Great MoneySaving while Job Hunting Hunt

shaz_p

I was made redundant in 2007 after being employed continuously for four and a half years. I signed on and as a lone parent received income support. I was unemployed for 11 months and during this time I did some courses and voluntary work.

Unlike most of the people on this site, I had a really supportive advisor who always faxed my jobsearch evidence to my insurance company, which enable me to keep my car (via loan protection insurance), gave me vouchers for high street retailers so that I could get clothes for interview and sent me lots of job specs. Everytime I was down she encouraged me to keep on trying and was really happy when I got my job. She told me that I was entitled to £250 worth of clothing (less what I had spent previously), a months travelcard and an inwork allowance as well as a period of housing benefit and income support.

Not all advisors are bad, some are really helpful. My advise is to find one person who is human and would give you their extension number; and be prepared to talk to them constantly but don't expect them to find you that job because their resources are limited (the best jobs a not in the jobcentres) and a lot of the jobs on offer are for peanuts, but occasionally they turn up a gem. to reiterate:

1. ask for money to purchase an outfit if you need new clothes - they have the funds (my jobcentre had a deal with Arcadia that DP, Burtons, Wallis etc)
2. Find someone nice to talk to and get that extension number that will allow you to bypass the switchboard or hang on the phone forever.
3. Travel vouchers/cards - ask you advisor for these before and after you get a job
4. keep your skills current and be positive!

I have been temping for almost nine months, and I am loving it, even though I am aware that it could end at any time.

adlee

shaz_p wrote: »

1. ask for money to purchase an outfit if you need new clothes - they have the funds (my jobcentre had a deal with Arcadia that DP, Burtons, Wallis etc)

I telephoned my JCP earlier, indeed the guy I spoke to was very friendly, but didn't know very much about what I would be entitled to, and was skeptical as I have been signing on for less than 6 months. He has however arranged for a personal adviser to get in touch, in order to arrange to have an interview to determine eligibility.

Hence I think it is important here to stress that this is not an automatic entitlement (if it was, there would be mention of it on JCP website), and it involves meeting up with a JCP adviser who decides on a case-by-case basis - and generally you do not have an adviser unless you have been signing on for a while (e.g. if you are put on the New Deal programme).

notjustanyjobcentre

Everything you read in the papers and see on the news regarding the number of unemployed and about businesses taking on cheap foreign labour must be true! Afterall it's in the media and they never lie do they?
I maintain that there are jobs out there although very few are advertised via jobcentres. Afterall. the previous poster by her own admission said she had been unlucky so far but that she had regularly applied for 100 jobs per week. This person gives a proven example that jobs are there if you know where to look. I hope that the commitment shown will eventually pay dividends.
I am not judging anyone particularly not the genuine claimants out there. Actually, I have sat on both sides of the table being a JSA recipient for over two years after being made redundant after having worked for over 30 years. So please don't preach to me about not understanding. Job seeking can be very frustrating and the allowances are minimal. However, Jobcentre Staff did not make anyone lose their job and nor do they decide how much or even if benefit is paid to anyone. All they do is apply the rules handed down by government and if there is any doubt in respect of compliance by a recipient, the details are simply passed up the line to Decision Makers and are not dealt with locally at jobcentre level. However, often due lack of knowledge or mis information, it is always the frontline JCP staff at which the finger will be pointed as has been reflected by recent posts.
I do totally agree with the recent poster about finding helpful staff at the jobcentre. There are numerous financial benefits and incentives available such as discretionary assistance with clothing allowances and reimbursement of travel expenses to attend interviews together with free cv advice etc. However when the negativity as reflected by disgruntled persons is directed personally at people who are there to help, human nature predicts that some of these people may not always be as forthcoming as they perhaps should be.
Anyone finding themselves having to attend a jobcentre for the first time will all be subjected to the same or similar process. Some will be happy others will not. Sadly, due to the increase in footfall over recent months, there is a reduction of time available to spend with each claimant but as I said previously, there are both helpful and unhelpful JCP staff. Unfortunately, there are so many rules and regulations to be adhered to it is not surprising that they do not always have instant answers available.

omelette451

notjustanyjobcentre wrote: »

However, Jobcentre Staff did not make anyone lose their job and nor do they decide how much or even if benefit is paid to anyone.

