Looking back at 2020 – work, luck and gratitude
I don’t think you can honestly look back at this year without mentioning the pandemic. I think talking about this will be cathartic for a lot of people, so I’ll briefly add my thoughts. Right now I’m thinking about work.
From April 2019, I was on the job hunt. I’d started out confidently interviewing for roles and getting interviews pretty steadily, but the overarching feedback I got was that I didn’t have enough experience for the roles I was going for. It was a long, arduous process that put a serious amount of stress on me and my partner, as for each interview I prepared for and got excited about, each crushing defeat caused more unhappiness that I brought home with me.
I remember being on the verge of tears for most of a weekend in fear of the upcoming rejection that awaited my inbox on Monday morning. I remember interviewing for a role at a magazine and being rejected that same evening, and dropping my phone (cheap but kept in pristine condition) so suddenly the screen cracked, while I was waiting to board a plane to Edinburgh to see a friend. I had no idea that it would be the last time I’d see her for the foreseeable future, or that on the journey coming back, I’d caught literally the last plane out before the airline cancelled all flights.
Finally in late February 2020, I got rejected from a major Russell Group university and then a week later they contacted me with a job offer—their first choice had accepted the role then turned it down, so they were offering it to me as a second choice. Despite the blow to my ego I jumped at it and, gave my notice, whilst aware of a growing epidemic said to originate in Wuhan, China.
A week later the office closed due to the pandemic and the UK entered a national lockdown. That was March.
I feel absurdly lucky; I started not just one but two jobs in the middle of lockdown. That’s my overarching feeling for this year: lucky.
From the start of lockdown I started a new 6 month contract at a major UK university working in their press office and in November joined a charity working as their press officer. Cue a huge sigh of relief. It’s what I want to be doing and I’m in a really nice place. Everyone seems friendly and I’ve got a boss that works with me and supports me, which I’m now experienced enough to appreciate just how important that is to my professional happiness.
Note to my younger self—if you get bad vibes about a boss in an interview, reconsider whether you want to take that role. I’ve had bad bosses and good ones, and the latter will support and care about you as a person, not just a face they may or may not get on with. Case in point— one of my previous boss still checks in with me every so often to see how I’m doing. Not because she wants to rehire me, but because she cares, even though I’m no longer her employee.
In the meantime, I’m so grateful to be employed during a time of economic upheaval and when the UK is expected to face a major recession. I have friends who are unemployed and I send them job vacancies whenever I can.
The second major feeling I have for this year is gratitude, to the healthcare workers who are spending long hours caring for those infected, for the keyworkers like my partner who are working to keep the nation running, and to the people who are prioritising health over seeing their families this holiday season. We were going to see my husband’s mum and then our area went into Tier 4 restriction, meaning we’re not allowed to mix with anyone outside of our house bubble. We just had a massive Boxing Day zoom call with my husband’s family (picture 8 screens), which was 3 hours of enjoyable chaos.
Judging from the OMNI calculator I’m not eligible to receive the UK Covid-19 vaccine until around July to September, and I’m okay with that. I feel lucky to have a roof over my head, a partner and a cat who sits on me when I try to type (but she thinks she’s helping) and a job, one I really like doing.
I’ll do a post about writing highs and lows a bit later, but for now I wanted to share my thoughts for this year: luck and gratitude.
-ELJ
From April 2019, I was on the job hunt. I’d started out confidently interviewing for roles and getting interviews pretty steadily, but the overarching feedback I got was that I didn’t have enough experience for the roles I was going for. It was a long, arduous process that put a serious amount of stress on me and my partner, as for each interview I prepared for and got excited about, each crushing defeat caused more unhappiness that I brought home with me.
I remember being on the verge of tears for most of a weekend in fear of the upcoming rejection that awaited my inbox on Monday morning. I remember interviewing for a role at a magazine and being rejected that same evening, and dropping my phone (cheap but kept in pristine condition) so suddenly the screen cracked, while I was waiting to board a plane to Edinburgh to see a friend. I had no idea that it would be the last time I’d see her for the foreseeable future, or that on the journey coming back, I’d caught literally the last plane out before the airline cancelled all flights.
Finally in late February 2020, I got rejected from a major Russell Group university and then a week later they contacted me with a job offer—their first choice had accepted the role then turned it down, so they were offering it to me as a second choice. Despite the blow to my ego I jumped at it and, gave my notice, whilst aware of a growing epidemic said to originate in Wuhan, China.
A week later the office closed due to the pandemic and the UK entered a national lockdown. That was March.
I feel absurdly lucky; I started not just one but two jobs in the middle of lockdown. That’s my overarching feeling for this year: lucky.
From the start of lockdown I started a new 6 month contract at a major UK university working in their press office and in November joined a charity working as their press officer. Cue a huge sigh of relief. It’s what I want to be doing and I’m in a really nice place. Everyone seems friendly and I’ve got a boss that works with me and supports me, which I’m now experienced enough to appreciate just how important that is to my professional happiness.
Note to my younger self—if you get bad vibes about a boss in an interview, reconsider whether you want to take that role. I’ve had bad bosses and good ones, and the latter will support and care about you as a person, not just a face they may or may not get on with. Case in point— one of my previous boss still checks in with me every so often to see how I’m doing. Not because she wants to rehire me, but because she cares, even though I’m no longer her employee.
In the meantime, I’m so grateful to be employed during a time of economic upheaval and when the UK is expected to face a major recession. I have friends who are unemployed and I send them job vacancies whenever I can.
The second major feeling I have for this year is gratitude, to the healthcare workers who are spending long hours caring for those infected, for the keyworkers like my partner who are working to keep the nation running, and to the people who are prioritising health over seeing their families this holiday season. We were going to see my husband’s mum and then our area went into Tier 4 restriction, meaning we’re not allowed to mix with anyone outside of our house bubble. We just had a massive Boxing Day zoom call with my husband’s family (picture 8 screens), which was 3 hours of enjoyable chaos.
Judging from the OMNI calculator I’m not eligible to receive the UK Covid-19 vaccine until around July to September, and I’m okay with that. I feel lucky to have a roof over my head, a partner and a cat who sits on me when I try to type (but she thinks she’s helping) and a job, one I really like doing.
I’ll do a post about writing highs and lows a bit later, but for now I wanted to share my thoughts for this year: luck and gratitude.
-ELJ
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