Support Each Other in Looking For Work - Pt 2

Drea

JamesK10 wrote: »

Despite an early rise and two apps done this morning I'm annoyed with myself that the signoff for my covering letter was duplicated on the second app as it's automatically stored - I didn't hit the stop button in time when uploading the application so I have to cross that one off the list, they'll see that error and ditch the app outright. It was on deadline so had probably gone but I could kick myself for it.

The only reason for that repetition was the correction of a job title in my CV where one of the words didn't need to start with a capital letter, but it just led to another mistake. That's proof that you can be too over-zealous! Annoying, because I really liked the sound of that job but have to move on. Corrected it by creating a new empty cover letter template to go with the new CV and that won't happen again. Still, if it happened with a job on deadline then I know to always give a cover letter a final final check before clicking send in future.

I know the feeling, I just realised last week that I've been sending out my CV with responsible spelt rsponsible! What a stupid mistake!

saxonrosecliff

Drea wrote: »

I know the feeling, I just realised last week that I've been sending out my CV with responsible spelt rsponsible! What a stupid mistake!

I had a stupid mistake on my CV as well the first time I was unemployed. Can't remember what it was but I got quite a few interviews but after I corrected it I've had no interviews!!!

I've been notified by the job centre that I'm going back on the Work Programme and have an appointment next Monday. I'm so excited! (need a sarcastic smiley here).

The job I really want and have more or less the correct experience for closed last Thursday but I've not heard anything yet - I'm keeping everything crossed!

nicki_2

Hi all,

I saw this thread and have decided to subscribe and join in as I could do with all the help and support I can get after deciding to give up self-employment (through a well know beauty brand delivered to your door) as the money just isn't enough to live on even with low income benefits as there never seems to be any 'fun' money left after bills/debts are paid I'll stay working though until I manage to get a job, I refuse to go back onto JSA as I hate my local job centre with a passion :mad:

So a little intro: I'm Nicki, currently self-employed sales representative of 15 months, I'm a single mum to my DD who is 11 and will be starting secondary school in September, and I haven't had a full-time paid job since October 1999 :eek: Since then I've had a number of voluntary jobs, mainly since 2005, which I only 'quit' in December as I wanted to get my work/life balance back. Since 2007 I've done some ICT based courses through the OU (had to stop the studying though as it was just too much when teamed with the voluntary job & my SE job as well as being a single mum), and completed an NVQ level 2 in "supporting teaching & learning in schools" which has led to me spending the past 2 years or so continuing at the school I did the training in I loved the job, hated the fact I wasn't getting paid otherwise I would have stayed there until I retire!

So now I am job hunting again, and its scary, and I'm not sure I'm doing the right thing, and any help and support will be much appreciated

Thanks for reading this far if you have, I can waffle for england :rotfl:

Drea

nicki wrote: »

Thanks for reading this far if you have, I can waffle for england :rotfl:

Welcome I think I may have tried that very same well known beauty brand delivered through my door... and failed... miserably :rotfl:

I've been getting really mad today, all over facebook I keep seeing people being nasty about unemployed people because we're out in the sun and should "find a job". I am looking for a job! I'm not particularly happy about the fact I can't find one either! And now I apparently also have to feel guilty for stepping outside while it's warm! :mad:

Horace

I had my interview on Monday - I didnt get the job because I was too polite, also not helped because I was asked about receiving cold calls myself so I truthfully said that I didnt accept cold calls and refused to buy anything from a cold caller. I was far too polite during the fake sales call exercise too - I was relieved because telesales is my idea of hell.

I rang the number the jobcentre gave me on my return from the failed interview and I have to attend an assessment on Friday morning (only 5 mins walk from my flat) and need to take various bits of ID with me and a recent passport photo. I had to explain that my passport expired in April and the chap asked me why I hadnt renewed it - I said that I was on the dole and couldnt afford it, he then asked me if I had any holidays booked and again I said no because I am on the dole and cannot afford it.:rotfl: I will have to have some time off though because I am in the process of moving and I plan to move out at the end of June.

I went to R*mploy again yesterday for some job search and I was put forward for a part time telesales job in a village near me - this is a job where they want you to be polite and not a rabid salesperson who won't take no for an answer. I am back at R*mploy tomorrow afternoon for an M&S workshop and next week I am there on Monday morning and late on Tuesday afternoon for a mock interview.

I am sort of taking the day off today - I have a load of stuff to do (making lists for boxes, sorting out packing and sorting out rubbish) as well as meeting my mum. I hope to be taking advantage of the sunshine too because it is good for my health as I need the vitamin D after months of being trapped indoors applying for jobs.

JamesK10

Drea wrote: »

I've been getting really mad today, all over facebook I keep seeing people being nasty about unemployed people because we're out in the sun and should "find a job". I am looking for a job! I'm not particularly happy about the fact I can't find one either! And now I apparently also have to feel guilty for stepping outside while it's warm! :mad:

First I thought I could try to use Facebook and Twitter a little more often to try to get work but frankly, it's another job in itself to be on those sites and it was hard enough just managing two daily email lists even though one of them now has less than the average 50 jobs per day, Tuesday to Saturday.

Ignore these idiots because when it's humid and muggy like today, you're drinking more of everything to stay cool and need to go and buy more juice/water/etc, life still goes on whatever the weather so really you need to delete friends who think like that.

