Another Job Application

I wish I had something more interesting to write about today. I doubt very much that anyone was gripped with suspense at reading my title. Go watch the US election coverage, if that’s what you want.

I got up earlyish (9.15am), but then wasted two hours going slowly, doing the Doctor Who Magazine crossword and messaging PIMOJ, so I didn’t have much of an early start on the day.

I applied for another job. I’m not sure how interesting the job would be, but the institution would be worth working at. The job application took two hours without a proper break, which was probably silly of me, but once I had started, I didn’t really want to stop in case I couldn’t restart. The application form asked me to state what sector my previous jobs were in. As is often the case, there wasn’t an option for “library/information management,” which wouldn’t have been so bad if this wasn’t an application for a well-known library (they did have an option for having previously been employed by them, so they weren’t just using standard software).

I didn’t know what to put in the disability box either. I’ve been told not to mention depression as it scares employers off. I was guessing the same for autism, certainly while it’s not 100% diagnosed yet. But I want to be able to ask for support later if I need it. It’s also a full-time job, and I don’t really want to work full-time, but there are so few part-time jobs that I see in my sector. I think I may have to work in another sector, but I don’t know which, and the people I’ve asked for careers advice don’t seem to know librarianship well enough e.g. they suggest archival work which (a) is also quite rare on the ground and (b) is a different (although superficially similar) skillset to librarianship and requires specialist training. Other than that, people have suggested proof-reading, and I have made attempts at starting that, but I had trouble, perhaps partly due to autism (difficulty with networking and marketing myself), but also for other reasons (not being sure what kind of reading speed I should be aiming for, or what my current reading speed is, or what fees to charge).

I also found this article not terribly helpful for someone who has almost more gaps in his CV than items, who usually has to fill in application forms rather than submit a CV, and who has been warned that it’s fatal to tell prospective employers about mental health issues.

Filling in job applications always reminds me of bad experiences in previous jobs, particularly the line manager who told me explicitly that I had not adapted to the job as well as she wanted and expected. She used to complain about other people on the team behind their backs and I’m sure she said some nasty things about me to other people when I wasn’t around. I now have to list her as a reference, because that’s the only long-term job I’ve had since 2017. (The rest of the library team at that place were really nice, though.)

Other achievements: the usual: walk, cooked dinner (red bean chilli, quite hot), Torah study.