I just can't get a job!

elkay115

Oldernotwiser wrote: »

Actually, the majority of posters said that you were being too picky, too narrow and not applying for enough jobs!

JCP will only allow you to look for a narrow range of work for 13 weeks; after that you'll be expected to apply for a much wider range. You are also supposed to be looking within one hour's travel to work distance, which 25 miles is not and after 13 weeks you're expected to be looking within an 80 mile radius!

At your age, you will be put on New Deal after 6 months unemployment when you are expected to be jobhunting far more intensely and you will be put on an unpaid programme or some kind of basic training. If you have savings over £6,000 at this point you will lose some JSA as it will start to be means tested.

I'd start being more proactive; if you've been unemployed since January the clock is ticking!

You talk utter rubbish sometimes!! I live 11 miles away from Edinburgh town centre and it takes me an hour and a half during rush hour to travel that 11 miles on public transport. My ex used to take an hour each way by car and at the time we lived 8 miles from Edinburgh.

tyroneshoelaces

he does talk utter rubbish, they have told me to look for work within a 15 mile radius, I have therefore gone for 25 mile radius. Also they keep telling me that i should be doing 6 things every 2 weeks to show that i am lookin for work. They say that this can be anything from looking on the web, in the paper or actually applying. Now I have told them in the job centre that I will not be jotting down in the book every time i look on the web for jobs as it would mean that the book would be filled in pretty quickly. They understand this and the fact that I am meeting their criteria and more with just job applications rather than saying " i looked in the paper" keeps them happy. I have heard people in the job centre saying that they have lied about looking for work and have made up all the things they apparently did to look for work.

In comparison to others, 4-8 jobs a week is not a lot but there are not always that many admin jobs that do not require some qualification or experience in certain software packages.

Office work is not a long term thing, im not exactly sure what i want to do in the future, at the moment im thinking about the health sector, nursing etc etc and there is the possibility of teaching.

As the poster above me says, sometimes an hour can only be a short distance but it depends on traffic. Now, i am quite lucky. I live 5 minutes from the M4 and a bad trip to cardiff would take probably 45 mins. An hour away would take me nearer the seven bridge with a clear run and then you are talking big travelling costs, and with the job I hope to do, the pay is not all that good so travelling would take a chunk out of my wage each week.

Then you have to look at that and think " is it really worth it?"

You clearly have issuses with the point I have brought up, would it really hurt to give some advice, rather than just make childish remarks, considering you do not know me, you seem to know a lot.

tyroneshoelaces

Voyager2002 wrote: »

There is nothing wrong with being 'picky', so long as you are focussing on opportunities that would be realistic for you. However, if you have been looking for a long time without obtaining any interviews, you need to do things differently. Either you need to change the way you present yourself on paper, or else you need to consider whether your education and experience are adequate for the kind of jobs that you seek. A professional careers adviser could help with both of these areas, and has specialised skills that your girlfriend is unlikely to possess. Perhaps your rather sniffy dismissal of the advice to get professional help accounts for the severe comments from OldernotWiser, who is a careers professional and usually very helpful in this kind of situation.

I am not convinced that making a large number of poor quality applications would help. What is crucial is that you spot the opportunities that are right for you, and respond to each one with a high quality application to maximise your chances of getting an interview.

I am puzzled by your insistence on staying in your home town. I have been out of work since October 2007 and have attended interviews all over the place (including Ethiopia). The right opportunity might not be on your doorstep, but you can't afford to let it go.

Thanks for the reply, apologies if i may have come across as saying that i would not get professional help, but the only thing i disagreed with was not working behind a bar.
Im not sure what work you are looking for but I wouldnt fancy travelling all the way to ethiopia to carry out admin work!!lol.....think of the travel costs everyday!!!!
If it was a job and a career that I really wanted to do then moving would not be a problem, maybe moving away just to become an admin assisstant/ office worker is a little drastic, plus I will be hoping to save for a house with my fiance.

I would never have though oldernotwiser was a career professional, he does not come across as one and I like the fact that you state he is usually helpful!!

thanks once again!!

squirrelchops

I do not normally become embroiled in disagreements between users on here but I must interject to support oldernotwiser in this instance.

I have always found their advice to be excellent. Direct, yes but always straight to the point. ONW particularly has some excellent advice for those on the student forum.

Regarding your job hunt OP I wish you the best. It is difficult out there at present. I am seeking part time summer work as am a second year student but for me anything goes.

