Sydney So Far...Work

Top 5 Random Aussie Observations:

1. Certain items of clothing are optional here. Shirt, bra…even shoes. Seeing people walking around with no shoes on made me think of the times when I used to see people shopping in their pyjamas. It’s not banned or anything but it just looks weird.
2. There is no socially acceptable age limit as to when someone can stop using a scooter or skateboard.
3. Australians, like the Americans, have put their own little twist on the English language. Not only do they have weird pronunciations for certain words (get an Aussie to say croissant. I don’t know how I managed to stifle my laughter!*) but have made up words that make no sense. For instance, doona is a duvet.
4. I’m struggling to find Australia’s personality. Everything I see is either very American or very English. I can’t see anything that’s Australian. They even have the same problems as us (in England). Binge drinking, teacher strikes, increase in tuition fees, politician’s expenses scandals…and so on and so forth. Disappointing.
5. Everything seems to shut early. I’ve struggled to get a takeaway after 10pm and most (retail) shops close before 5pm. Nightmare.
   *This might be an observation unique to me. I have a thing about grammar and the English language as a whole. It’s not that I get the urge to correct everything and everyone. That would be silly. I’m not perfect myself! It’s just that certain instances like the incorrect use of a word, mispronunciation or purposeful spelling errors are like finger nails on a chalk board to me *shudders*

I was like Lionel Ritchie - Dancing On The Ceiling – for my first couple of days in Collaroy. I was reunited with my friends Mel and Steff, I had a dorm room to myself as nobody else had checked in, there was free breakfast, a bakery next door sells cake at knock down prices just before it closes, and I was surrounded by beaches. What could possibly go wrong?

Let’s just say my Lionel Ritchie bubble burst and I soon resembled Richard Ashcroft in the Bittersweet Symphony music video. It’s not good when everyone around you annoys the hell out of you and you can’t seem to make it stop!

My first frustrating moment came when looking for a job. I only had one contact, that could have possibly of lead to a job in Sydney, but that fell through straight away. Instead, I had to register with as many agencies as I could find in the hope that someone needed an administrator. What I didn’t realise is that my timing was off. I arrived just before the holiday season so generally temping goes quiet as everyone’s wrapping up for Christmas (no pun intended). Offices have extended holidays with some not opening until the middle of January. Another slow period ensues as offices recover and catch up on lost time. All-in-all, I had no chance of getting an office job. Thing is, I didn’t know this at the time so naively spent several dollars getting buses all over Sydney and registering with agencies that all gave the same chirpy yet non-committal speech about job availability.

I thought I struck gold when I joined an agency which worked with over 40 other recruitment agencies to find jobs for people. They told me that I would only be contacted if jobs were available. Instead I received several phone calls telling me that my CV had been passed to them and whether I wanted to register with them. So that was obviously a waste of time. It’s all I ever seemed to be doing. Filling out the same forms and listening to the same spiele. I have actually lost count at how many agencies I registered with but, to date, I’ve received no phone calls regarding a job and have subsequently had no interviews.

I gave it two weeks of registering, sending off cover letters and emails in response to online job listings and general pestering of friends of friends for job contacts in Australia. None of which actually got me anywhere. The weather reflected my mood and the torrential rain and wind meant that I was stuck indoors. I was surgically attached to my notebook and mobile phone and could usually be found sat eyeballing both devices in the TV room at the hostel. As everyone else who had jobs were out all day, I was surrounded by the stoners and leechers – people who generally did nothing all day. Is this what I have become?

Mel and Steff both had jobs which really put the pressure on me. Mel works as a waitress and Steff picks up labouring jobs that are advertised through the hostel. It’s admirable what they are doing seen as they came to Australia with nothing. Their original plan was to travel in Thailand for an extended period of time but changed their minds part way through and decided to work and live in Australia. Unfortunately they hadn’t quite budgeted for this. Once they paid for their flights, working visas and a rental car upon arrival, their finances had dwindled. But rather than sit around crying about it, they found a way to get by. That’s some act to follow!

