Help and Advice please

mrs_buble

Hi
I originally posted this on the Bankruptcy forum, but a very kind person said that posting it here might be better for me

I'm new to all this, and i could really do with some advice .... due to unfortunately being made redundant twice in the last 4 years, our financial situation meant that we had to apply for an IVA, that's all up and running now, but the last few months i have applied for literally 100's of jobs but can't seem to get any farther that the interview stage, so does anyone know, if having this IVA is affecting me getting a job ... i can't be that unlucky surely ?.... does anyone know whether prospective employers check applicants credit ratings before they employ them ...

I'm at my wit's end now, and seem to be slipping further and further into depression due to not being able to find work, i feel a failure to my family .....

smartiedriver_2

Hi Mrs Buble,

Please try not to get too down - I'm sure there is the perfect job out there somewhere for you.

Most financial institutions will run a credit check on you before offering employment. I have not heard that they do this at interview stage, but more as part of checking references, i.e. the last stage before offering you the job. You should be told that they are doing the check, though, and your permission sought.

I would recommend you check your credit file and see if there are lots of footprints. You can do this for free by signing up for a 30 day trial then cancelling before the 30 days are up. Make sure you cancel!

If you are going for other jobs, then I don't see how a credit check would be relevant. Do you have any friends or ex-colleagues in HR who could conduct a mock-interview and give you some feedback? Are you asking for feedback from each interview? And the agency, if there is one involved?

If it's not the credit check, there must be something that is coming across in the interview - some suggestions mught be:
nerves?
failing to say 'I' instead of 'we' when you've achieved something?
twiddling with hair/clothes/pen giving an impression of nerves?
poor grammar or English? slang? jargon?
unsuitable clothing - not a suit etc. If so, you can get reasonable suits for about £30 in Tesco/Asda

I hope something here resonates for you.

Good luck x

mrs_buble

Thanks for the advice ...

The type of work i am looking for is general office administration, i am a well spoken person, so i don't think it's grammar related, well i hope not anyway ... I always turn up wearing a suit or dress, so it must be my nerves getting the better of me .... either that or my age is going against me .... i find that employers want my experience but don't want to pay the salary that i'm looking for, and believe me i'm not asking for loads just more than minimum wage ....

I'll keep plodding on and hopefully something will turn up soon ...

I was just wondering if anyone else with an IVA was having the same problem ....

milliejo

Don't know how old you are but it could be your age. Both I and DH have been told separatley and strictly off the reocrd by different employment agency staff that if you are over 50 you havent a chance and some employers dont want anyone over 45. The fact that this is illegal is making no difference.

FoggyBrain_2

I am afraid there are many ways around the legalities !!!! You keep hearing on the Radio and TV that employers complain that the majority of applicants are illiterate these days .. if this was true then why can't us semi-literates get the vacancies ?

It boils down to the fact that many employers want the value of experience and yet are unwilling to pay for it.

Pay peanuts ... get monkeys

adyj73

Unfortunately I suspect it's the state of the economy rather than anything to do with your IVA. As has been stated age has a big effect even though it's illegal to discriminate. I have a lady friend who is 60 but acts 40 and is a super worker in IT but as soon as she gets an agency interview she just never gets the job....even she admits it's her age

It's wrong but how do you prove it!!