Mistreated at job centre - filing a complaint.

Heart shaped Diamond, I am disgusted to hear how you were treated at the jocentre! I would put in a complete about the advisor, she obviously doesnt have very good people skills and should not be allowed to work in close contact with the public if she insists on treating them with such contempt.

I found many year ago that rather than wait for a job to be advertised, it is much better to just apply to companies direct, explaining what type of position you are looking for, what your skills are etc, you may get letters back saying "thanks, but no thanks" but you may just write to them at the correct time, and get an interview. I can honestly say that apart from maybe one or two jobs which I applied after seeing them advertised in the papers, every other job I have ever had has been from me just wrtiting letters to companies direct. I have even written letters on behalf of my hubby too, which have been successful.

Also, if you do that, you can photocopy the letter you write (and make a list of all companies you send the letters to) and that will be able to go into your job hunting diary, so at least you will have evidence of job seeking.

Good luck hun, dont let "Dreary Draws down at the Dole" upset you for a moment longer, oh and let us know if you receive an apology following your Dad's complaint x

OP I'm sorry to hear the lady in the JobCentre was such a meanie towards you. I think it's like people on here say over time they see so many people who just don't care and don't want a job they probably grow a bit harsh. I worked for a while with a lady who worked for the JobCentre part time holding appointments with people who'd failed to get a job and had been on JSA for quite a while. The point of them were intensive one to ones to help give them extra guidance to services available and careers. She was almost resigned to her job rather than really get up and go and I asked her why (she was one of the most self-motivated inspirational women I've ever met) and she told me that she'd realised no matter how much energy she put in some people just didn't care one jot about it all. About half the people she was down to interview didn't turn up everyday. It's not your fault at all but I find that it always helps in life to try and imagine how somebody else's shoes feel so you can understand even if you don't agree.

My advice for your jobsearch would be to try and find a wee bit of volunteering to help build your experience and confidence. I know it's not glamorous but you could volunteer in a charity shop or a community cafe (we have one round the corner from me which is mainly staffed by special needs adults and they always want volunteers). These positions would give you an opportunity to handle cash, interact with the public and in time take on responsibility. This would show future employers that you are capable of these things and it also shows them that you are motivated to get up off your bum. I'm not saying you aren't capable and like that already but employers want to be able to see it demonstrated before them and have somebody they can ask about it (a reference) to prove it to them.

I don't know if it is still going in the whole country but Connexions where I live runs special things for unemployed young people. Having been a frequent visitor to Connexions when I was younger I can tell you that while the other clients may not always be your cup of tea the staff generally are lovely people who really care about helping young people. They can help with applications, CVs, hooking you up with other organisations that offer things for unemployed youngsters (my friend did a sailing course with a charity that you even got paid for!) and they often run courses. Looking for a job is hard and it's always good to have help but the JobCentre are run ragged and just can't offer it all the time. Youth services in your area usually can.

SuburbanWifey it's so snobby to assume if somebody thinks you should work for NMW they must be used to it. I'm not on NMW and I'm too qualified for a life stacking shelves but at present I work in a supermarket (granted not shelf stacking now but I started out doing that) because I need the money!! If you hadn't got the memo there's been a worldwide recession and there aren't that many jobs around. With lots of skilled workers laid off there's more competition than ever for less jobs because lots of companies are reducing their skilled staffing levels (hence all the redundancies) rather than recruiting. Personally I think that a job is a job and beggars can't be choosers. If you can afford to wait out for your dream job fine but don't claim JobSeekers in the meantime. If you are claiming JobSeekers then take a job that you can bear and do on NMW and use your spare time to look for something else. That's life hon, you can't just wander into your dream job after redundancy and in the meantime mouths need feeding and backs need clothing.

rozmister wrote: »

I'm not on NMW and I'm too qualified for a life stacking shelves but at present I work in a supermarket (granted not shelf stacking now but I started out doing that) because I need the money!!

I admire your attitude, I am on notice of redundancy at the moment, I do have plans but if it comes to it I'd work at McDonalds but I'd make sure I was the best damned employee they'd ever had and be asking about management opportunities by the end of the week!

That said I don't think any of us, and I'm as guilty as the next person, are aware of quite how hard it is for this generation to get a foot on the ladder, it certainly wasn't like this when I left school.