Page 70 of The Reboot
‘Oh, the Jobseeker’s? That’s working out great!’ He gave her a reassuring smile. ‘I’ve been going to the post office every week and they hand over the cash, no problem. They’re really nice about it, in fact. I’ve had no trouble from them at all.’
‘Right.’ Geraldine looked confused. ‘Well, I’m glad you’re getting your payments. But I meant your actual job search. How are you getting on with that? Any interviews?’
‘Oh, um … no. No interviews as such.’ Shit! So she thought he was actually looking for work. He’d thought the ‘actively seeking employment’ thing was just a wink-wink box-ticking exercise. So he’d been right all along. He was a welfare cheat. Thanks a bunch, Ella.
‘No leads at all?’
‘Well … I was offeredCelebrity Cell Blockthis year.’ He felt had to give her something.
‘And you didn’t take it?’
No, Geraldine, he thought. Because here I am before you, while those twats are on the telly in the waiting room, eating slop in the prison canteen and sneaking into each other’s bunks. ‘Um, no … the timing didn’t suit. And my agent said it wasn’t the right move for me.’
Geraldine cleared her throat and opened her file. ‘Okay. So you’re still looking then.’
‘Um … yeah.’
‘What sort of thing are you looking for?’
‘Well, I mean, something in the entertainment line. I’ve been writing some songs…’
‘Okay.’ Geraldine nodded encouragingly. ‘What about cruise ships, have you considered that? They’re often looking for entertainers, aren’t they?’
Cruise ships! Jesus! What did Geraldine think he was? ‘Yeah, I guess … I hadn’t really thought of that.’
‘Or maybe you could sing at weddings, something like that?’ Geraldine gave him a bright smile.
‘Yeah, I don’t know if that’s really my style.’
‘You need to be creative, think outside the box. Let’s have a ponder.’ She slid an A4 pad in front of her and picked up a pen.
Oh god, he’d thought this was just going to be a quick chat that he could bluff his way through, but Geraldine was actually going to brainstorm his ‘career’ with him.
‘You went to the information meeting about our training and employment services?’
‘Yeah, I did.’ He’d been the oldest one there. He’d kept his head down as he’d sat watching the presentation with a bunch of pimply jobless youths, in a sweat the whole time that someone would recognise him, take a furtive photo and post it on social media.
‘So you know the purpose of today is for us to come up with a plan to progress you back into work.’
‘Yeah.’ He’d nodded off a couple of times as the presenter had droned on about work experience placements and training courses, but he’d got the gist. ‘I mean, I wouldn’t exactly say “back to work” since I wasn’t really in work in the first place.’
‘Well, maybe this is an opportunity to try something new,’ Geraldine said briskly. ‘There are lots of training courses available to you.’ She handed over a pamphlet. ‘Have a look through that and let me know if there’s anything that interests you, and I’ll arrange to get you registered.’
‘Okay, thanks.’
‘And the council are recruiting right now, so that’s a possibility.’
‘The council? They hire singers?’
‘Oh no.’ Geraldine laughed. ‘Clerical workers. I could get you an application?’
‘Um … sure.’ He nodded, wanting to appear willing. But he had no intention of letting Geraldine steer him into a job like hers, stuck in a place like this. ‘Though I doubt I have the qualifications for something like that.’
‘You did the Leaving Cert, yes?’
‘Yeah, I did.’
‘Well, that’s all you need for an entry-level job.’
