Of the Search for Jobs, the German Job Center, and Growing Up

The most important thing first: I don’t really want to grow up completely but with my MA Thesis handed in and my official graduation drawing close, I don’t have much of a choice but to act all grown up and search for a job. A task that may sound a lot easier than it actually turns out to be.

I try to stay positive but, at times, it can be a little devastating. I’m a university graduate with a MA degree which means that I studied for the last five years. I’m also 25 years old which means I went from high school straight into higher education. Yet, that doesn’t seem to be enough to get a job. Most of the job announcements I find have one thing in common: they look for someone with something between two to five years of experience. Even some announcements for entry-level jobs or internships request this. Can you believe that?

Every time I see something along those lines, I want to scream: “Hello, how am I supposed to do that? You want me to be as young as possible, have the highest possible degree, and the experience of someone who has worked for twenty years already. Can’t you decide for one of these things?” This especially happens with Social Media jobs: How is someone supposed to have five years of experience in that field? If you’ve got an answer for this, please feel free to share.

Despite the limitations, I apply to some of these jobs, keeping in mind something Dennis Loy Johnson, founder of Melville House Publishing, said during this year’s Book Fair in Leipzig. He explained that for him hope was more important than experience when founding his company. As an artist and a blogger he didn’t know much about publishing and still he went for it. His company turned 10 last year and they are successful. I try to keep this in mind at all times. (So far I haven’t gotten any feedback on my applications)

As if the job search isn’t difficult on it’s own, there’s something else I have to deal with at the same time: the German job center. In general, I think it’s a good idea that Germans have social security but it’s just annoying that everyone is treated the same. It doesn’t matter if you’re a recent graduate who really wants to work or someone who hasn’t had a proper job in years—everyone has to go through the same motions. At least, this makes me want to find a job even faster so that I don’t have to deal with all this official stuff too long. That’s actually one reason why I try not to be too picky about where I send applications to. The sooner I get a job, the better.

Overall, all this diminishes my wish to grow up completely further. Let’s hope I find something soon so I can stop doing it (growing up, that is).

(BTW, if any of you comes across job announcements you think I might be interested in, let me know ;) )