The longest job search I have ever had yet!

It took four months for me to get a job in my desired field of work – Desktop Support.

For the past 3 months I have been working in a 1st level helpdesk role; which has both positive and negative aspects.

Positive in that I could pay my bills and living expenses. Negative in that it was a helpdesk role. For 7.5 hours I was sitting in front of a computer – taking phone calls and responding to emails. Not what I have been used to or what I call an engaging job.

During my 3 month stint as an IT Helpdesk Officer I applied for over 20 jobs. Interviewed with 4 recruitment companies and had 5 interviews with clients. I was offered one of the jobs but was denied when I told them I would be away for 6 weeks on vacation.

As it was getting towards the middle of April I was resigned to the fact that I may not get anything. I was less than 2 months away from going on my 6 week around the world vacation. It’s hard to get a 6-8 week contract. There are more likely to be 3-6 months in length.

When it rains it pours

Last week I mentioned to my current manager the hardships of getting a job. Later that day he said to me I could stick around for 6 weeks until I leave for my trip and assist with a Desktop Deployment of 55 PCs.

The next day I got a call from a recruitment company I had interviewed with. She said The Age, a newspaper in Melbourne had a 6-8 week contract doing a Desktop Deployment of 350 PCs. This was Friday last week and I was scheduled to have an interview early the next week.

Flash forward to Tuesday of this week. I had the interview with The Age and two hours later I got the job. A job lasting exactly 6 weeks; which is perfect for me as I go on vacation in that time.

Life has its ups and downs

For the first half of the year I will have worked for 4 out 5 months. I was initially hesitant to take this Helpdesk role, but it turned out I needed it more than I realized. The Desktop Support job market was a lot tougher than in 2007. If I didn’t take it, I would have been unemployed for 3 months, making no money and using my savings.

Despite the boring nature of the job; I received experience working at another company, meeting new people and another entry on my resume.

I feel very fortunate and lucky they way things have turned out. I start a new job next week going back to my roots, the newspaper industry. It’ll keep me busy and challenged for the next 6 weeks. Then off on my vacation.