was me. I was signed in to my third blog when I commented on your post.
I’m looking for office work, mostly; I’d love to work in a political office or a school or something. Public service. I was going to tell you I’m an excellent administrator but I blew my cover over by you 🙂
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Don’t worry. I won’t tell. 🙂
School secretary / admin role would be wonderful for you, I feel. The ‘front of house’ person needs to be cheerful, maintain open communication and able to smooth things over, and I can, from what I’ve seen here imagine you’d be so good at that. Looking for a reference?
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Always 🙂
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You’re nothing if not a trier Tilly, and I applaud you for that.
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Thanks Barb 🙂 My family says I am very trying.
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Don’t give up… It’s a tough job market but something will eventually show up. Hope the class went well. 🙂
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It was interesting and informative, thank you 🙂
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Good luck with the job search/hunt . . . and enjoy living and learning in the meantime.
It might help if your refer to your time out of the work place as a “sabbatical.” That’s what I always do after goofing off for a time. 😉
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A 21-year sabbatical – I like it 🙂
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What other courses did you sign up for?
I think it’s brilliant that yo keep learning but on the job front, these people are mad not to take you. Eager, bright, quick to learn and with a brilliant sense of humour; you should be the perfect candidate.
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Mostly stuff to help me find a job, though there is a self-defence for women one in there somewhere.
As for being the perfect candidate…they’re probably all terrified they’re going to end up in a blog post 🙂
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