Post-interview thoughts.

I had my first Real Job Interview on Tuesday, for an Editorial Assistant position in a London-based publishing company. I wanted to put down some thoughts about the process and how I think it went.

Before the interview I'd been sent a copy of their latest catalogue to have a look through, which was very interesting and stylistically similar to something I'd worked on in a previous internship, which I found encouraging and made the whole thing seem slightly less scary. I emailed a couple of people I've recently worked with asking for advice, and had spent a lot of time on Google and reading The Bookseller looking for recent news on the company etc.

I feel like I prepared as well as I could have. As it was, they interviewed me for about 45 minutes, including a proof-reading test. While I was talking to them, they seemed very positive, and even though I asked a couple of, er, difficult questions regarding the state of the market and the state of the company they were very honest with me throughout. I left with a good idea of what the job would (realistically) entail and the nature of the company. I also left feeling that I had given a good account of myself. Of course, I also left with lots of self-doubt: was I enthusiastic enough/too nervous/ too inquisitive/ too shy/ too modest etc. etc.

(And when I say I left with lots of self-doubt I mean that I left with enough doubt to reduce me to tears later that evening which probably puzzled my boyfriend quite a lot, especially when I'd already told him that I thought the interview had gone pretty well.)

But enough of that. Overall, I felt that the interview went reasonably well. I couldn't have prepared any better than I did, but I think that I need to learn to control my nerves so that I can be enthusiastic about what I'm talking about, rather than terrified. With regards to the job, I know that I would be good at it. I know it won't pay so well, but it's something I really want to do, and with a company that had a very nice feel to it. I desperately want this job, but at the moment I have to wait to hear if they want me back for a second interview.

I'm keeping my fingers (and toes) crossed. I guess I just have to wait and see.

Scrapbooking

I'll be the first to admit that I'm not the most artistic person in the world. I think the artistic gene skipped me and went straight to my sister. I'm creative, sure, but it's words rather than colours or pictures or... anything like that.

So I know my scrapbook isn't the prettiest in the world, but it's very therapeutic and it's something I'm really enjoying at the minute. For years I've kept a "memory box", if you like, full of random souvenirs and random things that mean stuff to me. I've got important things like the funeral orders of service from my grandparents' funerals (x3), I've got things from ex-boyfriends, birthday and Christmas cards, tickets to sports events, music events, theatre events etc... Photos, tickets to university nights out, random photos and wristbands... Lots of random stuff, anyway.

And it was getting a bit cluttered. I'd been given this gorgeous scrapbook several years ago (I can't even remember who gave it to me now!) and hadn't even touched it. So I figured, with all this time on my hands, and with everything from high school and university all finished now, this would be a good time to start work on this.

I'm pretty pleased with it so far, although my memory box still seems to be as full as ever. Oops! If you're interested (and even if you're not!) here's a couple of pages I particularly like so far...

Some bits from a family holiday to South Africa in 2005/2007. Probably bits from both - I can't really work out what's from when. That's me and my sister in the bottom photo. She's 18 now, all grown up!

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These are from a school cruise in 2004. We went to Greece, Egypt and Turkey, and it was an amazing trip. The photo in the top corner is of Leanne, my best friend from school who I don't see nearly enough these days because we both moved away to study, and now she's planning to live where she studied, which makes me sad. She's still wonderful though, I love her lots!

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And this is from when I went to see Muse play at Wembley - twice. Once in 2007 and once in 2010. Amazing both times! There's a bit of a story behind my 2007 trip, so if you'll indulge me a moment more, I'll share it with you:

I was due to go with my boyfriend, James. We split up, and he gave my ticket to his new girlfriend. Fortunately my friend Alison (top corner) knew someone with some spare tickets, so we went with Leanne and had fab seats (much better than if I'd gone with James, which was even better!). It turns out that the person who gave Alison the tickets was my current boyfriend, Ollie, who went (I think) with his then-girlfriend. How strange! And how strange that our paths didn't cross then!

Anyway. Enough chat from me - I've got some serious scrapbooking to do this evening!

What a difference a day makes!

When I woke up this morning I was all ready to write a blog for you about the changing nature of my job-hunt. I was getting to the point where I was sure I wouldn't be ending up in a publishing-related job this time, and had already been expanding my job search to include more local jobs, admin or receptionist type work as I've got plenty of experience.

This is still very much the case. But then mid-afternoon I had a response for a job I applied for about a month ago, and had almost assumed a rejection. Instead I was invited to the "first round" of interviews, which immediately made me very excited and very nervous. This is the first interview for a "real job" that I've had since leaving university. And while I've had job interviews before, they've all been for short-term/temporary positions, rather than a full-time, permanent vacancy like the one I'm going for now.

And while I'm being very realistic (or, if you prefer, pessimistic) here and thinking that I'll be up against a lot of excellent candidates, and that it's very unlikely I'll get the first job I interview for, it has done my confidence and enthusiasm a world of good.

If you've been job-hunting for a while (I'm up to a few months now, though in that time I have been busy doing work experience placements), and you've repeatedly failed to even get to interview stage, you'll know how disheartening it can become. So even if I don't get this job, this will all be worth it for helping to boost my enthusiasm for the whole job-hunting process once again.

So. I'm busy trying to balance optimism with realism and excitement with nerves, and the interview isn't until next Tuesday.

If anyone's got any super interview advice and/or tips, I'd love to hear them! And in the meantime, I'll be going preparation-crazy in the next few days.

No more internships!

Last Friday I finished up at what is my last publishing-related internship that I have planned for the near future. While I love the industry, I can't afford to keep doing all this unpaid work with no guarantees of a job at the end of it.

I completed two weeks at a Camden-based literary agency. I signed a confidentiality agreement on my first day, so I won't name them, and I won't tell you much about what I did there. However, I will tell you that I was slightly disappointed. I'd heard good things about them, but once I was there I became more or less a glorified receptionist. The way it was meant to work was that they'd have two interns at one time (which they did) and the two interns would alternate days providing reception cover. For some reason this never happened, so for two weeks I was there as a receptionist first, and then doing odd bits of reading and writing reports when I could grab some spare time between phone calls and dealing with the post etc.

So that was unfortunate. But most of the people there were very lovely, and I did get to read a couple of fabulous manuscripts that I need to make a note of. One was the first book in a longer series, and of course I now want to know what happens in the rest of the series, so I'll have to keep an eye out over the next couple of years, I guess...

But now I'm finished with internships, and I don't really know what to do. I've got about four months worth of experience in total, and am keen to find a full-time job, but there aren't many out there at the minute and so I'm back home looking for other work. We'll see what happens. I'm still waiting to hear back from a couple of jobs in the industry, so I'll keep my fingers crossed. And if nothing happens there I'll have to find myself something else to be doing in the meantime, and also keep my eyes on the industry so I know if/when the vacancies open up.

Lots to think about. My brain is currently very scared by the big expanse of time that's opening up in front of me, with nothing to fill it.

Hmm. Something will turn up.