Unemployment Making Me Utterly MISERABLE!

catz1ct

Thats terrible they could have at least phoned you in the morning before you had to go in!

456789

_Stix_ wrote: »

send speculative letters (which has proved to be the biggest waste of time, printer ink and expensive paper), looking for suitable voluntary work too.

I just email them - got a few leads so it isn't all bad

though even if you offer to work for free to get some experience some local companies aren't interested :rolleyes:

Louise22 wrote: »

well I hope they do, its the very least you deserve.

thanks

andygb

medini wrote: »

I have another one to file under 'Why agencies suck'. I got a phone call from an agency asking me to come in for an interview/registration at half past 2 today. So I dug out all my id documents and bank statments and assorted crap they requested and went to their office in town. After waiting in the waiting room for 15 minutes I was told that the person who called me had had to go visit a client for an 'emergency meeting' so she couldn't see me. She couldn't see me tomorrow because she would be going to newcastle for some reason. Ofcourse the rest of them were far to busy to speak to me but they could pass her a copy of my cv (why? she already had it, thats kinda why i was asked to comr in) and she would get back to me at some undefined point in the near future,

Just after my last post here, I phoned an agency (Reed) to see if they had heard back from the client, who they had passed my details to yesterday. The conversation went something like this:
"Hi Angela, its Andy here, have you --"
"Sorry Andy I'm just going into a meeting"
Phone goes dead, Angela has not phoned back.
Do I feel like phoning tomorrow, and speaking to the rude b@@@h who put the phone down on me?
I am 51 years old, with 33 years varied experience in a niche area of accountancy, and I have just been completely snubbed by a young twenty something "girlie", who cannot take the time to talk to me, or phone me back later.
This is now pretty typical though, so I don't know why I am so wound up about it.:mad:

456789

@andygb - if you don't mind me asking what niche area?

andygb

456789 wrote: »

@andygb - if you don't mind me asking what niche area?

By "niche", I am using the word which every agency uses, when they talk about legal accounts - specific knowledge of the Solicitors Accounts Rules, Legal Services Commission rules. Also a wide knowledge of practice management systems, not just using them, but choosing and coordinating the installation and training, and deciding how best to transfer data between two systems.
I think that I am pretty good at it, but it is up to others to decide whether or not I am.

medini

I have started to formulate a theory that people who work as recruitment agents do so as they are unsuitable to operate in a proper work place and must be contained in a nice safe office where they can be kept an eye on rather than being allowed to roam around in public causing havoc.

Oldernotwiser

Carrie85 wrote: »

now and again but it seems fruitless.

Anyone got any good tips for getting motivated? i always end up watching all the day time tv! :rolleyes:

In your situation, voluntary work and/or keeping up your skills is vital, otherwise you become less employable every passing month.

Louise22

Oldernotwiser wrote: »

In your situation, voluntary work and/or keeping up your skills is vital, otherwise you become less employable every passing month.

Good to keep busy but wont necessarily make you "less employable".

WOO I just got offered the job I really wanted! I cant actually believe it. Such a relief:beer:

toasterman

_Stix_ wrote: »

Toasterman - as a newbie, I feel I should apologise - sorry, didn't mean to demoralise anybody with the 6 month comment. It is actually a year for me too since I was in perm employment, had some temp work after that but then it all dried up.

I'm registered with a shedload of agencies, make direct online applications and send speculative letters (which has proved to be the biggest waste of time, printer ink and expensive paper), looking for suitable voluntary work too.

Yes true that being employed isn't always great but unemployment is hugely draining emotionally and psychologically. So much easier to go to work ...

Still find it hard to cope with all the rejection and to keep motivated.

You're alright - I was only joking really.
Several people have mentioned the 6-monthly thing I think.

It also winds me up when the government talk about the "under 25" employment issue. For some reason I'd feel happier if they did "under 30" in stats, as then I'd be included.
Although I'm not sure it's an age-related problem. The under 25s will have the same problem they always have - no experience and can't get experience because everyone wants people with experience.

The bigger issue is surely the huge lack of jobs to do by the unemployed.
My local paper claimed recently there were 6 people chasing every job in jobcentre plus. In IT, 45 people compete for each position, while even admin (which I think of as pretty mundane, boring, stressful with office politics, etc) has 27 people for each job.
The negative side of me wonders how on Earth that will resolve itself.

andygb

toasterman wrote: »

You're alright - I was only joking really.
Several people have mentioned the 6-monthly thing I think.

It also winds me up when the government talk about the "under 25" employment issue. For some reason I'd feel happier if they did "under 30" in stats, as then I'd be included.
Although I'm not sure it's an age-related problem. The under 25s will have the same problem they always have - no experience and can't get experience because everyone wants people with experience.

The bigger issue is surely the huge lack of jobs to do by the unemployed.
My local paper claimed recently there were 6 people chasing every job in jobcentre plus. In IT, 45 people compete for each position, while even admin (which I think of as pretty mundane, boring, stressful with office politics, etc) has 27 people for each job.
The negative side of me wonders how on Earth that will resolve itself.

Your very last point is something which I think about nearly all the time now, and it is indicative of my mood at the moment. The last job application which I heard about back in March (I phoned them, they didn't reply to me), was a complete shock - 73 applicants for the one job, and I thought my skills were pretty well suited.
The hard facts are, that there are probably well over 3 million unemployed (possibly nearer to 5 million according to someone I know in DWP), because of the way that the numbers are calculated, and also the numbers of people who are not included. There are around 400,000 job vacancies in the UK, but how do they arrive at those figures? How many of those vacancies are less than 15 hours a week? How many vacancies are for short term temporary or contract work? How many are for unpaid voluntary/charity work?
I don't know where all of this is going to end, because there are millions of people like myself and others on this board, who are really struggling to make ends meet, and all the while prices are going up for everyday essentials.
I filled the car up this morning at the cheapest local station and it cost £50, last week it was £45.
It has got to the point where I hate the politicians and the bankers, because they are the ones who have ruined this country, with their jobs for the boys, and their snouts in the trough, they have no idea (And don't want to know) how ordinary people struggle.