First time "signing on" at Job Centre,what happens

SHIPSHAPE

The dole are so snowed under with applicants these days that giving you anything other than a few minutes is not possible after the initial stage.

Certainly in my area anyway.

dalc87

dibuzz wrote: »

Good advice dalc87
My son was struggling to find work and had to sign on. They kept sending him on daft courses, one was a basic IT course. He has a degree in computer science and kept telling the instructor he was talking rubbish and told him better ways to do things. His normal advisor agreed it was ridiculous to send him but she had to.

It's the sort of crap service that your son has received that aids the benefit state and reliance on JSA.

People get into a personal quagmire when the place their government tells them they should go to for help in getting a job treats them so poorly and sends them on rubbish courses without thinking things through. They start to believe that they will never get a job and no one will ever give them a chance. 6 months out of work and you will be fighting the hardest battle of your life to get back in to work. If you are out of work for more than 6 months regardless of the reasons employers are always wary of taking you on even if you manage to get an interview which 9/10 you won't if you are long term unemployed. Unfortunately, regardless of your situation the employer will think you are lazy and bin your CV.

Never write the words 'unemployed' on your CV. Be honest but fill it out with voluntary work you have done or courses you have attended. Don't write 'personal projects' or 'house renovation' or 'well due vacation' etc because employers see straight through that. 99/100 it is a complete lie.

I tell all the people I know that complain to me that they are out of work "If you want a job, you need to work full time hours in finding a job. You need to treat finding a job as a job."

You need to put 40 hours - minimum - per week into finding a job and do it properly. Not apply online for 3 or 4 jobs and then play online games or go on facebook for a few hours before applying for more jobs. If you do go on facebook or twitter make your posts relevant to finding a job, ask all of your 'friends' and 'followers' to keep an eye out for you and to ask around for you.

Get a LinkedIn profile. It's like facebook but for professionals. Post your CV on there, join loads of local and national jobs groups and groups relevant to your skillset and post like mad. Let people know you are immediately available, willing to work for free for a day/a week to prove yourself. Let people know that you are enthusiastic, will work hard, be the best decision they have ever made etc etc.

If the only job you can find is flipping burgers in McDonalds then you need to look at it completely positively. Set targets, end of month 1 get a star. End of month 3 have 5 stars, month 4-6 aim for promotion, end of your first year be team leader or manager. If you put in the work you might find yourself in a senior role quite quickly and will have skills and experience that other employers want. No job is beneath you. If you think that you are too good for a job then you think that you are better than people that do that job. That makes you a bad person and effectively a bad employee and you'll never get the job you want or deserve.

Let me tell you a quick story. This story is about an inspirational man that didn't think 'I'm too good for that job'. That man is called Ken Friar.
Ken started his career with Arsenal Football Club as a tea boy. Through hard work, determination and good attitude he has worked his way through the ranks and now sits on the board of directors. Not bad for a kid that poured hot water into cups for a living.

Look him up. Use him as an example, tell employers about him or someone similar who can be your 'hero'. Say, Mr Employer, I want this 'XYZ' job because I know that if I work hard and keep a level head then one day I'll be like Ken Friar and I'll be signing the Pay Cheques.

burtons

It all depends who you see and they don't really bother you for the first 3 months. When i was signing on i had someone nice as she didn't care what you had done to look for work she would just ask what you have you done on the weekend. Tell her her to fill the jsa book in everyday as i used to get arm ache filling the book the night before i signed on.

metoyoubear

She went and everything was fine,thank you everyone.

You're right dalc87 You need to treat finding a job as a job." that's very true.