“Young woman, seeking a job in the field of communication or catering.” This sentence well summarizes Alicia’s intentions. Everyone knows an Alicia: a friend, a cousin, a neighbor. She was not psychologically prepared for job hunting and the hard work it involves. She hadn’t been taught to devote her days to the paperwork of job searching. She had been perhaps a bit naive to rely solely on her more than honorable academic record.
At 22, the woman from Nice has just finished her studies. With a diploma in hand, she has been ceaselessly seeking employment since July. For her, the holidays looked more like “sorting documents.” In other words, Alicia spent her summer days flipping through newspapers and surfing the internet to “find” the rare gem: a classified ad that met her expectations. But to no avail.
Finally, almost… At the end of July, the phone rings. On the other end, a dining room personnel manager. She wants to meet the young woman to hire her as a waitress. Alicia couldn’t believe her ears: “I was happy with that call. The only catch is that I’m only taken for extra work.” The appointment is quickly set. They get along well. Alicia has now been working for almost three weeks.
But before arriving at this point, the young graduate had to undertake a significant number of steps. Alicia remembers: “I didn’t stop for a single day, except on weekends. Looking for a job is a full-time job because to succeed, you need to be motivated and give yourself the means.”
Thus, to have the maximum chances of finding a job, Alicia considered almost everything. A visit to ANPE (French National Agency for Employment), then a detour to a local mission, and finally, Alicia went to the annex town hall in Old Nice. Just to drop off a resume. Her perseverance paid off, the fruit of her labor rewarded… for now. For Alicia does not plan to continue on this path all her life. That’s why, in her free time, she continues to read the ads. Her objective: to find a permanent position, like everyone else.
As the academic year approaches, Alicia will spare a thought for that easier student life with different constraints. She just wants to warn students that at the university or in schools one gets degrees, but rare are those which allow one to directly enter into working life.
