South Africa...my new home

Hi everyone!

I will not even begin to explain where I fully disappeared to but I will say I have been busy having fun and discovering myself. It has been a journey full of ups and downs but I am so grateful that I have gone through it-heck, I am still going through it!

So I recently went to South Africa to volunteer for approximately three months focusing on developing health and hygiene within a township in Grahamstown.

Lovely experience? Where do I even begin? From the lovely community and the mama's, to my host family, amazing counterpart and diverse team of people I was working with.

It was an experience that I can never forget and I will be sharing more of it in due time.
For now I am going to share a few things that I learnt in true Rubologs tradition:

1. Everyone deserves the chance to smile
I don't actually know how to explain this point lol but let it marinate in your mind...

2. Patience is a virtue
It is hard working in a large group of people with different characters and personalities and this was a major challenge that we faced during our placement. However, being open to accept people for who they are and what they stand by truly helped me to work with rather than against them. It is good to work with people you have a lot of similarities with but at times it limits your personal growth.

3. As faces differ, so do their needs 
It was not always obvious until you got close to someone to hear their life journey and their aspirations. I now know not to always judge a book by its cover but to sometimes get closer to people. 

4. Access to practice good health and hygiene should not be taken for granted
In the community I was working in, health and hygiene was an issue we were dealing with. We did this in various ways through community workshops, events and lessons in schools. Whilst the knowledge was being passed on, it could not always be applied. How do you maintain personal hygiene, if the water supply was turned off for three days? 

5. South Africa has winter
No but they actually do. I was soo ignorant of the fact that just because I'm in a tropical country, it automatically means bikini! Wrong. It was freezing and I had a cold. 

I have learnt a lot during my time away and will cherish these moments and the people I met forever.

For now I will  leave you with a few snaps...see you soon! 

Plenty of love

Rubo xx

First day in SA

At the National Art Festival

National Arts Festival

Snippet of a township

View from my home

View of town centre  

Me being me

My working group-aka the best 

My counterpart who became my sister xx

Job

"Hi ruth, how are you? How's the job hunt going?"

"You had any interviews yet?"

"How did your last interview go?"

"You actively looking for work?"

"Don't worry, God will give you your own."

"If it's God's will, the job is yours!"

This has been my conversation with people for the last 4-5 months. I'm sure you've sussed out what this post is about. 

Rather than complaining about my current job situation, I've decided to give advice, especially to my fellow graduates who spend all day looking for work. 

I know the feeling of looking into your account and sighing heavily, the dreaded email response saying 'We are sorry...', the countless jobs that require 2-5 years experience in your field BUT you are a graduate with little or no experience. 

I laugh because if I see one more job spec requesting experience when I clearly inserted 'entry role' to my search engine, then I may cut my hair ( I lie, it'd make too many people happy lol). 

Let me point out by stating one mistake that I made when I first started, I didn't speak to anyone! Big mistake. You know you'd be surprised at the amount of information people have if you just decided to be open with them. I could not believe the wealth of information people had to offer me. Conversing with different people exposed me to an area, company or location I hadn't initially thought of and it's really enhanced my job search. Honestly, speak to people! 

Another thing, be bold! I'm actually a shy person but I come across as being an extrovert. Total lie. To pick up the phone to call the HR of a company is an issue for me but once I started, I couldn't stop. Once I did one cover letter, I could email it round to several companies. I mean the worst they can say is NO! It's really not that bad at least you know you've made the effort right? 

Read! Read blogs and articles from newspapers such as The Guardian, The Times, Total Jobs or journals related to your field on the job market. It gives you great insight as to what is actually happening around you. Some information may appear gloomy but there's always a ray of hope somewhere.  

I've been to a few recruitment and graduate fairs but I must say it hasn't really favoured my field. The last one I went to in October in London was good and I was able to send my CV to a few companies to be viewed for jobs. I'd say along these lines that it's best to sign up to these graduate recruitment agencies. They're especially good for HR, Business and Finance. I'm not too certain of Science and engineering. However, sometimes having these emails coming through is an encouragement as it shows that there are jobs out there and that you should be hopeful. 

Lastly, don't give in! I remember going for one interview. I calculated my salary, how I was going to save, use the rest of the money on other things, help pay some bills at home, go on holiday etc but then I didn't get the job. Something to do with shortage in funds. It totally messed up my morale. I don't think I applied for other jobs that week, I was soooo down! Haha looking back, I'm actually ok and I've been able to pick myself back up again and keep going. So you do the same! 

Pray, pray, pray! I cannot stress this point. There's no point in you applying for a job that you know God does not want you in. You'd probably be frustrated there! Trust me. I hope I haven't lost you if you're not a Christian but try it. Just pray to God that He should make it clear whether He wants you to have the job or not. I'm so sure He'd answer you. 

Apply apply, apply because faith without works is dead. Make sure you're actively seeking your desired role. 

Oh yeah, for those of you reading this and are about to graduate, you're in for a shocker lol. The real world is no joke so enjoy university whilst it lasts. 

If anyone has any good sites for biology and related roles or graduate roles in general please comment below or drop me an email at rubologs@gmail.com. 

Ruthie...till we meet again!