“My children are abroad, my sister’s children are abroad, some other nieces too.” The lady was talking to her walking companion. “Where did they do?” the other woman asked and the first answered “Oh, one is in Paris, one in New York, one in London, one in Sweden…” I didn’t listen further as my steps on the sea promenade of Faliron were much faster than those of the two middle-aged and middle-class women, if I would judge from their chick clothes.
Greece’s youth in migrating. Greece’s youth is desperately seeking for work outside the countries boundaries. However not the whole of Greece’ youth can or has the skills to migrate in order to get a job, to earn a living. Thousands, if not hundred thousands remain here struggling to get something: from what I hear wages between 400 and 500 euro for full time jobs or just 200-250 euro for enforced part time.
And yet, job vacancies are very rare and hard to find. Posted on internet job vacancies are often outdated, newsletters by job companies arrive with one week delay, while the few jobs on the market disappear in zero time.
#aggeliesegasias
Beginning of October a Twitter user had an idea. @dimitrischid created a hashtag #aggeliesergasias (jobvacancies). Within a few days, the hell broke out: Twitter users started to post job offers they knew or heard about, while job seekers started to post their request. ReTweets and Favorites added quickly to the success of this modern, social media way to get to see a job offered in Athens or Xanthi, in London or Preveza, in Cete or in Geneva.
“Some 40 people told me they were hired, since the beginning of the initiative,” @dimitrischid -username Kimparis (the generous) – told KTG.
@dimitrischrid personally has a job but he was many times touched by the despair of the people seeking a job even on Twitter.
@dimitrischrid to a Greek website:
“Some days ago I saw a tweet, a post from a woman who asked , in despair of a job. So I thought of making this hashtag in which anyone could publish an advert on demand or labor supply – so simply. Also , users who use this hashtag can simply to report anything they know about an available job brought to their attention, to any place in Greece. “
For the initiator of #aggeliesergasias there is no money to earn from this initiative. “But the rewarding I get daily is worth all the money in the world,” he said.
It is certainly the directness and the immediacy of Twitter that adds to the success of the initiative. For job seekers without Twitter account, @dimitrischrid expanded to Facebook and to a site hosted by wordpress.com.
Meanwhile also job offering companies jumped in the hashtag not only from Greece but also from Cyprus.
As the job vacancies are both in Greek and English, I would kindly request KTG-readers to post a job vacancy in #aggeliesergasias if they are aware of one.
