Am I missing something? Getting a job is easy!!

Oldernotwiser

ceridwen wrote: »

Going into debt for a move for a POSSIBLE job. Then - who picks up the pieces when they've gone into all that debt and STILL cant get a job? Also - how do they find a job that not only pays a reasonable amount - but also pays sufficient extra on top of that to cover those debt repayments?

.

I never dreamed anyone would be daft enough to think I meant someone should move area without a job to go to! I meant, of course, that people shouldn't limit their job hunting geographically but be prepared to move when they get a suitable job!

No wonder you thought my ideas were strange if you really thought I meant that!

Oldernotwiser

ceridwen wrote: »

Some valid points above by beccam.

I still have this concern though that, if it was ever deemed obligatory for younge/single/childless/non homeowners to move for work if need be - that it would result in even more unwanted children being born (as some girls would get pregnant deliberately in order to stay in their home area).

I DO fear the Government might start thinking of measures like this (errr...once its been sorted exactly WHO are the Government now:cool:) - and it would backfire. I am someone who doesnt want/has never wanted children and a generally responsible sort of person (now too old to have children anyway:D) - and even I would seriously contemplate whether to have a child or two if I were young and the alternative was to be forced to leave my area. So - if someone like me (ie who believes strongly that "every child should be a wanted/planned child") would be sitting down weighing up the pros and cons of having an unwanted child or two deliberately for that reason (and making sure of course that I kept my mouth FIRMLY shut as to who the father was, so the man concerned didnt get lumbered with being a father against his will)- then goodness only knows what the chavs of this world would do....:eek:

Fortunately not everyone is as obsessed with staying in their home area as you are and these are the people who find it easiest to find jobs. That's the problem with so many middle of nowhere places, everybody with any get up and go has got up and gone!

missprice

sulkisu wrote: »

Then you were interviewed by 4rseholes!! I recently interviewed someone who had spent the last year (since redundancy) working as a cleaner in the morning and pot washer at his local pub at night. This showed me that he was a grafter, flexible, willing to get of his backside and had a sense of pride. Employers who turn their noses up at this are 4rseholes.

possibly i was interviewed by idiots and worse but still i could have done with the damn job
it aint my choice who interviews me!
i hate being a cleaner i hate the hours, the way your treated as imbeciles by supervisors, the norons (not all morons) you have to work with, the hours , the drudgery, the carp pay, the laws broken over and over and nothing i can do cos without that job i lose my house, the oh god the list is endless
i want to be a secretary/PA again

moan over

but the point still stands we dont choose who sees our applications and who will interview us
if we did we may stand a better chance of having a fab job and working with people we like:)

cit_k

Kaleidoscope27 wrote: »

I can believe it! When I interviewed at Debenhams yesterday we were told that they had screened (via phone interview earlier in the week) 200 applicants! And of course there would've been applications that rejected on the spot for various reasons. So over 200 applications for sales assistant jobs. They had no more than 30 in for group assessments and one on one interviews yesterday. And then... at a guess, maybe employ 5 of us at the most? Myself and one other for lingerie and maybe three for general floor sales staff.

It shocks me sometimes how many people are applying. But it also puts things into perspective. I though that over the last 6 months of unemployment, I must've been doing something wrong. But in fact... there's just so much competition at the moment, they physically can't interview every "good" applicant.

It's scary and sad in a way.

Debenhams is one of the companies that is taking on 'trainees' on DWP courses, ie work for benefits type thing..

loulou123

Thought i'd join in the debate with a couple of points:

1. I work in a care home, i have 11 GCSES, 3 A-Levels and am a trained legal secretary, but i LOVE my job, it is very rewarding and satisfying (of course it has its bad points but what job doesnt?) and i would rather have to work lots of 12 hour shifts on minimum wage and know im making a difference to peoples lives, then go back to my 8 hour day, 5 days a week job that i had before. (by the way not suggesting theres anything wrong with being a legal secretary! I just became very disillusioned with it.)

2. When i 1st took this job on i was on income support, and intially it was only 16 hours a week on minimum wage and i was earning £2.00 per week more then being on benefits! But as soon as i was offered the job i jumped at it. I do appreciate that not everyone can do the same thing thing (as you obviously then lose some help with rent, mortgage payments etc)

tabskitten

loulou123 wrote: »

Thought i'd join in the debate with a couple of points:

1. I work in a care home, i have 11 GCSES, 3 A-Levels and am a trained legal secretary, but i LOVE my job, it is very rewarding and satisfying (of course it has its bad points but what job doesnt?) and i would rather have to work lots of 12 hour shifts on minimum wage and know im making a difference to peoples lives, then go back to my 8 hour day, 5 days a week job that i had before. (by the way not suggesting theres anything wrong with being a legal secretary! I just became very disillusioned with it.)

