Job Seekers Allowance 13 Week Interview

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  • tgon
    tgon Posts: 710
    First Anniversary Combo Breaker First Post Mortgage-free Glee!
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    I had mine on Monday. The guy was impressed with my efforts and sympathetic to my plight. After month and months of worrying if I'm doing enough its nice to have a little reassurance.
  • Vancat
    Vancat Posts: 164 Forumite
    Funnily enough, at my signing on today, my (very nice) client advisor suggested that I take off my qualifications and "dumb down" my CV!!!!:eek:
    No way! I didn't work 30 years in my field and finally get my full member status last year, through experience and proven skills, only to take it off my CV now I'm redundant!
    I said, " But surely that's lying, and as bad as putting bogus qualifications on a CV?"...
    "Yeh....Suppose so" she said!:confused:
    I think JCP staff are only trying to help, and look increasingly stressed every time I go there. I must say they have been very pleasant so far, and keep saying that I am doing more than is expected in my job search (even though there have only been 4 or 5 jobs relevant for me to apply for in the last 12 weeks.)
    I'm already taking a part time college course at weekends, trying to get additional qualifications to widen my job search, They didn't tell me to; I thought it would be a good idea as the courses started in Jan.
    Hope that will be enough to satisfy them when I have my 13 week interview?
    VC
  • Kavanne
    Kavanne Posts: 5,093 Forumite
    Alx_B wrote: »
    You'd likely end up in a job which would turn your brain to jelly
    I resent the implication you need a degree to get an interesting/stimulating job :(
    Kavanne
    Nuns! Nuns! Reverse!

    'I do my job, do you do yours?'

  • Vancat wrote: »
    Funnily enough, at my signing on today, my (very nice) client advisor suggested that I take off my qualifications and "dumb down" my CV!!!!:eek:
    No way! I didn't work 30 years in my field and finally get my full member status last year, through experience and proven skills, only to take it off my CV now I'm redundant!
    I said, " But surely that's lying, and as bad as putting bogus qualifications on a CV?"...
    "Yeh....Suppose so" she said!:confused:
    I think JCP staff are only trying to help, and look increasingly stressed every time I go there. I must say they have been very pleasant so far, and keep saying that I am doing more than is expected in my job search (even though there have only been 4 or 5 jobs relevant for me to apply for in the last 12 weeks.)
    I'm already taking a part time college course at weekends, trying to get additional qualifications to widen my job search, They didn't tell me to; I thought it would be a good idea as the courses started in Jan.
    Hope that will be enough to satisfy them when I have my 13 week interview?
    VC

    I'm a qualified Bookkeeper, but have been out of work for 2 months. My advisor seemed impressed when I took forms in for him to sign to get me funding for an OU course in a different subject area.

    I think if you are out of work, it is worth taking the time to do any training, even if it is just general interest. You'll get it very cheap or free if on IB JSA, and it looks to JCP that you're expanding your skills which they like.

    No way would I want to 'dumb down' my Cv though but I can sort of understand the suggestion. It's been said elsewhere on this board, that whilst you might be quite happy to take a job less than your previous one, just to have work, the employer will be looking long term and thinking that you will be off as soon as something better comes along
  • tgon
    tgon Posts: 710
    First Anniversary Combo Breaker First Post Mortgage-free Glee!
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    Happy_Girl wrote: »
    It's been said elsewhere on this board, that whilst you might be quite happy to take a job less than your previous one, just to have work, the employer will be looking long term and thinking that you will be off as soon as something better comes along

    Good point - this has happened to me recently :(
  • It's not just JCP staff that want you to change your cv, I registered with a large agency.

    I got a call from them saying they wanted to send my cv forward for a job and was it ok to remove all of the managerial experience from it!
  • VALM
    VALM Posts: 5,819
    Name Dropper First Anniversary First Post
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    Bettyboop wrote: »
    Thanks everyone. The lady at the Job Cente was really nice. She basically wanted to know what I was doing to find work but she also admitted that the recession is effecting a lot of people and that it's much worse than what has been reported. Basically I think she was trying to say that given the economic situation they know finding work is becoming increasingly more difficult.

    Thanks for the input anyway.

    i'm not at this stage yet having only just got JSA however I found the adviser I saw had the same attitude that there is hardly anything out there and urged me not to apply for just anything and lose the skills I already have.

    I had expected them to expect me to jump into any job. Not so.
    Back for the No Buying Toiletries challenge. I pledge to only buy when I run out of a product that is not already in my stash no matter what wonderful emails land in in my Inbox or threads I read on MSE re: glitches!

    SPC Member 046
    £2. Challenge member 55
  • I think that a degree of flexibility is needed in the current economic climate.

    If everyone just looked for their 'normal job' then there may be a prolonged period of unemployment for those people.

    As an example, the construction Industry is dead at the moment. Bricklayers and other construction related occupations are not recruiting. By continuing to look for vacancies that aren't there is pointless and only prolongs unemployment

    Whilst JSA rules allow the normal type of employment to only be considered for the 'permitted period' (ie the 1st 13 weeks of a claim), at some point there is an expectation to do any job that a Jobseeker is physically and mentally able to do.

    Surely it's better to be in work and earning than be living on JSA money.
  • I too have been told by someone working for the JC to "not put my previous title down on my CV" - Director and "not to mention many of my qualifications " on there. I told her that I constituted this as lying and if I had to do this on an application form , if found out, it could be construed as false information and then be sacked from a job. I reported this to the JC Manager and was told " she has only been here 3 weeks and doesn't know that those are not the things to say" - i asked was there any jobs going .....
    I really felt for her but tried to dumb down my skills for one job, attended an interview and when was asked questions, etc was told by the current Ops Director - " If I employed you, I would be out of a job in a week as they would promote you" . I cannot leave out what I have worked hard to achieve in 26 years. yes I want to work and have applied for 53 jobs since Oct after being made redundant and they are were definetely not all in my comfort zone, but I am forever being told I am over qualified - does anyone have any suggestions - ?????:cry:
  • HO87
    HO87 Posts: 4,296 Forumite
    As a final bit of advice - make sure that you have filled out the form ES4-JP with all of the efforts you have made to find work, websearches, newpapers adverts, etc etc. It is pretty easy to fill up I believe.
    My very sincere apologies for those hoping to request off-board assistance but I am now so inundated with requests that in order to do justice to those "already in the system" I am no longer accepting PM's and am unlikely to do so for the foreseeable future (August 2016). :(

    For those seeking more detailed advice and guidance regarding small claims cases arising from private parking issues I recommend that you visit the Private Parking forum on PePiPoo.com
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