MIA

Hey All! I've been extremely MIA in the month of October. Meanwhile, my dog Charlie has really been enjoying the warmer weather.

The truth of the matter is that I've been applying for jobs within Universities around Melbourne (whilst also marking papers like a crazy person to keep me sane). If you are aware of their application processes, then you'll know how stressful they are at universities!

Not only do you have to submit the usual resume and cover letter, each position has a list of Key Selection Criteria that you have to address. You usually have 10 to address and I had to write a paragraph for EACH criteria with an example as to how I have demonstrated a certain skill. So that was about 1000+ words per application.

I applied to at least 15 positions at University of Melbourne, Deakin University, Swinburne, RMIT, Victoria Uni...just about everywhere. After a lengthy process, I had to go through several rounds of interviews. I ended up with an offer from University of Melbourne, but turned that down for another university.

It's funny. Unimelb was THE goal for me for years, and it was the last interview and offer I received amongst all the other universities. I absolutely LOVED the people at Deakin, Swinburne and RMIT, but the interview at Unimelb was awful -- a person on the panel was literally staring at her iPad the entire interview...and did not smile. Despite wanting to work for such a reputable university so long, it wasn't too hard a decision to make in the end. After my old job where people were getting fired left, right and centre, I've had enough of bureaucratic leadership...or lack thereof.

Let's just say that I've never felt so confident about the decision I made on which uni I'll be working with. I had 3 rounds of interviews and the people were great.

If you read my last post, I wrote about doing good deeds. I feel like during hard times, it's always important for us to step back and put things into perspective. Granted, my situation is not terrible -- I was just looking for a job because my last contract ended and I refused to continue working with them. Worst. Management. Ever. Anyway, I digress.

Walking around the Melbourne CBD really hit hard for me. Here I was moping that I was being rejected by all these universities/dealing with my spine and hip injury, yet there were so many homeless people on the streets. If you've lived in Melbourne for the last decade, you will have noticed such a sharp increase in homeless people everywhere. It absolutely breaks my heart.

So to get rid of all that self-pity, I thought it'd just be best to help someone else in need. I bought food and dog food for the homeless on the streets (some of them had dogs). It was liberating and very humbling. It also made me angry at the government, but most of all I just promised that one day when I'm at a comfortable financial position (ha, I do wish), I'd want to help the homeless as much as I can.

Anyway, that was a long ramble. I can't wait to start my new job (I'm not allowed to say where but it's at a university haha)!

Toodals