A Slow Sunday

I know this article's connection with Ireland is tenuous at first glance, but chalk it up to mere geography: Going Home During the Recession.

It's one of the Post's main article from the Sunday paper, so many of you may have already seen it. The experience of Melissa Meyer neatly summarizes the collapse of the job market––specifically, the job market for professionals. 'Tis a reality we are grappling with in Europe as well. To be honest, if I had two solid years retail experience, or two solid years of restaurant work, I would have landed a job on one of our first days here. But unfortunately I have not only a BA, but a Master's. I am hopelessly overqualified for "till" positions, and somehow I managed to go all this time without experience as a waiter.

It's frustrating because 99 percent of the time these are positions that I am more than capable of doing. Pardon my lack of humility, but come on, serving food? How much training time am I going to knot up? And in return a restaurant would get a reliable, professional, punctual person that won't show up to work drunk. Problem is you can't explain these things on a CV. Instead, I have had my CV handed back to me when I admit that I don't have restaurant experience. For a minimum-wage serving position. Ouch.

C'est la vie. It's a buyer's market if you're hiring. You can afford to be picky. The truth is these pubs and restaurants will not fail at finding people with experience. If I get desperate I will simply invent past experience, so I feel no need to panic yet.