2. When i 1st took this job on i was on income support, and intially it was only 16 hours a week on minimum wage and i was earning £2.00 per week more then being on benefits! But as soon as i was offered the job i jumped at it. I do appreciate that not everyone can do the same thing thing (as you obviously then lose some help with rent, mortgage payments etc)

Good on you - wish there were more like you Lou!!

lorietta

I think part of the problem is that it isn't what you know, but who you know.

I dropped out of uni just before easter because I wasn't enjoying the course, and didn't feel it was worth the debt I was getting into. I came home, and luckily, the company my mum works for (a small local wholesalers) was looking for someone to do telesales and admin work for the summer on a fairly ad hoc basis. This was ideal for me as if some other oppourtunity comes along I can take it, but I am earning a decent wage and getting experience.

However, if you don't have any contacts, and you start to build up a period of unemployment on you CV, then it is harder and harder to get a foot in the door. I don't drive, and couldn't afford a car anyway, so I was limited in where I could get to, but I don't know how I could move away from living with family if I don't have any money to pay a deposit and my rent.

My best friend is still at uni, she works in a bakery weekends and holidays, a job she has had since she was 17, and got through a relative. She then got one of our other friends a job there when a vacancy came up.

What I'm trying to say is that if you have cotacts and conections it is much easier to get a job because you are "known", so this might make it harder for other people to get jobs, and means moving to a new area could be a disadvatage.

CHARDONNAY_3

I agree with other posters that the experience of OP isn't typical - like many others claiming JSA, I'm desperate to work, I apply for jobs every day, I'm also volunteering & completing short courses, but still no-one will employ me . . . does that imply that I'm a scrounger or I'm lazy?

I'm single with no children & I'm currently sleeping on the sofa of a family member, so I don't claim housing/council tax benefit, tax credits etc etc

In the past month or so, this is what I've done:

Handed in spec C.V'S to most shops/cafe's etc in city / shopping centre
Posted spec C.V's to every primary school in my local LEA
Handed in spec C.V's to every employer on trading est who would let me in
Posted spec C.V's to care homes within travelling distance
Made follow up calls to agencies I'm registered with (8, in total)
Applied for all suitable jobs advertised on direct gov site, local paper etc


I don't know what else I can do, being on JSA is demeaning & demoralising & the way some people look down their noses at claimants is vile - people are not through the world yet & should get off their high horse!

ceridwen

lorietta wrote: »

I think part of the problem is that it isn't what you know, but who you know.

I dropped out of uni just before easter because I wasn't enjoying the course, and didn't feel it was worth the debt I was getting into. I came home, and luckily, the company my mum works for (a small local wholesalers) was looking for someone to do telesales and admin work for the summer on a fairly ad hoc basis. This was ideal for me as if some other oppourtunity comes along I can take it, but I am earning a decent wage and getting experience.

However, if you don't have any contacts, and you start to build up a period of unemployment on you CV, then it is harder and harder to get a foot in the door. I don't drive, and couldn't afford a car anyway, so I was limited in where I could get to, but I don't know how I could move away from living with family if I don't have any money to pay a deposit and my rent.

My best friend is still at uni, she works in a bakery weekends and holidays, a job she has had since she was 17, and got through a relative. She then got one of our other friends a job there when a vacancy came up.

What I'm trying to say is that if you have cotacts and conections it is much easier to get a job because you are "known", so this might make it harder for other people to get jobs, and means moving to a new area could be a disadvatage.

A very good point - which hadn't occurred to me.

It should have done though - as I've been offered jobs before now because of "who I've known" - rather than "what I've known". Sometimes I took them - sometimes I didn't.

I would think it's pretty typical for many people to be offered jobs "through the grapevine" - rather than having to actually apply for ones they have seen advertised (whatever level of job one has - through from shop assistant to professional).

Another advantage of being in one's own home area is being able to "tap into the grapevine" of local knowledge about the reputation/growth (or otherwise) of firms locally. It's often the case that the "locals" can see a few months in advance where some firm is about to open up or an existing one will be expanding - and it's then possible to "get in there in advance" and say that you're interested for when those new jobs are actually there. I can think right now of future job opportunities of various descriptions coming up in my area - and of the names of several people who have "put in a marker" for those jobs once they are available.
The reverse also applies - that one can spot which firms are "going down" (including the one you are in yourself.....) and start making preparations to "jump ship" (if it's your own firm) or de-prioritise applications for any posts they put up in favour of ones that look more promising.