Sophie Dorling is searching for work

‘No, I’m still looking.’ These four words have crossed my lips countless times in recent weeks and months. ‘There’s just nothing out there’ – an all-too-common phrase also. Job hunting isn’t something I like to talk loads about, I suppose because it’s a reality check that, yes, I am unemployed.

When I chose to leave sixth form halfway through year 12, at the age of 17, an apprenticeship sounded like a really good option – I could still get my A-levels while earning and gaining practical experience at the same time. I applied to two local businesses who were offering the right student a chance to complete a Level 3 Diploma in Business Administration, an equivalent to two A-levels. I secured an interview at both places and after a couple of days heard back from both: one said they wanted to wait for other candidates to compare me to, and the other offered me the job. It seemed so easy! How naive was I?

When my employer told me that they wouldn’t be able to offer me a permanent position at the end of my apprenticeship, it didn’t really sink in. It took me a couple of weeks to properly register that I wouldn’t have a job to go to at the end of April, and to start thinking about how I’m supposed to pay my rent and fill my car with petrol, without a job.

Fortunately, during the past year I saved up a fair amount of money, so I can pay for necessities at the moment, but a time will come when that runs out too. The bottom line is I need a job. …

Sophie Dorling is an elder serving at Wimborne United Reformed Church, Dorset

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This is an extract from an article that was published in the September 2019 edition of Reform

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