If you’re lucky enough not to be looking for work right now and are wondering what it’s like, then I’d compare it to trying to date when everyone else is either in a happy relationship or just doesn’t want you.
But even though there’s a global pandemic and I’ve spent five months looking for work, I’m determined not to settle for the first thing that comes along.
I quit my job with the intention to move to Sydney, exactly one week before lockdown. As you can imagine, that didn’t work out the way I’d planned, but fortunately, the company I left were able to put me on furlough until my notice period ended in July.
Since they told me, I’ve searched the internet for jobs every day, but there’s been nothing out there. When I typed ‘PR jobs in London’ into Google, I was met with a list of adverts – which I soon learned were for jobs that were no longer available because of the pandemic.
It was like being told you’d won a weekend away, then getting to the airport and finding out the prize had expired.
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But in July, after months of waiting, I finally started to see new adverts appear and I was so relieved that I could cry.
I spent a couple of weeks applying for the handful of jobs that were available and, amazingly, I secured an interview with a good agency. The initial interview was via Zoom, which was a first for me, but apart from some initial WiFi issues it went well and I was invited for a second.
That interview went well too, and I allowed myself to quietly get excited. After months of moping about in my PJs and starting to feel like a massive couch potato, I began daydreaming about going back to work, earning money and having a purpose again.
This fantasy only intensified when lockdown began to ease, and people started going back into their offices and getting on with their lives.
A couple of days after the final interview, I got ‘The Call’ and was told that I’d got the job! I couldn’t believe it. I felt relief, happiness and pure excitement wash over me.
During the conversation, the employers said that there might be a slight adjustment to the salary because, like many businesses, they’d been impacted by coronavirus. I said: ‘I completely understand and can be flexible… within reason.’
Then the first thing I did was tell my boyfriend and best friends, followed closely by going to the shop and buying some Prosecco.
Like many women, I’ve never been good at discussing pay or standing up for myself at work
But when the email with the revised salary came through, my heart sank – it was a lot lower than we’d previously discussed. I took a minute to compose myself and tried to think logically.
There’s a pandemic going on, so I should be happy with whatever I get because who knows when the next offer will come along, right?!
My mind was all over the place, so I turned to my partner for advice. We were waiting for me to get a job before we finally moved in together, so I thought he would tell me to stop being silly and just take it. But he didn’t.
He said that, despite the crazy world we currently live in, I’m good at what I do and that I should value myself more. Half of me already felt that, but it was fighting the other half which constantly doubts myself and wanted to finally put a stop to crippling money worries.
But I built up some courage and decided to try to negotiate the salary, because I knew that the current offer didn’t reflect my skills or experience.
Like many women, I’ve never been good at discussing pay or standing up for myself at work. And, of course, I wish that I’d started to do this at a better time – ideally when we weren’t going through a global crisis and the job market wasn’t dryer than a bowl of Weetabix. But it’s better late than never.
Unfortunately the employer refused to go any higher, which isn’t surprising when people are being made redundant every day and the choice of candidates has never been richer. So I decided not to accept the position.
I knew I’d taken a risk, but when I first read their response I was devastated. I became very anxious and full of self doubt because I didn’t know when the next opportunity would come along.
But after a couple of days, I realised that I’d made the right decision because I wouldn’t have been happy settling and would do everything possible to get a role that reflected my worth.
Armed with my newfound determination, I worked harder than ever and contacted every recruiter and company that was hiring that I could find. After a while, a couple more employers started replying to my emails, new roles came up in the market and I secured more interviews. This showed me that I’d made the right decision.
I know that others aren’t as fortunate as me – I was receiving an income from furlough and had savings, my partner had offered to help if needed, and my friends have offered to let me stay with them as a last resort.
The pandemic has unsettled everyone, no matter how tough you are, but we shouldn’t let it rattle our self belief. We’ve had an incredibly tough few months but new opportunities are slowly starting to emerge.
So if you feel that the job you’re being offered doesn’t reflect your worth, you know you can fight for something better and if your circumstances allow it, then do it.
While I am still looking for the perfect job, I’m confident that I have made the best decision for myself and my future.
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source https://metro.co.uk/2020/08/24/negotiate-salary-pandemic-13134040/
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