What's the job situation like in your area, is it really as dire as it's made out?

dmliverpool

A job, is a job, is a job. I don't think people are too picky these days. Doing almost anything, Apart from pole dancing as stated in another post, will increase your finances for one. But also your well being and health. It's better to be working than at home in any event. I sense things have picked up from the start of the year in West Yorkshire, but things are very bleak. The issue is that employers have set the bar very high for jobs that don't require what is stated in adverts.

This then ensures they will get the job done to an even better standard for cheaper. Employers also know employees need the work no. being out of work is not fun and with raised living costs it's not a good place to be. My advise is work at ll costs.

Vincent_Buenisedes

jfh7gwa wrote: »

Whilst I agree, the poster I was referring to posted such a huge array of job types that I don't think I was out of turn to point it out

Take, for example, she mentioned "marketing" jobs.

I've worked in marketing departments (admittedly in a very specific niche industry which I won't bore you with) on two occasions, both in admin roles. The idea that someone is applying for a fruit picking job one day, and then trying to get into a marketing department the next is just silly.

At the one end, you have the Director/HoD level which clearly is a career goal and way out of the poster's league. At the other end you have junior marketing exec who need degrees, experience, and (in a good many cases, from what I've witnessed, more and more) even proof of internships to boot. Sure, marketing exec sounds fancy but it's the grunt job of the marketing department - at least where I've worked. You're also in competition from people who really, really want to work in marketing as a career, so will have a host of other things to bolster their application - being involved in industry events, possibly membership to industry groups... basically people who scream "I haven't just applied for a job, any job" - which is how the poster comes across to me. And I fear would come across to HR folk in the CV or during her interview.

That's the strange disconnect between jobs that lept out at me with regard to the poster I quoted. Hence my suggestion to focus, and skill up if she's serious about applying to a particular role that has a list of "essential" vs. "desirable" skills (i.e. above NMW jobs).

To give you a very real example of what I'm talking about, my company was recently recruiting for a junior-mid experienced level employee (criteria: no experience needed, short of being able to type, converse on the phone, and an agreement to study for industry qualifications - ideal for a new grad or even someone out of school because a degree was only "desirable"). I'd forgotten how random some of the applications we received were, and it was a piece of cake to help the other three CV sifters bin the inappropriate ones. One that sticks out in my mind was from a woman who I'm guessing was in her early 30s - from her CV, she'd basically done A-levels, went travelling for a year, and spent the next 10 years doing random odd jobs (no more than a year in each post) across a huge variety of sectors. A bar job here, a shop assistant job there, a voluntary music teacher here, a waitress job there. It was all over the place. Why the heck would we put someone like that into the "possible for interview" pile compared to some of the others in the submission pile, who maybe don't have experience BUT can prove they have an interest in working for US in THIS particular role? Madness to think she even had a chance. One of the other sifters actually said out loud "what the !!!!?" when he spotted her CV, which I felt was cruel, but it kind of sums up the attitude of the hiring panel when faced with scattershot approaches.

I can see your point as an recruiter, but from a candidate's point of view sometimes the advert for the role doesn't paint the full picture of the requirements, so the candidate sees, for e.g., that no experience is needed and they apply just as a shot in the dark.
Also, if they are on JSA/Work Programme, their advisors may make them apply for anything and everything within their skillset, so many applications will just be for keeping them sweet.

FATBALLZ

We've recruited loads at my company, and are still recruiting more. This is partly to replace some staff who left due to being recruited by other companies.

StephenM_2

My employer's website currently has 77 job postings for my location. Mostly for engineers.

lisawal1971

I have problems filling perm and temp roles that I have. The applicants that do come through have sent C.V.s with spelling mistakes and missing information.

Mad-Frog

TrixieB wrote: »

Kind of my point if you'd read the first post - that there are little to no jobs - in my area - advertised in those places but don't let that get in the way of jumping to your stupid wee conclusions and being rude to someone eh?



