Job seeking is a crucial yet overlooked process through which people navigate the world of work. Yet there remains limited qualitative research examining the complex and nuanced experiences of job seekers in a contemporary labour market. This article explores 38 interviews with job-seeking women in England, all of whom were interviewed over a six-month period. Using a postfeminist sensibility, findings revealed an oscillation between empowerment and success on the one hand, and disempowerment and perceived failure on the other, including wanting to: find the ‘right’ job, but accept any job; convey an authentic self but imitate what they think employers want; negotiate salaries, but accept pay cuts; emulate ‘successful’ behaviours, but experience doubt, uncertainty and negativity. This article contributes to the sociological practice of employment, identifying that through this oscillation, women experience a form of postfeminist precarity that starts from the outset of job seeking.

中文翻译：

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驾驭劳动力市场：女性求职者调动后女权主义情感


求职是人们在工作世界中航行的一个重要但被忽视的过程。然而，对当代劳动力市场中求职者复杂而细致的经历进行调查的定性研究仍然有限。本文探讨了对英国求职女性的 38 次采访，所有这些女性都在六个月内接受了采访。利用后女权主义的敏感性，调查结果揭示了一方面赋权和成功之间的摇摆，另一方面赋权和失败的感觉，包括想要：找到“正确”的工作，但接受任何工作；表达真实的自我，但模仿他们认为雇主想要的东西；协商薪资，但接受减薪；效仿“成功”的行为，但会经历怀疑、不确定性和消极性。本文对就业的社会学实践做出了贡献，指出通过这种振荡，女性从求职之初就经历了一种后女权主义的不稳定状态。