Meanwhile I've got two days to look through seven jobs, finish the dead certs tonight but focus on the best of the rest tomorrow, and whatever doesn't get finished tomorrow, send in on deadline.

nicki_2

I've got a job application form partly filled out. Its for a job in a school and the form is a standard council one so it's been a nightmare. It asks for all education, training and employment from leaving school in chronological order and reasons for periods of unemployment :eek: I left compulsory education in 1995 and have numerous qualifications and voluntary work to list (I can still hear those wonderful words from the job center, 'You're over qualified for any courses' ), a lot overlaps and took me 3 hours to sort out properly. I'm still going to have to include an additional sheet so that stuff pre-daughter can be listed as the amount of space provided is tiny really:eek:

Now I've just spent 3 hours drafting & redrafting a "personal specification" as I am hopeless at 'selling' myself. However it has been written under the influence of a medicinal alcoholic drink as I was getting so frustrated with it so I'll be double, if not triple checking it tomorrow! Right now I need to reclaim my diningtable which is currently buried under papers

Only plus side, its all been done on the computer on the bog-standard form so the next job should just require some tweeking like vacancy title & reference

gozaimasu

I thought I would join you all as I'm feeling woeful about my job situation.

I have a job that I don't like and I've been applying for things on and off for the past year. Only since March/April I've got the big guns out and I'm short listing companies I really want to work for and have made a fair few applications. Out of everything, I had 1 interview which I got good feedback from.

I appreciate that I have a job in the first place, it's a good company to work for and if I was of the "right personality" I'm sure I could give it a go and make a career out of it, but it's just not for me and I have decided that I don't want to be there.

I'm sick of being told that I should just shut up complaining because "I'm lucky to have a job". Over the past year or so my job has been up and down - either its 70 hour weeks and feeling so stressed to the point of crying, or just absolutely nothing to do, feeling bored out of my mind, constantly asking for work and getting nothing in return for enthusiasm to show willing and be efficient and productive. I'm an employee who likes to keep busy all day and be given training, feedback and development. Instead I'm watching the clock waiting for the end of the day, my life just passing me by.

I'm going through one of those really quiet periods right now and I keep getting paranoid that I'm going to get sacked due to lack of work. I'm even made to feel bad about constantly asking for something to do! During the busy period we took on an extra staff member on a fixed term contract, who seems to have randomly just decided to stay on (I did ask and they said it was to be discussed with the boss, but they aren't the most pro-active bosses in the world) and seems to float by with not a care in the world, clinging onto any task that can be stretched out for a full day. This person is pretty inadequate with a crap degree from a crap uni and has no initiative whatsoever. They have the ability to make the simplest take take 5 hours. What a waster.

Anyway, so this person is essentially taking work away from me, as there isn't enough work for me alone. I am technically in charge of this person and managing their workload (which I'll admit I wasn't very good at and wasn't v. pro-active but I wasn't too bothered as I knew they were only there for 6 months) but I can't manage it if there is nothing to do. Paranoia tells me that the boss wants this person instead of me otherwise they wouldn't still be there...

I've learned in life so far just to keep your mouth shut and get on with it, sit quietly in the corner, do the best job you can and go home. I find this hard because I am one of the most strong opinionated people I know. I can't be myself at work and I find it really difficult and frustrating not to speak out about things that I dislike or think could be done better. I hate not being able to instigate change into the workplace. I constantly want to ask for work to keep me busy but I know I should keep my nose down and learn the skill of being good at pretending to look busy when I clearly have nothing to do. I am recording all of the times I do ask for work, so that if I am accused of browsing the internet too much, I have something to throw back at tribunal. I record the timewasting of my colleagues for comparison.

I really want to take action but don't know what to do. All I can keep doing is apply for jobs and hope for the best. Or I could ask for a month of unpaid leave seeing as I am clearly not needed. Or I could ask to be put on a zero hours contract so that it looks like I have a period of continuous employment on my CV, and focus on the job hunt 24/7.

I'm not sorry for the rant. I hold everything else in all day so I'm glad to finally be able to let it all out to some random anonymous strangers.

saxonrosecliff

I've got a interview next Friday for the job I mentioned before, that I really want and which had the longest application form in the world - 14 competency questions (Admin Assistant post). Its only 30 hours a week but the salary is nearly the same as I was getting for 37.5 hours in my last job so would be great. The only slight problem is it is quite a distance to get there - two buses.

I'm also getting incredibly angry with people saying it must be nice to be unemployed as I can sit in the sun all day. I'm actually sitting indoors looking for jobs which is exactly the same miserable existence whether its freezing or boiling hot. I tried taking the laptop outside but couldn't see the screen!!!

Horace

I have been in and out of Remploy all week and it looks like being the same next week. I am not complaining though. Yesterday I had the first workshop for MnS which was quite good fun and it demonstrated that we could understand instructions and work as a team. I was one of the lucky six to be selected for the main workshop and for the work trial. I start Session 2 on Monday and Session 3 on Tuesday - I also have job search on Monday morning and on Tuesday afternoon at 4pm I have my mock interview to give me some practice.

This morning I was at the assessment for the jobcentre - so far so good, however, the job was not as described to me and certainly not the 16 week contract that was promised instead it could be up to 16 weeks if I am lucky. The training is being done by the local college and they mentioned an employability skills certificate that I could get - I already have this as I did in March.

I am thinking of the two jobs that MnS looks like the better option as at least there is the opportunity of a job at tne end of it unlike the jobcentre where there won't be and I could be working for far less than 16 weeks.

I had a knockback as well today but at least the email was polite and they wished me well for the future. I figured this particular job would go to someone else because it was working for a garage and it was the kind of job that would be given to an ex mechanic.

It looks nice outside - I went out earlier as I needed to do stuff but I have been chained to my laptop since 3.00pm and it is boiling in here:(