A bad Workman always Quarrels with his tools. Similar happens to most of Middle class teenagers in India. As their whole life the funds are coming from home for their education, they never learns how to earn and thus a person knows only the theoretical part of knowledge which is been taught in School. The things which are not being taught includes rejection, re-rejection, improvement, and re-re-rejection and building up yourself together to ReFace the Issue.
After entering Australia. The first thing I did was to understand how the system work. How would I get my 1st job here and now along with studies I needed to earn. In local surrounding the first the first advice and sometimes the final advice you get is to browse internet and search for Job across the websites Gumtree and Seek dot com.
When I started searching for job on these website, on the left of the screen menu’s came, which type of job you would like to apply for? The options ranges from simple category like Carpentry, Gardening, Cleaning, Laundry the words which I could understand to most complex like food and beverage attended, barista, Consultant.
The fields of jobs include Hospitality and Tourism, Trade and Service, Construction, Retail, Sales, Educations and Teaching and the list followed.
When I tried to read the job specification each time, more and more I was able to understand that I have never done any of these in my life. The only thing I did was go to school/college and came home blaming my parents how tough life is.
I started thinking after clicking the job criteria after each and every job that I really don’t have the SKILLS to do these jobs. I never learned this in India. We were only trained how to battle on theories and logic that we fail to understand that to build a bench over which we are sitting it requires crafting, to enjoy the air from a fan or air con, it requires someone to work in Assembly line. And even to eat the food what we just eat in our tiffin, a manual labour is required to prepare them.
I remember fighting with even the Security Guard of my school and college to get permission for late entry, but on that day I dint even had a skill to become a Security Guard to stand on someone’s door.
In Australia I came to realise that your 12 years of Scientific education in Schooling and 4 years of Engineering is of waste when you cannot find a single work environment to earn and feed yourself.
The next advice from friends came was when you cant make it, fake it. Fake your complete resume and Get the job. I even tried that, but internally my heart was afraid that on an interview there are many things I am unaware what if they actually ask how to do it, I would have no clue how to respond to it.
Unfortunately the fake resume could not get me an interview either.
The next thing I started was to go to door to door, shop to shop asking for jobs. I went to two Indian restaurant owners the first one was Masala Art at Roma Street, Brisbane. The Manager offered me job as Dish washer. The pay was 8$ an hour for start and then might be increased if my performance is good. I came to know let that be any country in the world Indians will exploit Indians. The pay was illegal but I was desperate. (Legal Pay that time for an adult was minimum 18$per hour). Manager called me from the morning a day after. After coming back to home and going to college the next day, it was decided that I would not be able to go to a job as on the same time I had my 1st laboratory Practical starting. I completed my Practical and went back running to the Roma street, the owner then told me that sorry you were not there when we needed you so now the job has been given to someone else. Thought illegal, though less pay, thought I agreed to self exploitation but even on this desperate occasion I missed a job as I dint go there on the right time I promised to.
That might be a shock in desperation that from that day for all my future jobs I made sure that if I sign up for a job, I am there at the location of job no matter how big or small the job is.
Next some of the Interview it was easily caught that I am faking it as the confidence was all gone. I was tired of all rejections and then out of blue moon one of random college-mate introduced me to her job location. The owner was again Indian, thus the pay was 18$ and hour on ABN which means I would be paying my own taxes. But for a start I was going to learn my first skill in life. Those days I did my first attempt for time management and I was able to successfully attend both my classes and Job. My Australian Carrier started as a Cleaner at a four start Apartment living called as “OXYGEN” on Roma Street.
I worked hard there, harder than even I thought I could. The pay was such calculated that sometimes I worked for 9 hours and got pay of only 4 or 5 hours. But still in desperation I did that work.
While coming from India I was happy that even I can even earn 25000Rs pay by being a floor Cleaner, but when I actually had to become a Floor cleaner, the words became so heavy. I was able to understand the fake attitude I had in my home country. Internally I use to feel low to do this job, though i must not but it might be the internal mentality set in India that Cleaning is a bad profession (which is not). But day by day I realised I am not made for this.
There was Job, there was Money, but there was not job Satisfaction. When I am not doing the thing which dose not interest me, the work becomes a burden, there is no pull by Interest only Push due to greed/need or money. The part of job which is most undisscussed is that your mentality and thought process is altered by your surrounding. You are surrounded by people at workplace which talk about only the things they know and by this, your knowledge comes to its limits by hanging out more time with these people. I was feeling that 8 to 9 hours a day is a major part of the day you are colleagues which constantly think small and in turn restricting your own capability.
Every day after coming home from both work and studies, I use to sit and apply for job. Understand the skill and re-built my resume. I must have applied 100’s and 1000’s job on that period of three to four months of end of 2013 and rejected every time but one. The one yes was a ray of hope and I realised that if you fail and keep re trying, there is a time when you have window to get your success, but if you stop the window can never open.
My first ever decent pay job was in RGIS as a Stalk taker. The job gave me chance to actually travel a lot with in my state. I was able to observe the nature is beautiful which I am unable to see in those 9 hours of trying shifts. I joined Sales with one of my Classmates and talked with many people in Australia, I was prepared for rejection in Sales, it build me more strong but I was also able to see various living standards, build in mind the way I would build my dream house. Understand how the local people of various living standard think, and with their hospitality I came to know that let it be India or Australia, the people of every class are present everywhere. They talk similar stuff, thought technology is different and way of doing things are different but people are people.
After that my focus completely shifted from Earning Money to Leanring Skills, I can cash my skills anytime with right opportunity but may times cash cannot install a skill in me. It requires a person to be both physically and mentally be present on the location where the magic is happening.
In two years I did more than 8 to 10 jobs. The difficult term to understand called “Food and Beverage Attended” was mastered to such a level that for 1 year I was able to Supervise and Manage 10 to 20 Food and Beverage Attendants working for me in a common goal.
In year 2015 for a short duration of 3 months I also established my own company, though it wasn’t successful as I had to learn a lot before handling my own, but it was an experience of a lifetime
Today I am ready to go back to the Theoretical world, of the Biotechnology, research, development but as better person that I would have been if I was only an Academic.
So even today I sit and Apply to various zones of Jobs as my mind is always Hungry to learn more and more and more….
All the best for all readers who might have found the job which Interest them or still searching for one, but remember if you fail for the 100th time, never stop trying because the 101th time might be a chance that your window of opportunity opens welcoming you in…
(P.S The simplest and toughest job is to be a better Husband. Most exciting and mind blowing job is yet to come: To be a father…)
Have a Great week ahead Everyone
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Tapish Dongre 