365 Days of Walking…and Underemployment
The distance between Sydney and Perth is 3,290 kms. In the year since I was stood down, I have walked just over 3,400km. This is quite the milestone, yet I am still without a job and have fallen into the underemployed category.
At 100 days of stand down I advocated for the live entertainment industry and how it had been overlooked at a Federal Government level.
At 200 days of stand down, I spoke of the unexpected positive benefits that a pandemic can bring, but having then been made redundant, mused how difficult it would be to re-enter an industry that was still struggling.
I had hoped that by my one-year anniversary things would have improved and to a certain degree they have.
Australia is in an enviable position in the eyes of the world. We appear to have managed COVID successfully. People are returning to a life that resembles normal. Domestic borders are open (at least for now), people are reconnecting with loved ones kept apart. Confidence is growing.
In the entertainment industry, theatres are slowly returning to 100% capacities. Sydney is hosting the only productions of musicals Hamilton and Frozen currently running in the world. With Broadway and the West End still closed, the world theatre community is watching us and learning how to step back into the spotlight safely.
In spite of the progress made and regardless of the government’s loud claims that 92% of jobs have returned, I am still without full-time employment. I am however not without an income.
2020 was many things, but for me it was also about pivoting. Having previously been a freelance consultant for 12 years, it was time to dust of the shingle and accept short-term contracts. Pandemics don’t stop the bills from coming.
Channelling my inner Adriana Xenides, I did my best barrel girl impersonation assisting on the delivery of some workshops. Turns out I have skills with butcher’s paper and post-it notes. I also took on a producing role for a show that faced COVID complications and in the end was postponed.
Perhaps the biggest pivot was returning to my marketing roots, last officially utilised in 2014 and returning to the organisation that had made me redundant in the first place.
Though grateful for the opportunity and the income, it was challenging to walk back through those doors again, into a restructured landscape. Knowing that other people were working on projects I had originally been engaged for, you can’t help but take redundancy personally.
The positive take is that each contract has bought me time. More time for things to improve. More time for the industry to get back on its feet. More time for jobs to start again.
Since being made redundant I have applied for more than 10 roles in almost every state of the country and even one overseas. Some were a great fit, some I was overqualified for and some required a little bit of lateral thinking. All of them were unsuccessful.
When an entire industry shuts down and redundancies are common, the job market is flooded with a variety of great experienced candidates, all trying to get back on their own career paths. Missing out on roles, makes you doubt your skills and plays havoc with your confidence. It feels like you have lost your professional currency.
So, for now, whilst continuing with contract work, I have also taken steps to create my own on-going employment. If I can’t rely on being re-employed, why not create a business model that allows me to steer my future in a more fulfilling and creative way. It’s time to take control of the narrative, pay my mortgage without the fear of no income and keep moving forward.
I am uncertain of what the next year will bring, but I can assure you I will always make time for more walking.