All very well and good saying that, there's just so much competition out there for jobs. I'm a firm believer in that jobs shouldn't be allowed to ONLY be advertisied internally. Fair enough let them have a look first before being advertised but that's all.

My department does not advertise jobs externally for the simple reason that it is specialised and no one 'from off the street' could do it without months of training. Other roles within our Company do get advertised but I should imagine other Companies are similiar in that more senior roles only get advertised internally

Hammyman

magenta22 wrote: »

I see a lot of jobs advertised but they are either not paying enough to live on or they are not something I have experience in.

Apply anyway. Other than the bleeding obvious, most people are capable of learning most jobs anyway. When I left school I did a multitude of different jobs whilst waiting to go into the army. I worked in a cafe as a dishwasher, a fish and chip shop as a fryer, a well known butchers as a trainee butcher, a company as a fibreglass trimmer and finisher and I didn't have experience in any of them when I applied but I picked the jobs up quite quickly. You usually find skills you've learned are applicable in any job you apply for.

jfh7gwa

Hammyman, working in a chip shop, washing dishes, assisting a butcher - all unskilled manual jobs - try walking into any IT dept. or marketing dept. and saying that you can learn all the skills you need just as easily.

"most people are capable of learning most jobs anyway" only works when your aim is around the NMW mark.

People need to recognise that they are competing in a flooded market if the only thing they can offer is a long history of fragmented employment history in wildly different sectors/industries and expect employers to choose them over someone who proves they genuinely applied specifically for that job/role because it's genuinely what they want to work as. Hence my suggestion that job seekers aim towards some aspect which makes them appear special - something to prove that the old platitude of "I'd really like to work for you because of XYZ" is true. it could be anything - volunteering for a role which directly correlates to your application, proof that a family member works in a similar role and therefore you know what it involves - anything.

Failing that, they need a plan to upskill. I see many posters here actively doing it - by taking advantage of training courses (either which directly gives them skills for the roles they'll apply for - or for qualifications actually appearing on job adverts they're getting rebuffed from - not your useless courses that some people take because it's just something to do).

Hence why it's only the unskilled jobs my company advertises publicly (on job sites, etc) - I suppose my own role (PA/admin type role at the moment) falls into that. But 90% of the employees in my current company either came through sector-specific recruitment agencies or our own website (or networking, recommendations from existing employees, recruitment from education providers direct, that sort of thing).

Red_Elle

lisawal1971 wrote: »

I have problems filling perm and temp roles that I have. The applicants that do come through have sent C.V.s with spelling mistakes and missing information.

This might be frustrating, but you have to remember that not everyone is a professional job seeker/CV writer. You will open up your candidate pool, and become a better recruiter, by contacting people and finding out what they are like.

Just think, if all agencies disregard these people you could end up with a lot of decent, exclusive candidates who will be really loyal and hardworking for you.

CVs are a really poor indicator of capability and most of them are pretty terrible. It is rare that I see a decent CV or covering letter. A good recruiter will extract relevant information from an interviewee and create a good CV for them.

claire16c

Red_Elle wrote: »

This might be frustrating, but you have to remember that not everyone is a professional job seeker/CV writer. You will open up your candidate pool, and become a better recruiter, by contacting people and finding out what they are like.

Just think, if all agencies disregard these people you could end up with a lot of decent, exclusive candidates who will be really loyal and hardworking for you.

CVs are a really poor indicator of capability and most of them are pretty terrible. It is rare that I see a decent CV or covering letter. A good recruiter will extract relevant information from an interviewee and create a good CV for them.

I guess it depends what the job is. If its a shelf stacker in a supermarket I wouldnt be so worried about spelling mistakes.

But in my old job when I had to hire people, there is no way someone with mistakes over their cv would have even got past the first hurdle because a big part of the job was paying attention to detail. Its not hard to ensure your cv has no mistakes on it. So if they couldnt make sure that was perfect I wasnt about to risk employing them and having them mess up something.