It has been around 18 months of concerted effort, trying to find a new job and start my ICT career. In my final year at UTT in the January 2020 semester it was all about the final group project. I started sending out applications en mass, with the expectation interviews and offers won’t happen overnight. What I did not know was how hard I would have to work to get an offer of employment.
I was looking everywhere for open positions. I had email notification for JobsTT, app notification for CaribbeanJobs, I joined Facebook groups, followed Twitter accounts, joined LinkedIn and told everyone I knew what kind of job I was looking for, while enlisting their help for the search. I reformatted my resume. I talked to mentors, former colleagues, friends and family about how I could improve my interview skills and resume to figure out possible reasons I was not getting offers. Then the pandemic hit and the country went into a recession people were loosing their jobs, employment postings started to dry up and the competition for those positions got more fierce. Yet, I did not lose hope.
Still, every week I would receive a new notification. I would review the job requirements and as long as it was anything degree or less in the ICT field I would apply. Although, as the months passed I grew more and more frustrated by how few call backs I would get. Even though I knew I was doing better than other people. Some who never got a single call back. Until this now.
This month as the most recent lock down measures seem be coming to an end I was invited to 3 interviews over 2 days. One of a call centre for a telecommunications provider doing phone support and 2 interviews for a support technician role. The first being a public and second a private institution. After over hundreds of applications and 50 interviews I put all that experience to work. In the private sector interview kept cool and built a good rapport with the panel. When I got off the call I had a good feeling. The public sector position was simpler affair. More concerned with my academic qualifications and it felt like I started off with a yes and they were trying to ensure there was no red flags to change that to a no during the interview. Ten minutes after the interview I was added to a WhatsApp group which turned out to include the other candidates. There I was notified that all road pointed to us all being asked to join but they were working on formal offers at the moment.
I had been 18 or so months at this point, since I started my job search in earnest and finally it seems like its over. I didn’t want to relax though, until I had a formal offer in my hand. That would not happen for another ~3 weeks. Meanwhile a week after the interview the private sector employer contacted me. They wanted ascertain when I was available to start, as they wanted someone who could start immediately. I let them know I was currently employed but needed time to give my employer notice. They indicated that this could end up removing me from consideration. As I was 90% sure the public sector job was everything short of a formality, I didn’t worry and informed them I could not change that. I resigned myself to believe I lost that opportunity.
But last week the unthinkable happened. Within a hour of each other I was formally informed I was a successful candidate for both positions. I was over the moon as my search was finally over. Then it hit me, which position will I pick? I went from the feeling of painful rejection to paralyzing indecision. I had 2 good offers. The private sector offered permanent employment, with employee benefits like health insurance and employer matched pension contributions. Although it came with the downside of unpaid overtime, being on call 24/7 and a small team with a flat organizational structure meaning my responsibility may far exceed my compensation. While the public sector offered double the vacation, gratuity, virtually no after hours or weekend responsibility and independence with the downside of finite contract length and no other employee perks. I committed myself to notifying the employers within 3 days if I was accepting the offer or not.
It was a difficult decision. I spent 72 hours flip flopping back and forth. Deciding, re-evaluating, changing my mind, asking for advice, talking to my wife, talking to my mentors, before I committed to a decision. In the end I chose the public sector offer. To my surprise, of all the things, what it came down to was the issue of shorter vacation and unpaid over time. As far as I was concerned all other aspects were so close as it made no difference. Especially since I do not have knowledge that comes with actually working in any of the new organizations. But my personal time it turns out is very important to me.
So I stand now about to start my new job in early August, I am nervous and excited about this new chapter. So for those who are still looking your opportunity it is still out there. Do not give up hope.
Jemuel|Griffith 