Anyone feel like they're not want to be yet, despite their best efforts?

[lightgreenolive]

Namechanged as quite outing. I've worked freelance for several years in a creative industry, and while it's known that my job is a very competitive one and rife with rejection and disappointment, I'm feeling quite exhausted picking myself up again and again and again...

I seem to be having a run of really bad luck on the work front - projects/gigs falling through, or getting cancelled for reasons entirely beyond my control. I'm the first person to be self critical, and don't want to blow my own trumpet - but I'm often told by those senior to me that I should be much more successful than I am by now!

It currently seems like things are constantly NOT going my way, and I'm so tired of it. I am almost on the verge of jacking it all in entirely because the stress of the disappointments (not to mention the unreliable income etc) is too much. But then again, I've come this far, and good things could be just around the corner, so...

Any similar experiences or words of wisdom, I would LOVE to hear them. Thank you.

'not WHERE THEY want to be yet'....that should read! I promise sloppiness isn't the reason behind my lack of success, honest... 😂

Hello, I came to this Work topic just now to see if there's anyone who might feel like I do, and your post is there waiting for me! Just reading it made me feel a bit better.

I'm in a different industry completely, science / tech, have a physics degree and research Masters, graduated with a first, top of my class the whole way through, but I just can't get past entry level, terrible roles. I've been graduated 7 years now and - even though my classmates have gone from strength to strength it seems - I just can't get past entry level / into something I care about. The professional jobs I've had (2 of them) were the only jobs I could get at the time, nothing at all that I'm actually interested in.

I applied for - and got - a new position with my current company last year. Higher level, lots more responsibility etc. They offered me a pay cut, which I declined, maybe foolishly but it felt like such a kick in the teeth. I'm still stuck in the same entry level role now, applying for other entry level roles in other companies, and being ignored by the vast majority of them.

I know others will come on and say there's obviously something wrong with me, and they're right, I'm not good at these 'sell yourself' interviews. I'm a geek, I'm good (really good, the companies that do employ me, love me) at techy stuff, if someone will just let me do it, but I have to morph into a sales person to get the jobs, and I just can't.

Anyway, I just want to say that I regret wasting so much of my time ensuring that I got the best grades, that I did the stupid extracurricular stuff, volunteered in a relevant role to demonstrate my interest, worked - for free - for the entire summer after work placement for college in the same company because I thought that would give me an in. Just to be clear, I couldn't afford it, I was working in retail on evenings and weekends to pay my way, and relying on savings. They advertised for graduate roles later that year and didn't even interview me (though they were happy enough with my work to publish it, and my supervisor was singing my praises).

I have no words of wisdom, I just know how you feel and empathise. So much of job hunting is who you know and luck.

You obviously need to try for an employed role