#47 – Catch-2022

It was going to be the perfect job.

It was an entry-level Paralegal role, which is most of what I’ve been doing since starting uni almost a decade ago.

It was at an organisation I really wanted to work for, where my skills and experience fit their key selection criteria.

A match made in heaven, like peanut butter and jam. But I didn’t get the job.

I guess lightning comes from the heavens as well. And if lightning did hit me, it would be less shocking than the reason I was rejected.

I didn’t have enough Paralegal experience for the role. Quietly, I put down the phone.

Job-hunting for grads is a Catch-22. Fresh-faced grads with a twinkle in their eye don’t have the 3-5 years of experience you want; experienced candidates are rejected because you don’t want someone overqualified to use you as a stepping stone on their way up the corporate ladder.

But I lacked the experience this time around? I’m lost for words (which is terrible for a lawyer and for a blog-writer).

I can’t do my usual reflection and offering any helpful hints I have.

All I can do is end with a quote from Joseph Heller’s novel Catch-22:

Next week: Another World Away