See, it's this skill I lack totally - how to pluck positive things out of less positive.
Well I have some bad news for you. It's a skill you need or you'll never get anywhere (assuming you want a decent career that reflects the effort you put into your qualifications).
If you don't think positive you'll end up stuck in a dead-end job. As someone said earlier about attitude being easily derived from how a CV is written.
And don't think "well I'm #OOPS#ed", know that you have to do something about it. No ifs, no buts. Failure is not an option.
On the geek scale, I'm probably halfway up the scale. But one of the things I most want to keep improving are my people skills. It is so bloody important. And I'm speaking from experience. I'm not a 'veteran', but I've certainly had a few experiences that tell me this.
Failing a computing degree. I did manage to get a fairly feeble HNC out of it, but that should have only taken one year and I stretched it out to three. I should have realised earlier that I just wasn't interested in it, but sh*t happens...
Yeah, well, I would have probably screwed up a computing degree had I gone for it. My programming skills suck. But I still have a lot to offer in the field of computing.
I'm too independent and too opinionated, really. I don't have any leadership qualities but at the same time I don't take authority well.
Most of my old work friends might have described themselves like that, yet I've worked with them on projects before we became friends and worked together perfectly well. I like to think I'm independent, and I'm quite opinionated, but it is experience that showed me I can work in a group easily. Taking authority well is always a thorny issue. Annoying/crap authority no-one takes well. Decent forms of authority shouldn't even be noticed as such, as in, the authority figure(s) form (in a non-obstructive way) part of the machine that makes it better.
so went and did it differently myself, usually doubling effort all over the place.
People skills and maturity. If you're open to picking them up along the way, they're easy to pick up.
I don't have anything near as eye-catching as hobbies. Basically, right now I spend most of my time on IRC and this forum, watching DVDs on rare occassions, and playing old Playstation games when I'm bored. I read, but not fiction. That's it.
How about a bit of web design work on the side, maintaining your own website, helping out with bug tracking for a particular product, maintaining your own server, taking windy walks (:-)), GETTING OUT OF THE HOUSE ONCE IN A WHILE, cycling, just
something! And if you still say no, then switch off your computer and GO SOMEWHERE!
No. None whatsoever.
Not even McDonalds?
I really don't know what to do about that. I've lost contact with my lecturers and couldn't ask to put them down as references by the time I realised I needed any. Family members aren't usable as references, either.
Say hello to the same situation as pretty much everyone else out of university. Now go call your lecturer(s) and ask them nicely! :-) Get someone you know, anyone, aunt, uncle, whomever to write a personal reference for you.
Thanks, that's a good idea. My bluff will be called if they request though (or I'll have to make an emergency trip to the uni to see what I can find, not much I guess).
I've never been asked for references. But contact details are a good thing to list.
I'll tell them what I told you: local jobs in this area are extremely hard to find, and I'm not willing to move country. After a year of this I'll have to chalk off my degree, it'll be useless by then.
No it won't, you're older than the green guys just out of uni. But the longer you spend out of work, the less attractive it'll look. And sodding move country if you can't find work. Unless you want to live on benefit for the rest of your life. And you'll find that to be effort well-wasted as well.
Definitely not. But my reasons for wanting a job are to pay off student loans and get some money in. I don't have any major ambitions related to work or social life.
Think up some decent reasons before going for interview. And work can be quite rewarding, as well as the money.
says me, self-employed :-)
I don't. I've also done nothing extra-curricular remotely worth noting.
What exactly have you done with your life?