Let's get out there!

There are thousands of us around the world. We practically make up our own demographic. We can be studied, we can be squeezed into a mere statistic, our prospects can be stipulated. We are the unemployed, twenty-somethings.

We were promised the best education Canada has to offer. We were told that after acquiring a university degree the world would be our oyster. We were, or at least, I was, encouraged to choose a university instead of a college by my high school teachers. College was stigmatized. The girls (I went to a Catholic, all-girl high school) who skipped out on classes and hung outside smoking cigarettes and weed chose colleges. Those girls are now well on their way to obtaining full-time jobs. We, on the other hand, are well on our way to writing our hearts out on blogs like these, contacting charities and agencies who are looking for volunteers, and hoping, mightily hoping, that someone, somewhere will notice our potential and scoop us out of the misery of unemployment.

I have applied for jobs in the retail industry, jobs for reception, administrative assistants, entry-level-anything, everywhere. To no avail. Because I am an intern from 9-5 for three days a week, I am unemployable. I would not trade the skills I am gaining for any administrative assistant positions. It is providing me with a solid foundation to demonstrate the best of my skills, and for that I am remarkably lucky.

However, for those who have not landed an internship, who cannot afford to go back to school, and are regrettably unemployed, there is hope for you and it comes in the form of philanthropy.

There are associations, foundations, clubs, charities and NGOs all over the globe that are seeking people like us--people who have copious amounts of energy to employ and no one to give us the shot. Whether it be assisting those who courageously defend the decrepit state of the environment, those who defend the rights of women internationally, or those who are concerned about the homeless men in your municipality, they want us. They are looking for us. Of course, it won't rack in the dough, but it will fulfil us in ways we might not have completely been aware of before. We will be learning about diplomacy, solidarity, pragmatism, development, government assistance (or lackthereof) and will be able to help those that need it as well as ourselves. We might even make a connection with someone who is looking for an employee just like us. 

Who knows. What I'm saying is, we might as well step outside and help out where we can instead of pity ourselves in the bleakness of our rooms.

I live in the fabulous, vibrant city of Toronto. If you do too, here are some associations who are regularly looking for volunteers, and could use someone like you:

UNWomen Canada

Free Them - For Freedom Sake

UNICEF Canada

USC Canada

Canada World Youth

Crossroads International

For more information about NGOs in your city, check out Foreign Affairs, Trade and International Development Canada and Charity Village.

Good luck!

Musings, Fixations, Worries, Queries

Ever just stop for an hour and think about where your life is headed? Ever map out where you've been, where you are, and where you'd like to be? I seem to be doing that more often than I'd like, these days. I suppose at twenty-two this is normal of the transition from student-worker bee; figuring shit out. While half of my twenty-two year old counterparts seem to have their shit together, the remaining half is caught fostering a complacency which should not be allowed. I have friends who are captivated by inspiration, and in turn, motivation. However, I also have friends who sincerely cannot fathom finding the confidence, or in my opinion, desire, to quit their poor-paying, menial part-time job.

I love to write. I do. I would love to go into journalism, but my portfolio is poor. I do not know where to look for the opportunities to expand my experience. I need to be taught how to write like a journalist and yet I cannot find the time. 

Currently I am "employed" as an intern for a Toronto-based parenting magazine. It is an unpaid position, hence the use of quotations. I enjoy the experience I am gaining there. I am hosting interviews, writing movie reviews, blurbs and pieces that will be publishing in the next issue. But is that enough? Will employers see this experience as something that sets me apart from other writers my age? I can't help but think negatively.

It is difficult to obtain the positions you seek that require a minimum of three to five years in the industry of choice. Where do we get this experience if employers are not willing to take a chance on those who have not met the requirement? It is difficult proliferating your name at this age. It is difficult establishing a rapport in the presentation of your work which warrants respect for one's craft. However, one way or another, things fall into place.

I often envy my father's employment path. In his last year of university, a professor approached him to applaud my father's talent for writing, and asked if he had ever considered applying for a position at the Windsor Star. He hadn't, but after Mr. Professor's intimation, it was all he could think about. My Dad had a connection at the Star and was soon given a job. Yes, just like that. There was no portfolio, there were merely essays which had been handed to the hirer. Heck, if it was that easy we'd all be journalists. I suppose that's the point, after all; to weed out those who are dutifully passionate about writing as objective, sensitive journalists, from those who sloppily aggregate facts and quotes for the sake of meeting the assigned quota.

Anyhow, I know this is quite irrelevant to most of the content I provide you on this blog, however, I know I am not alone when I say that: currently, I am lost. I know there are millions of others who are desperately researching for avenues which give them a leg up and offer them the chance to acquire the experience they need to reach their next goal. 

I've been checking this out for some inspiration. So far, it has helped. FastCompany's list of the Most Creative People In Business: 2012-2013. Check it out: FastCompany: The Most Creative People in Business: 2012-2013

Good luck, chaps!

xx