This Be The Post

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It fucks you up, looking for a job.
It may not mean to, but it does …

Well, the travels have stopped and the fun-o-meter has dropped to a considerable low … because finding a job sucks in every country, which is why this entry doesn’t really have any pictures. But I have learned a little something along the way, so here are my three personal guidelines for surviving with a work visa:

Be a bartender: The hospitality industry is probably the easiest job market to tap, and bartending is by far the most fun. Waiting tables sucks a little more here because people don’t tip, no matter where one is stationed (Rachel worked as a waitress at a pricey restaurant called Dockside and made about 16 dollars in tips over the course of a week). With bartending, one still gets the decent paycheck of $13 an hour and still gets to feel like a part of the party.
Downside: Bars are typically open until 6:30 a.m., so a part-time job on the side is nearly impossible.
Experience: You need it. It isn’t as easy as it looks, and people order weird New Zealand-y cocktails and wines. But through Tanner Slayden’s fool-proof training method, one can get his or her bartending experience for free. Just follow these steps:
1) Lie about experience
2) Get fired from place you lied about experience
(Repeat as much as necessary)
After a couple of rounds (in my case, two), you pick up enough information to at least fake being a decent bartender.

Go through a recruitment agency: This has worked better for Rachel than it has for me. She made an appointment with Hudson (http://nz.hudson.com/); and after about a 2 hour-long meeting, they found her a personal assistant job that pays about $27 dollars an hour. Needless to say, I didn’t have that kind of luck. I interviewed with a guy who seemed more nervous than a five-year-old at a piano recital, and he didn’t have anything for me. In fact, all he could talk about was how incredible Hudson is, which seemed weird to me because the first thing one does in these meetings is sign the contract.

http://www.trademe.co.nz/ equals awesome: Trademe is how we found our apartment and every job we have interviewed for. It’s basically New Zealand’s version of craigslist.com and eBay.com. But as corny and cliché as it sounds, the Web site doesn’t replace getting out there and selling your resume in person. I feel like all the job-help lists always say some version of “Get Out There J” … but it couldn’t be truer in Wellington. What can I say? Employers don’t always take backpacking Americans with a limited work visa seriously. Go figure.

(Don’t understand beginning? See Larkin poem: http://www.artofeurope.com/larkin/lar2.htm)

(All money values are New Zealand dollars)

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