In an effort to lift my spirits I went shopping. I know, I’m such a girl! I decided to buy some office wear in the hope that it would spur the hands of fate to follow suit (seriously, pun not intended!). It was then that I casted my eyes on the luxuries that I wanted to purchase once I had an income. The first item on my list was a bra. I have bras of course, but they’re travel ones. They’re actually pretty good but hardly flattering. I feel like I left my femininity back in England. I remember the look a guy gave me back in Japan and his words, “You should really show these things off,” echoed in my mind. I miss my wonderbra and all my pretty clothes and lingerie. Damn my capsule wardrobe!

The second extravagance on my list was a pair of trainers as I seriously needed to start running. My exercise to cake ratio is way off scale. I’m so unfit I practically wheeze just rolling out of bed. Everything’s such an effort. I don’t want to become what I hate the most!

As you can probably tell already, I didn’t end up getting an office job. My dreams of earning big money doing a job I know inside out were crushed. I had to settle for Plan B. Waitressing. Now I wouldn’t say I’m the worst waitress in the world, but it’s not exactly my strong point. In an office environment I can thrive as it often entails being left to your own devices. I may have a growing list of things to do as well as a busy switchboard and mounting emails to contend with, but I manage to not only do my job but (more importantly) keep everyone happy. Waitressing has similar stresses, especially the keeping-everyone-happy part. But rather than being left to my own devices, I have a captive audience in having the customers, manager and fellow waiting staff scrutinising everything I do. This brings out the nerves which in turn transforms me from outgoing, multi-tasking and commonsensical to a bumbling mess. Greeeeeat!

I had no choice though. I needed a job. Waitressing was my next option. Mel gave me some terrific advice about getting a waitressing job.

1. If you decide to drop off your resume/CV in person, make sure you dress like you’re ready to work.
2. If you decide to call and enquire about a job, choose a time that’s late in the evening (between 8pm and 10pm). At this point, the restaurant will either be busy but manageable or just quietening down after a mad-rush. Either way, the manager will know at that point in the day whether they could use more staff. They’ll be more likely to be enthusiastic and might even ask you to come in for a trial the next night.

I’m all about the lists today! I made a list of restaurants and phone numbers in Dee Why and Narrabeen which are two areas close to Collaroy. The first place I called had no vacancies, the second place sounded encouraging and asked me to drop in my CV and the third place said the same but said to come in for an interview. Although this sounded promising already, Mel told me to keep ringing places for back-up options. I called one more restaurant and was asked to come in for a trial the following evening. Awesome.

The “interview” was more of a brief introduction and a trial was arranged for the next morning. My evening trial at the other restaurant was a disaster. I was briefed about the restaurant setup in around 5 minutes. After this time the manager talked to one of the waitresses about her boy problems. I felt really awkward so stood behind the bar twiddling my thumbs. Obviously rule number one in waitressing is to always be doing something. If there is literally nothing to do, then LOOK like you’re doing something! As there were no customers yet I thought I was safe.

I was given three tables to look after. This restaurant works in sections which was what I was used to. Unfortunately, I had no pin for the till so could only take orders. I then had no idea what the other waitresses had done with my tables. I had no idea whether people had ordered drinks, nor did I know what dishes each person was having. This left me in a quandary as I had no idea what cutlery needed handing out and ended up going back on myself by asking people whether they’d like to order something to drink. As it was so busy, all the girls were zipping by doing their own thing. It was very frustrating.

The next fruitless task was serving food but I had no idea what each dish was so that lead to a couple of mistakes. By this point I felt useless. A wise thing to have done would be to either have me shadow someone or put me on running so I could get used to the table numbers and dishes. Instead, I was told to look after 3 tables without a till login and to keep up with the obvious lack of communication in that place. I felt like an idiot and the staff there treated me as such. I left the restaurant and tried to hold it together. I was told I’d receive a call the next day to let me know how I got on. I knew full well I wouldn’t have gotten the job. I didn’t even get a phone call!

I was determined not to be a failure at my next trial. This time round I was coupled with one of the waitresses and she explained everything and I mean everything. There is a rule for every task possible in that place which suited me just fine. Communication was clear and, although there were no sections, there was still a steady flow to proceedings. After just an hour of work, I was told I could have a job. Wahey! The pay isn’t as good as my friend Mel’s and I feel invisible in that place when it comes to making friends but it’s bringing in money and that’s all that matters right now.