Diary pt. 2

One of the drawbacks of being a freelance contributor is that sometimes the flexibility is too flexible.

On Friday I submitting a story which was set to make Monday's front page. However, thanks to some inconsiderate teen terrorist caught with explosives, my tale of county council corruption was bumped from page one to page two. Alas, not working weekend’s means I didn't discover this information until Monday morning when I dropped in a shop on the way to work - disappointed not to see my shining by-line donning the front.

Still, the news must go on.

So with plans being put in place for the big move down to London, I've been shooting off applications for jobs and what not. However, unlike most journalists in my position (that of a freelancer looking for a contract) I'm being particularly choosey in what I apply for.

I’m not going to apply for something unless I have the appropriate commercial, academic or personal qualifications. Additionally, I’m not going to apply for a position unless it’s something I’ve taken a keen interest in.

For the purpose of these diary entries, I'm going to start keeping a tally of the number of jobs applied for, the number of positive responses received, and the number of rejections received. Positive responses can include anything from an interview, an employer’s interest in finding out more information about myself as a candidate, or an invitation to discuss recruitment. Rejections are just, well, outright rejections. “Sorry, not this time”. Of course, there are those employers who might just ignore my application altogether. But we’re not going to keep a tally for them – fight fire with fire.

Jobs applied for: 5
Positive responses: 2
Rejections: 0