Unfrotunately I used to be the manager of a restaurant and bar hence I have no issue with that type of work and also found due to the 'anti social' hours I was better off as went out less! Also the anti social hours aren't really in this day and age and to be honest we would all go out form work when the bar shut!

jopwo_87

The underlying fact remains that whilst you are on jobseekers, you should take the first suitable job which comes along. Whilst you are in that job, there is nothing to say you cant look for your perfect job as well.

Voyager2002

jopwo_87 wrote: »

The underlying fact remains that whilst you are on jobseekers, you should take the first suitable job which comes along. Whilst you are in that job, there is nothing to say you cant look for your perfect job as well.

The stress has to be on the word "suitable". Someone whose experience and ambitions relate to office work might actually reduce their chances by getting a record of working behind a bar, and would do better using their time gaining additional relevant skills (eg the Job Centre can arrange training in book-keeping packages, while voluntary work in an office would be a good way to demonstrate these skills).

starsinmycrown

elkay115 wrote: »

You talk utter rubbish sometimes!! I live 11 miles away from Edinburgh town centre and it takes me an hour and a half during rush hour to travel that 11 miles on public transport. My ex used to take an hour each way by car and at the time we lived 8 miles from Edinburgh.

Yeah I have to agree here, public transport and the dole's "mile radius" are normally a load of crap.

the nearest town to my village is 20 minutes in a car. On the bus, it is 50 minutes, as the bus winds around the housing estates and the five villages inbetween making pick ups. The dole told me that I had to look for jobs within a two hour radius, which is becoming ridiculous as theyve changed the rules. Mine keep giving me stupid vacancies which they say are "near the jobcentre" or "50 minutes away from the job centre" Well given the geography of where I live, for that, I may as well look for jobs in 40 miles away and get on a high speed train! They keep suggesting jobs at the hospital for me too, which is difficult to get to as the buses are every half hour and this does not tally with the times that the other bus from my village gets in. With gaps in public transport and irregular times, who are the JC to say "how many minutes" away a job is?

Treacle1983

I was out of work from November 2008 until 20th March this year after being made redundant from Norwich Union.

I have loads of qualifications and experience - including retail management, call centres, customer service, p.a, admin etc....

I applied for between 20-40 jobs week, as well as registering with all the local agencies (12 of them), I made weekly rounds with an armful of cv's and approached managers all over the place.

In the end i have got a part time job in Tesco's!!

It's a recession - it's everywhere - it's tough.

JSA sucks - because if your partner works and earns a decent wage - you are only entitled to contributions based and then only for 6 months!!

As mentioned it's a numbers game - keep doing what you are - but widen your scopes and apply for a hell of a lot more.

Best of luck!

HTCWinMob

Don't mean to be rude to anyone but get off your backside and take the first job that comes along. It will no doubt pay better and will look better to prospective employers. Employers want people who want to work, not sit around for months complaining they couldn't get anything. You will always get a job, but yes you will probably have to lower your standards.

I am very much in the same situation as Treacle1983. Worked for ftse companies most my life, have a degree, am 31 and was made redundant back in late Sept.

For 6 weeks I hammered the market with my CV and registered with select agencies as registering with too many can do more harm than good. Like a lot of people got nowhere.

Now work for a fast food chain (definitely not my ideal job) but to be fair to them, having started at the bottom I am progressing and they have said they'd like me to be a fully fledged manager by the year's end. so far I've gone from minimum wage to £7 as I get more responsibility and pass their internal exams in 3-4 years I'll come out with another degree in retail management). I do a 50 hour week (5 days) - ok again not ideal, but then I used to do 40 and sit in rush hour for an hour plus a day. Now it takes 15minutes to get there so not much difference in total time out of front door to getting home. Now earning circa £18k. Not what I'm used to but it pays the bills.

Good luck.

Liz3yy

It's very tough out there and I should know as my OH has been laid off 3 times in the last 2 years, the last time was in January 09 and despite looking hard and doing everything he can there's still no job for him.

I also was made redundant 4 years ago from a good job in marketing when the economic climate wasnt in such dire straits and it still took 6 weeks to find another good job, well I actually temped for a bit first but I was also applying for 60-70 permanent jobs a week, spending hours on my CV and covering letters and attending 4-5 interviews a a day.

I'm fully prepared to do all that again should I have to plus I have the bonus that I can now drive so can get to a job anywhere at any time.

All we can do in this current climate is try and keep trying. My partner is keeping his chin up and getting up from the constant knock backs and "no thanks", he's even doing some work around his parents house for a few quid to stop him going mad.

Fingers crossed for you that you get a job soon, whatever it is.