Question

How does the fact that the job market was in bad shape when the narrator graduated from college affect the narrator and the events of “My First Day on the Job”? Use evidence from the text to support your response. Your response should be at least two complete paragraphs.

Answer 1

The narrator couldn't pursue the career of his dreams because of the situation on the job market. As an English major, he had wanted to be a writer, but couldn't possibly get the job. After several months of sending resumes to no avail, he heard of a vacancy in a newspaper agency. So, he got the job as a reporter almost by accident, and not because he wanted it. "Though I’d never thought about being a reporter, I figured it couldn’t hurt to go on the interview."

The bad shape of the job market serves as an external motivator to this story. If everything was alright, the narrator would have found another job, perhaps as a writer, and he would never have found out that he had a knack for journalism. 

Answer 2

Answer: The narrator makes it clear from the beginning that on his first day as a reporter, he was panicking because he didn´t have any experience nor previous interest in journalism. The only reason he had to even go to an interview for that kind of job was the lack of opportunities in the job market at the time he started to search for his first full-time employment.

Explanation:

He had gone to the interview for a reporter position thinking it would be wise to gain interview experience as well as networking. He was surprised to get the job, but, as an English major, he accepted it as a possibility to write every day.