Support Each Other In Looking For Work?

EndlessStruggle

I finished my law degree 2 and a half years ago. Been floating between temp work and unemployment. Problem is I live in a very sleepy town, rubbish public transport, plus luck is not on my side with my driving tests, people rarely move around jobs, there are no big offices mostly factories and shops. Some weeks I struggle to find 1 job, in the last month there has been 1 for me.

The dreaded question I always get asked at every single interview is, you have a degree why do you want this job. Really frustrates me. And all the job centre say to me is that I fall into a category of overqualified and/or underexperienced with most the jobs here. I really do sometimes want to scream at them in there lol. Luckily my two voluntary placements are keeping me sane.

The one piece of advice I will offer to all who are unemployed and struggling is to try do some voluntary work. I do it in a charity shop (great bargains!) and in my local Citizens Advice Bureau as an admin assistant/receptionist has probably saved me from going insane!

lexilex

Does anyone know anything about Principle Resourcing? I'm supposed to be registering with them today but they seem a bit, well dodgy!

First they have told me I have to pay for my own CRB, and they have sent me all the documents I have to print off and fill in to take with me, which I didn't think anything of, until I have looked and there's 30 pages +. Also they are asking for bank details up front which no other agency has done.

I am very wary of them and thinking of cancelling the appointment.

Anyone any experiences with them??

livermum

Not that particular on lexi but I did have something similar a couple of weeks ago. They wanted me to pay for my CV when I went to sign up with them. I told them that I thought it was wrong to expect me to pay out like that when there is no guarantee off a job. Apparently there are a few companies that do this but I just told them thanks but no thanks as I really can't afford to give that money away.

Lexi missed the bit about them wanting your bank details up front as well. I would be reluctant to give my bank details out like that.

lexilex

livermum wrote: »

Not that particular on lexi but I did have something similar a couple of weeks ago. They wanted me to pay for my CV when I went to sign up with them. I told them that I thought it was wrong to expect me to pay out like that when there is no guarantee off a job. Apparently there are a few companies that do this but I just told them thanks but no thanks as I really can't afford to give that money away.

I think I am going to cancel it, I just feel very uneasy about this one, I could be wrong but think I am best going with my gut feeling.

stephyt23

lexilex wrote: »

Does anyone know anything about Principle Resourcing? I'm supposed to be registering with them today but they seem a bit, well dodgy!

First they have told me I have to pay for my own CRB, and they have sent me all the documents I have to print off and fill in to take with me, which I didn't think anything of, until I have looked and there's 30 pages +. Also they are asking for bank details up front which no other agency has done.

I am very wary of them and thinking of cancelling the appointment.

Anyone any experiences with them??

I've not heard of them sorry.

The agency I was telling you about last week that only wanted email addresses for references also wanted bank details up front. I did eventually send them but I was very reluctant. It was only when they confirmed my interview to register with them that they said "oh by the way, please be aware you will need to pay £44 for a CRB" which has now led me to email and say I can't afford it and have only just had one done so am cancelling the appointment. Will be interesting to see if I get a response. I did find it odd that an agency which claims to be quite big excepts you to pay for your own CRB. I applied to do voluntary work through a charity earlier this year and even they didn't expect me to pay for it.

stephyt23

livermum wrote: »

Not that particular on lexi but I did have something similar a couple of weeks ago. They wanted me to pay for my CV when I went to sign up with them. I told them that I thought it was wrong to expect me to pay out like that when there is no guarantee off a job. Apparently there are a few companies that do this but I just told them thanks but no thanks as I really can't afford to give that money away.

Lexi missed the bit about them wanting your bank details up front as well. I would be reluctant to give my bank details out like that.

That was my thoughts exactly, I'm not paying for something when I'm not guaranteed work. I've done that twice before for American summer camp and twice they'd run out of places at camps so I'd wasted CRB and Visa money.

I have another agency I'm signing up with on Saturday who've not mentioned CRB's so hopefully they won't turn round and ask me to pay for it

lexilex

stephyt23 wrote: »

I've not heard of them sorry.

The agency I was telling you about last week that only wanted email addresses for references also wanted bank details up front. I did eventually send them but I was very reluctant. It was only when they confirmed my interview to register with them that they said "oh by the way, please be aware you will need to pay £44 for a CRB" which has now led me to email and say I can't afford it and have only just had one done so am cancelling the appointment. Will be interesting to see if I get a response. I did find it odd that an agency which claims to be quite big excepts you to pay for your own CRB. I applied to do voluntary work through a charity earlier this year and even they didn't expect me to pay for it.

I thought the same about CRB's! I just presumed they would be able to claim the cost back somehow. I've been thinking about this appointment all weekend, something just didn't seem quite right. I am probably completely wrong but I would just not feel comfortable giving them my bank information. They were quite pushy for references on the phone too, which makes me think they just want the employers details to harrass them for business.

livermum

It feels like people like this are deliberately preying on people who are desperate for work. They know that we are unemployed and yet still expect us to hand over all that money with nothing promised at the end of it.

stephyt23

lexilex wrote: »

I thought the same about CRB's! I just presumed they would be able to claim the cost back somehow. I've been thinking about this appointment all weekend, something just didn't seem quite right. I am probably completely wrong but I would just not feel comfortable giving them my bank information. They were quite pushy for references on the phone too, which makes me think they just want the employers details to harrass them for business.

That's what I thought. I'd cancel if I were you. I should've done that with this one sooner really. They said they needed email addresses for references as they find postal ones often get ignored. There's nothing to stop email ones also being ignored is there.

livermum wrote: »

It feels like people like this are deliberately preying on people who are desperate for work. They know that we are unemployed and yet still expect us to hand over all that money with nothing promised at the end of it.

It is really bad. I've already had 2 CRB's done this year, no doubt I'll need a third from this agency on Saturday, and possibly a 4th from an interview I have today for casual work. Just as well none of those had to be paid for otherwise I'd have been stuck. I think they forget that unemployed people haven't got money to waste, and £44 is a lot!

livermum

Totally agree Steph. Oh well it was nice to start a Monday with a moan! I feel quite positive this week, did my garden at the weekend and didn't really do the constant job searching like usual. It was nice to have a bit of time off (although I'm not quite finished yet as daughter has asked me to dig her a vegetable patch!). Does Stew's job start today? Have we got any interviews this week? I'm supposed to have one on Wed but it's at least an hour and a half away and it's a job I don't feel that I would like! I'm undecided about going yet.