I am at my wit’s end regarding this world of careers. We were fed lies. All that nonsense about achieving your goals, and following your dreams. Lies.
As my fingers hover over the keyboard, ruminating whether to start another application, I ask if there is any point filling the same information, only to receive nothing in response. Even a metaphorical nod of the head would do.
Prospective employer – as you look over my application, is it my ethnic name which does not speak to you? Would you prefer Chloe or Amy that speaks to your English sensibilities? Are you imagining I speak with a heavy accent or IM THICK AND YOU WOULD NEED TO SPEAK LOUD SO I CAN UNDERSTAND YOU.
Do I even exist in your eyes, or do I need a secret password to get to your hallowed land of salaried employment, of office chit chat, personal development, meetings, and the smug click-click of my heels as I enter the office building.
Or is the secret password, a degree from Oxbridge, received pronunciation, a special word planted in one’s CV, or is not what you know but who you know?
When you hear nothing from prospective employees, you start fishing for answers.
My limbs cannot break out of this inertia. I try to cajole myself into doing another application but I cannot move.