So who does decide if people get benefits, if not jobcentre staff? Seriously, I don't mean to criticise (my own experience at JCP was entirely pleasant and I have no criticism of the service I received), but you keep saying that and I really don't know what the answer is. And if no one knows who does decide, surely there's a case for saying that such 'buck passing' is precisely what's wrong with the system, in that no one is prepared to take responsibility for anything?

adlee

I second that omelette451 - JCP staff do indeed decide whether or not a claimant is entitled to benefit, and have the power to withdraw it at any time if a claimant is not showing sufficient activity in job searching.

notjustanyjobcentre - Nobody is criticising JCP for people losing their jobs, very few people here are criticising JCP staff other than the few who treat every claimant like a piece of dirt. And people do feel like criticising you notjustanyjobcentre, if you go on ranting that people signing on are nothing more than a bunch of wasters sitting on their !!!! all the time. Maybe thats what you see where you live. Where I live, the majority of claimants are trying all avenues - most people are more than aware that not all jobs are advertised on JCP website. However the figure of 400,000 for the number of vacancies published in the media isn't even taken from the JCP vacancy list - the department for National Statistics builds its figures by surveying employers across the UK economy: http://www.statistics.gov.uk/statbase/Product.asp?vlnk=9390

I maintain that there are jobs out there although very few are advertised via jobcentres. Afterall. the previous poster by her own admission said she had been unlucky so far but that she had regularly applied for 100 jobs per week. This person gives a proven example that jobs are there if you know where to look.

No - it proves you have to search a hell of a lot to sniff out a job, i.e. there are very few jobs out there. Its also worth pointing out that a number of major companies advertise positions that don't even exist, simply to make it look like they are actively recruiting.


The real point which I think you are having difficulty making, can be put more succinctly:
Its all about creating your own chances. If the odds are against you, you just have to keep creating them.

Or as Winston Churchill once said: "When going through hell, keep going".

Anyway, this thread is being steered way off topic (of which I accept some of the blame). What people want to know is how much money they can save.

notjustanyjobcentre

"I second that omelette451 - JCP staff do indeed decide whether or not a claimant is entitled to benefit, and have the power to withdraw it at any time if a claimant is not showing sufficient activity in job searching."

Don't know your source but this is simply not true. JCP staff monitor whether or not claimants adhere to their previously agreed jobseekers agreement and if it is discovered that there is a potential breach to the agreement, the matter is passed to a Decision Maker (offsite) whose job it is to compare the circumstance with the law and report back accordingly. It is the Decision Makers duty to impose sanctions against the claim afterall this is the public purse that is being administered.

"And people do feel like criticising you notjustanyjobcentre, if you go on ranting that people signing on are nothing more than a bunch of wasters sitting on their *** "

I don't rant on about this although I do admit that in my first posting I did mention that it is called Job Seekers Allowance. I treat everyone with respect as do all my colleagues irrespective of their circumstances.
However back to the point - there are fringe benefits available as I said but you may have to ask for them as indicated by previous posting.

PhiltheBear

If you want to skip the argumentative bit please just scroll down to "Possible Helpful Hints".

notjustanyjobcentre wrote: »

Don't know your source but this is simply not true. JCP staff monitor whether or not claimants adhere to their previously agreed jobseekers agreement and if it is discovered that there is a potential breach to the agreement, the matter is passed to a Decision Maker (offsite) whose job it is to compare the circumstance with the law and report back accordingly. It is the Decision Makers duty to impose sanctions against the claim afterall this is the public purse that is being administered. .

Reality check. The person a claimant deals with across the desk decides if the claimant is adhering to their agreement. If that person decides that he/she isn't then it's passed to someone else, who has no first-hand knowledge of the claimant's case and who doesn't contact the claimant before deciding if payment should be withheld. So, who's word will he go on? Yes the claimant can appeal - but, in effect, it's the Jobcentre staff who decide.

You also say "It is the Decision Makers duty to impose sanctions against the claim". Which kind of makes the point.

My 'agreement' consists of:
a) Provide written evidence of all jobsearch activities
b) Visit the jobcentreplus or other industry based websites twice a week
c) Take 3 steps each week to look for work.
(They removed step d - which was to search local newspaper ads because they admitted it was a waste of time!)

With the best will in the world I think it's fair to say I exceed those steps by miles - yet my Jobcentre is telling me that I should have found a job!! Yet I know that local factory closures have put thousands out of work, so when I try for those 'low end' jobs I'm up against a lot of people who can justly say they've been doing similar work for years.

I'm afraid that the rant about " businesses taking on cheap foreign labour must be true" shows ignorance of facts again. The Labour government specifically introduced legislation to allow up to 50,000 Indian IT workers each year to come into the UK despite the overwhelming evidence at the time that we already had more than enough IT staff. Why? To get cheap labour to bring down costs of huge Government IT programmes - which, as you may know, are costing us billions. Strangely, most of the long term claimants in my Jobcentre that I've talked to are out of work IT staff. Coincidence?

