Experience report Career Entry for Humanities: Temporary Employment - Opportunity or Risk?

Starting a career for humanities scholars is not easy. Temporary work, which means flexible job entry, can be helpful here. Opportunities and risks at a glance.

Traineeship and studies

I studied cultural and media sciences with an emphasis on English, Romance languages ​​and Dutch studies and studied during the study also a year at the Sorbonne in Paris.

Starting a career as a humanities scholar wasn’t easy for me either – even though I had one before I started my studies Vocational Training completed and also had experience abroad in Paris.

Salesman job instead of perspective

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Because before my humanities degree, I completed a two-year TV traineeship. During my subsequent studies, I worked for a year as a PR specialist in Brussels. There I gained important experience in international press work for diplomacy and in event management.

I also acquired extensive knowledge of web content management and was able to efficiently expand and deepen my multilingualism. Accordingly, I already created a “profile” with the corresponding during my studies Perspektive in terms of international PR… At least that's what I thought at the time.

desire vs. reality

The reality was different: I worked as a saleswoman and my applications mostly went unanswered. My impression is that HR pay more attention to the work experience gained after graduation CV stand while the previous ones are -consciously or unconsciously- devalued.

Personal job interviews arose almost exclusively because of my personal network. But maybe that's also typical of the industry Problem, which nowadays catapults many graduates with PR career aspirations into "permanent internship loops"?

Temporary work: opportunity on the second labor market

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At the moment I'm making experiences with temporary work, which I currently see more as an opportunity than as a Risks perceive. How do you see temp work? What experiences have you done?

I am lucky that on the second job market - as a so-called temporary worker - I get the chance to prove myself again in my field and gain further experience in exciting projects. I feel natural clearthat temporary work is gaining momentum in the crossfire Criticism advised, for example in relevant TV talk shows. Some say not very prosaically:

“In the past the slave traders went to the market and bought slaves, today the slave drivers sit in the market and the slaves come and sell oneself."

Temporary work: Mixed feelings

I have to admit that I have mixed feelings about the topic of temporary work: On the one hand, of course, it is less for employees for sure and you also earn less than in a permanent position.

There are certainly cases in which it is justified to complain about the exploitation of temporary workers because they are crowding out permanent jobs. Because it can be assumed that the trend towards flexible employment will increase rather than decrease in the coming years.

Companies have to act more flexibly

On the other hand, I am also an entrepreneur myself. Hence I see that Corporate nowadays also have to react more flexibly, since the order books are no longer as constantly bulging as they used to be. Therefore, no temporary work for companies can be a real relief.

And on for employees there can be one Alternatives to be unemployed. For me, temporary work has nothing to do with modern slavery – temporary workers still have one Choice. What I don't quite understand either: Why should temporary work be the better term? Because she is less euphemistic?

Humanities scholar and perfectionism

In the future, however, I would like to develop a second source of income as a freelance author and editor. Everyone has to make sure that they make progress themselves. I have observed this many times throughout my career. that humanities scholars in particular tend to be perfectionistic, to want to do everything particularly right and particularly correctly. It's possible that this one is coming to us University is really cultivated.

A “healthy” perfectionism, refined with the appropriate pinch Humour and a not to be scoffed at portion self-confidence, I consider irreplaceable. But due to the current situation on the job market, I am not able to pinpoint where this has its limit to the sickening extreme. How do you see the opportunities, but also the risks, of temporary work? What is your experience?

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