take excitement where you can...

i just got my first callback from a job application in this country. it sounds silly and trivial, i know, but after a week of running around, applying for anything under the sun that it looks like i can do without getting so bored that i'll want to kill my colleagues and learning to game the system the simple joy of firing off a CV and having someone call you 20 minutes later to confirm that you'll have time to talk on Tuesday is...
refreshing.
uplifting.
gratifying.
cause for minor celebration.

the job market here is, to put it bluntly, super-saturated and full of sharks. there are a lot of agencies who are cutting each other's throats in order to survive. in Canberra i'll deal with around a dozen different pimping agencies. here they talk about the top 100. in Canberra the agencies hold anywhere between 5 and 15% of the market. here the top performers squabble over 1-2% if they're lucky. cracking into it is hard work and without the help of the consulting company i'm dealing through i'd be getting eaten alive.

the thing is that back home i'd fire a resume off on seek.com.au with no covering letter of accompaniment - just a name, number and a CV - pull my mobile out and wait the 5-10 minutes for it to ring. simply put, my Australian CV makes pimps wet themselves and dive for the phone so that they can plead me to let them put me in for a job. here i'm a little fish begging the pimps to take notice. it's why i've been so fucking wrecked at the end of each day, getting back to base and passing out at 11 because i'm too exhausted to pick up my book.

the thing is that when i get back home, with what i'll have grown accustomed to here, i'm going to be on fire. the pimps in Canberra won't know what fucking hit them. i'm picking up job-hunting skills here which you just don't need in that market but if you think i won't use them to maximum advantage later then i've been sadly underestimated.

ok, one little callback isn't the world. i've been sent down to clients a couple of times in the last few days and it's no big thing, but i needed the ego boost and the push to my confidence. it's a little peek of the sun out from between the clouds that reminds me that coming here wasn't completely insane and i'll leverage it into a pint at the pub because... well, sometimes it's nice to celebrate the little things and keep the smile on your face even if what you're celebrating is completely trivial...