And so the job rejections begin. I couldn’t tell you why. I’ve applied for jobs I’m more than capable of doing, spending hours at my laptop trying desperately to concentrate long enough to complete applications that are often far too convoluted and unnecessarily complex, only to get nowhere.

I have my moments, but I’m highly unlikely to stick my finger in a plug socket, and I know how to talk to customers, so why exactly am I suddenly unemployable?

That’s before I’ve even mentioned bipolar disorder and needing time each week for therapy. Most of my working life has been spent in hospitality, starting with an apprenticeship and followed by jobs picked up here and there while I travelled around being, frankly, quite mentally ill for large parts of my adult life.

But when I know what I’m doing and I’m left to get on with it, I prove more than worth my weight. I’m not afraid to get stuck in, I’ll do the awkward hours, and I’ll stay behind to get the job done at the end of a long night.

That’s the part I don’t understand. The country constantly complains that people don’t want to work, yet I’m willing, available, and actively trying, and nobody seems interested.

Obviously, I’m avoiding the freelance event agencies and the roles that immediately feel like scams. A gentle nod there to the company that has not stopped contacting me all week despite sending an entirely AI-generated job description and asking applicants to complete a one-way video interview.

I do have at least some standards for myself, which, even heavily reduced to the point of near extinction at this moment, might well be the problem.

Perhaps I should just apply for anything and everything going, but I do want consistency and stability. Is that really too much to ask for?

Even before finishing this piece, another rejection has just rolled in. This time for a lounge assistant role at a very well-known London venue.

Again, I’m more than capable of doing the job. I enjoy working with the public, talking to people, and being somewhere busy, so it felt like the sort of role that would’ve suited me well, but clearly not.

I’ve even had my CV looked over by UEL’s Career Zone and, aside from a few minor notes, they agreed it was decent, so at this point I’m genuinely unsure what the issue is.

Well, hard hat back on. I trundle once more into battle against unrealistic experience expectations, unclear job descriptions, strange job titles, even stranger requirements, and potentially somebody somewhere simply clicking reject for the giggles.

Although, I do quite like blaming AI for ruining the application process. It somehow softens the blow.

Here goes. Wish me luck.