FAQ

Find answers to some of the more frequently asked questions on the Forums.

Forums guidelines

Our guidelines keep the Forums a safe place for people to share and learn information.

jobseeking

tirawa
Community Member

I don't really know if this is the place to put this but I just wanted to vent a bit, I suppose, and see if there's any advice or anything out there. I've struggled with pretty bad mental illness basically my whole life and it really impeded me over the years, I didn't graduate high school because I couldn't handle it and then I immediately went into trying to complete a bridging course and have been struggling with that ever since. I'm maybe finally about to finish a course that's meant to be 1 year but it's taken me nearly 4 years to complete. 

I can't really study full time with my mental illness, and the jobseeker pay isn't really enough for me to live on as someone who rents in a city and can't really just move. I got a job through APM disability last year and it's all been really optimistic since then but after July they found they can't afford to keep hiring me so I'm not really getting any shifts anymore unless they're completely understaffed. So I've been looking for work for about 4 weeks since I was informed of this change, and I came into it kind of optimistic, I have work experience now and I'm pretty capable so surely I can get an upgrade and find a better paying job and start really getting comfy. But I'm realising I seriously overestimated myself. I've been applying to mostly lower level government jobs, administration and the like, and haven't heard back from any of them. Then I started applying to retail jobs which I'm also not hearing back from. Not even an interview. Pretty much every day I get an email saying I didn't get another job; otherwise it's just radio silence. I'm studying part time and I just have nothing to do with most of my time now. I just sit there day in day out hoping one of these jobs will call me until 5pm kicks around and then I just wait out the time I need to be awake so I can go to sleep and start the wait again. I can't resort to hobbies really, since most of them cost money and I'm completely broke between bills and rent and food delivery (food preparation is obviously not easy at all when you're mentally ill). I feel stupid for even thinking anyone would want to hire me. I have one year of retail experience at 23 years old and absolutely 0 academic achievements, I can't even pick up the phone most of the time. It feels terrible and it's so frustrating. I hate feeling this useless and unwanted. 

1 Reply 1

Sophie_M
Moderator
Moderator
Hi tirawa,

Thank you sincerely for joining our forum community - it is excellent to have you here, and we do hope you will feel cared for and supported here.

It is such a rough time to be looking for any sort of work really, and the experiences of mental illness and motivational struggle can make it feel horribly insurmountable. We can appreciate and share this with you, even if we can never understand how it feels for you personally. 

Looking through a more broad lens can be challenging when financial pressure is involved. The difficulties are very real, and cannot be understated in their impact. You have done an excellent job hanging in there with APM, and your job placement, but you must also honour your needs. 

We do want to raise the thought though - what happens for you if we shift your attention from finding a job to finding your purpose - a passion you can be paid for, a thing that even the mental illness would struggle to dampen or knock out of you? Who is tirawa, when they are forge a meaning for themselves? At first, this can be a difficult, maybe even depressing question - but over time, it starts to build dreams and intentions that make it possible to pick up the phone again. And sometimes... it really is just that first step, that makes the next 3 happen.

We want you to feel supported in this tirawa - just in case anything is getting on top of you right now financially - please consider reaching out to a Financial Counsellor for assistance - you can find them at their main site, or calling 1800 007 007 to find the one closest to you. 

You can also reach out to us for anything mental health related at anytime 24/7 on 1300 22 4636 or click here to just have a webchat.

We are very glad you are here, Tirawa - hold tight, keep at it, and reach out anytime you need this community to cheer you on.

Regards,

Sophie M.