At Bookworm Trust we make a concerted effort to keep our blog posts current and updated, even if this means wielding my mighty cursor and shaming and naming people to write down reflective pieces to share ! Yes, irony aside I am often determined to post as freshly as we can because everyday there is so much happening in our Bookworm lives that it is the act of writing that slows us down and enables us to share our learning. But , upon our website there is one consistent post – HIRING NOW !!!!
We seem to be in a perpetual state of hiring and being fired. I am reminded of Dr Seuss’ book Topsy Turvy World because in the past 20 years of working in the social sector, the tables are turned. Who is hiring whom is the first question. Every time we go through the arduous process of hiring, we get fired.
We receive application requests from people who do not care to find out about what we do. If there is a job they will take it, provided work hours are short, the distance to travel is shorter and the pay is long and stretchy. We stopped raising our eyebrows at young students, who have just attempted an exam saying with great equanimity, “I can start working for fifteen thousand !” Can you ?, is all I can come with as I gulp and take a calming breath!
We have met others who have passionately spoken about our work, glorifying us in that brief interview moment into believing that we are on a mission – together. They commit their lives to us, saying this is what I always wanted to do, I love children, I love reading, I love Bookworm. Then we make an offer and receive a cryptic message over the infamous WhatsApp program saying “ i not joining bookwarm”.
We try, really hard to be inclusive. My Bookworm team endure my long lectures on diversity, on welcoming everyone to Bookworm and we have in the past worked hard with young people who have never read a children’s book, never written a report, never spoken up at a large meeting and have success stories to share. But for now, I want to talk about the ones who dismiss us. I have to wonder why.
Take June for example. it was a month of being fired, repeatedly. Over the summer we had a plan, or so we thought. We advertised over multiple fora and interviewed, and selected people. Or they selected us. None of this was straightforward. From conversations about why I need to be paid more than Rs.18000.00 per month ( because I am presently earning Rs.170000 in a dead end job!) to I will take leave and try you out before I surrender my dead-end job, to eager ones saying I will join you for two months because I have also applied for a B.Ed and the NET exam, we made a final selection.
We were excited. It is one of the reasons we keep going on. We get excited even by the impossible. Even when we know we are scraping the barrel, we feel optimistic and high. So we organised induction meetings, warm welcome gatherings, immersion and exposure to work and the softest of tasks. New acronyms to identify people on reports were generated and the attendance sheet was updated.
July dawned and we were fired by four people. Each story more bizarre than the next and suddenly we find we are looking at work that must be done and the only new people who are still on the team are those who have come to Bookworm through personal contacts. This means the present cohort are people who acted on a recommendation, passed our light tests and day to day work and are still here.
Our Trustees were intrigued by these developments and a session was planned on discussing job opportunities and understanding how people in this present age view work opportunities. We learnt many things.
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A commitment of one year is long for youth under the age of 30 and short for those who are looking for more security.
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What you plan to do in the future may have little to do with what you are doing now, so a job can be part of the exploration but need not necessarily link to a larger goal.
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What you get immediately is critical. So the professional fee, the working hours and the travel time reign over everything else.
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Bookworm work puts a demand on thinking, reflecting, reading and writing – the very acts that most fresh graduates in today’s work world are numbed about. We seem demanding. The system of education has not prepared people for our ‘demands’.
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To truly know the depth and diversity of Bookworm’s work you have to be in the Bookworm ecosystem because you do not know until you experience.
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In Goa, recommendations matter. If someone trustworthy recommends an organisation, then people are more ready to give it a try.
We remain baffled, I most of all because I think Bookworm is one of the few organisations that help people grow while paying out to the best of its abilities. People learn to read, to discuss texts, to connect with the world at large through discourse around many ideas. We encourage professional development through regular and rigorous workshops and opportunities and exposure visits. We learn to meet a wide universe of people who walk through our door and go out to meet an even wider and diverse world through our programs. All of us at Bookworm are better human beings because the spirit of learning and reflecting is alive in our work and we wonder why this is no longer a universal need. Why are we being fired when in fact we should be hired. We wonder why.