Anyway:

Possible helpful hints:

Check with your Jobcentre to see if there are any local charities that help with Job finding. We have one that provides internet access, paper, envelopes, stamps, the ability to store your CV on a PC for printing out/emailing plus staff who can help with writing CVs / application letters.

If you have to use the library or similar to use the internet and have something like a Googlemail or Hotmail account send yourself a copy of each application email and a copy of your CV. Then you need only cut and paste them into future applications. Don't print off each one (unless printing is free) but simply make a list of those you've applied for - show the job, company, contact and date - and print that off. It'll do as evidence for the Jobcentre.

You can get free eye tests if claiming JSA. I'm not sure if you can get free glasses but if not Specsavers are currently doing specs at £25 (which is about £300 cheaper than my last pair!)

Somewhere else on this forum there's a thread about getting 4 free 'green' lightbulbs - you simply apply and they send them (yes, done that and they did). On a separate forum I saw this: "call 08454918655 quote ref H01VM" for a free power down socket (turns off printer etc when you trun off your PC) plus 4 free bulbs - but the posting was over a year old. (Only applies to those on benefits).

Free school meals should be available.

Have a look at http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/protect/grant-grabbing for info about grants you may be entitled to.

adlee

notjustanyjobcentre wrote: »

Actually, I have sat on both sides of the table being a JSA recipient for over two years

It says a lot about you if you were signing on in the last 2-3 years - this time last year there wasn't even talk of a recession, only towards the end of 2008 did we see jobs start to fall, so you were unemployed in a boom period. Going by the way you have communicated with other people on this board so far, I can see why perhaps you would have been made redundant in a time when, apparently, there simply wasn't enough people to fill all those jobs (hence the need, according to Blair, a buy-to-let landlord one should add, for all limitless streams of immigrants).

notjustanyjobcentre wrote: »

Don't know your source but this is simply not true. JCP staff monitor whether or not claimants adhere to their previously agreed jobseekers agreement and if it is discovered that there is a potential breach to the agreement, the matter is passed to a Decision Maker (offsite) whose job it is to compare the circumstance with the law and report back accordingly. It is the Decision Makers duty to impose sanctions against the claim afterall this is the public purse that is being administered.

"And people do feel like criticising you notjustanyjobcentre, if you go on ranting that people signing on are nothing more than a bunch of wasters sitting on their *** "

I don't rant on about this although I do admit that in my first posting I did mention that it is called Job Seekers Allowance. I treat everyone with respect as do all my colleagues irrespective of their circumstances.
However back to the point - there are fringe benefits available as I said but you may have to ask for them as indicated by previous posting.

As Phil says, you contradict your argument - JCP staff monitor claimants, and if a claimant isn't playing ball, they are sent to an adviser. If this isn't making a decision that can determine a future outcome, then the English dictionary operates very differently in your household.

I don't think I am alone in seeing your first email here as a rant. Again, you contradict yourself by saying you and JCP staff are respectful of job seekers, especially if you think along the lines of what you posted:
"However, it takes a special person to sit and listen to the misery, sob stories and outright lies that fall upon their ears day after day, every day"
and
"why not try something new like genuine job seeking? Give the folk who really do want to work, and the JCP staff who regularly have to absorb your negative lack of productivity some relief from having to waste their time by sharing the office space with you."

As I've said before, I don't know what your area is like, but where I live, most people who have recently lost their jobs are doing everything they can to find work, including attending any CV fodder-boosting classes they can. I come from a post-graduate science research background, and know how hard it is even for science graduates to find work, even with excellent post-graduate qualifications. And as Phil rightly points out, even strife in the IT sector - I know of computer science grads also on the unemployment scrapheap - there are usually 50 people or more chasing one programming job. You need to stop being so complacent about the fact you were lucky to land a job, and stop judging by your own low standards. We all know you don't get anywhere without trying. Do you?

adlee

PhiltheBear wrote: »

If you want to skip the argumentative bit please just scroll down to "Possible Helpful Hints".

LOL yes... its hard not to get drawn into a "discussion"... but then that is the definition of a forum!

scottishterrier

Oh Pleeeze! can we get back to money saving. By now Channel 4's "Dispatches" of 16th Feb has been aired and the forums (fora?) on that site are well full of moans about jobhunting/discrimination etc. I'm ready to sit in the cupboard under the stairs and suck my thumb at this rate. I know when I lived in Kent there were LETS schemes where people gave and got favours bartering their skills and possessions. In case you've never heard of them have a look here - it might be just the thing.
http://www.letslinkuk.org/