Since leaving Sparkies in January I have been interning at Cancer Research as an Employee Benefits Marketing Intern. During these 7 weeks I have been supporting myself from the savings that I had accrued working the previous Christmas. The moment that every graduate dreads, I put an application in for Job Seekers Allowance as my financial bubble was on the brink of popping. All seemed fair and well, I attended my first JSA appointment and was told that my application was approved and that I would be receiving £52 per week. This money was much needed as it would allow me to continue interning in London.
A couple of weeks on it materialised that I was not eligible for JSA as I was interning 37 hours a week. As you can imagine I felt a vast mix of emotions. My first was worry. I was in over my head, I can't possibly sustain my lifestyle, I am never going to get the job that I want and now I am going to have to ring my parents and relay what a disappointment I was. I saw my life panning out before my eyes; I would have to move back home with a bruised sense of ambition.
To be told that there was a cloud of doubt over my application as there was no reasonable time that I could possibly apply for jobs whilst interning full time was crushing. The entire driving force behind interning is to gain experience within the industry that I wish to penetrate, building the blocks required to secure a paid job in this sector. My arguments for justifying that I was able to apply for jobs: I applied during evenings and weekends. I had a huge spreadsheet of jobs applied for to prove it - colour coded, dated and ongoing. It was after all, in my own interest to secure a job and begin climbing my career ladder. As I saw it, internships are the baby steps needed to make that leap.
As it happens there seemed to be a path paved for me and I had turned a corner. I was offered the position of Marketing & PR Assistant and have completed my first week in my new role. I needed to vent, so I have - London, don't punish the young for trying to find their way during this tricky time (job wise).
On another note, Happy Mothers Day.
Love to all x
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