Hello great, great people! I am very happy to write one last
blog for you now that the madness is over… Most of the students are on their
home countries, and the rest of us scattered around the Netherlands doing the
same thing… pondering if student life was better than this inconsistent and
scary adult world-in which job hunting becomes one of our main activities. I
sometimes think that writing a thesis is easier than writing 3 motivational
letters for different jobs. Example: ‘I am a social person, who
works well in groups and enjoys being in a changing environment, that is always
challenging…’ ‘ I am deeply committed to work for a better world, I believe
that the key relies upon economic sustainability” ‘I just finished my Master,
and I just want to work so I can show the world my knowledge…”.
If only the
world would function with true honesty, motivational letters would sound like: ‘
I just need a job” . “ I want to move out of my parents’ “ Game of Thrones will
be aired next year, I need an occupation until then” “ Please hire me” .
Clearly if this was the case, no one would be employed, but
perhaps there are ways to keep yourself actually motivated (regardless the ‘no’s’).Instinctively, we are drawn to our dream job that most likely we are too
inexperienced to get, and we wait for it for weeks, until we get an answer. I
don’t have a formula for getting a good job, but I do have an advice if you
land a job that ‘does not live up to the expectations’ : It is fine. Take it
easy, we just finished our education, and the important thing is not the actual
activity you are assigned to, it is opening up your head to the workplace
environment, not as a student, but as a professional.
These ‘ in between jobs’
are not more than our training: It’s like we fit some very nice but
uncomfortable shoes when we graduate, and what we do next is walk them off, to
make it fit better. It is a way to feel more confident with ourselves and our
knowledge, believe that you are a good employee after all, and that you are
capable of doing it. By the time our shoes are worn off, guess what… it is time
for a promotion (whether it is given or if it is a personal decision).
On another note, I would like to provide a small but
significant place to the anonymous heroes among us: Truth is, though fun, this
Master was not easy, in a sense that all of us are going through different
struggles while studying, and the fact that we finished is simply wonderful.
For all the sleepless nights, and for being strong, for all your hard work
while having a part-time job. Dear students, mothers, workers, humans, colleagues, I
salute you.
This has been a very good year, and I will never forget this
experience, I sincerely wish you all the best, and for the new students out
there… enjoy it, talk about it, even blog about it, you could be the next
International Blogger, I would be eager to read how are you living all of this
changes. Lastly, I would like to thank the University for giving me absolute freedom and supporting my blog. It was a pleasure.
Dank u wel! Tot Ziens! Wortel! Blauw!
(You can thank me later for the free Dutch lesson)
