Appreciating what has been, excited for what is yet to come
This past week (March 15th to 21st) has been one of the best weeks so far this year. Not because I did not have good days before, but because I am now engaged in projects giving me a lot of positive energy.
While this post could be seen in broader terms of appreciating the past and being excited about the future, I only intend to write from the more recent events of my life.
Putting the Well-being of Recent Graduates on the Political Agenda
One of my current projects is the new organization for recent graduates in Denmark. I want to share how I got the idea and why it is highly relevant to have this organization.
In December I ended a total of 5 months of work (4 of which were at the end of the year) in a position where I was privileged to continue working with the same subject as my master thesis. A job that I enjoyed for multiple reasons.
Fast forward to January and I find myself dominated with anxious feelings and thoughts about the future. Will I ever find a job? What about my finances? How long will I be stuck in this system? Will they take away my unemployment insurance paycheck? If they do, how will I survive?
Everything culminated when they told me to reach out to 20 companies a week. When I said that was a bit much (as I am only required to apply for two jobs a week), they told me; “Well then just contact 10 companies.”
It was as if there was an equation to the more you do the more you will have a chance at succeeding. And while that makes logical sense, it undermines the complexity of the issue.
Recent graduates are being systematically excluded from the labor market. You need 5-10 years of experience. You need to know exactly the right people. You need to be able to do this and that.
It is as if nothing is ever enough.
12 years of experience with volunteer work. 6 months of internship, 6 months of working as a freelance writer and 5 months of working as a research assistant. I have led multiple projects and boards. I improve my knowledge everyday and gain new competencies all the time.
Yet it is not enough.
My experiences of struggling with my mental health do not stand alone. As the survey we are conducting in LONA clearly demonstrates - the majority of graduates are struggling with their mental health.
So while I was angry with frustration and sad about having to face unrealistic expectations I got the need to do something. After talking about it with Stine, we decided to take matters into our own hands.
We need the system to change, because right now it is breaking people down.
All the while the politicians call us lazy, spoiled and having too high expectations and standards. Well who is making us have those expectations I wonder. All of society is striving for perfection and high quality work and you blame us for having expectations.
How about finding ways to make it easier to enter the labor market instead?
Well, that is why LONA was created. To put the well-being of recent graduates on the agenda (for several reasons, not only the ones mentioned here) and to ensure that we have opportunities to reach our full potentials.
Putting an End to Sexual Harassment in the Workplace
As of today I will be starting a new internship, one that is more probable to lead to a job. While I still have to learn the full scope of my assignments during the next month, I will be focused on the following key subjects:
Learning how to use digital marketing (through Google Digital Garage)
Finding ways to prevent sexual harassment on the workplace
Preparing materials for businesses and social media on the matter
So while it may have taken me two years of slow progress I feel hopeful that my time as an “outsider” on the labor market is coming to an end. I feel less worried and more confident about the future.
I am extremely grateful for both the hard and the good times during these past years. I am hopeful about the events that occurred this past week; Becoming public with LONA, landing the internship and something else that I reveal in a later post (also job related).
I am unsure whether my thoughts make sense to anyone but myself. I hope that some of it can create value in some way. If not, I am still happy you stopped by.
Don’t forget to follow LONA on Facebook, LinkedIn and Instagram (most posts are in Danish so far).
Sending you peace and love!