Asked to look for 8 jobs a week

princesskasren

So I have never had to ask for help from anyone least of all the government but when I went to the jobcenter to sign my jsa agreement I was asked to look for 8 jobs a week. Now I live in a tiny village and Aberdeen is the closest big city but i don't drive so Aberdeen is past the 90 min travel allowance. So there are few jobs in my area so my advisor said to just look in the yellow pages and cold call or send in cvs. I have no problem doing that but 16 every 2 weeks seem a lot and i forsee running out of places to call...however, i also worry if I bring this up that she will think I am being lazy..is 8 a lot?

cmw1212

Is it actually 8 jobs or 8 steps? (eg calling a company to see if they are taking on) 8 jobs does seem like a lot for a rural area I'm sure when I have been on I only had to apply for 3 or 4 and I live in a big city.

princesskasren

cmw1212 wrote: »

Is it actually 8 jobs or 8 steps? (eg calling a company to see if they are taking on) 8 jobs does seem like a lot for a rural area I'm sure when I have been on I only had to apply for 3 or 4 and I live in a big city.

Yeah 8 jobs...she broke it down on the agreement...apply for 4 call 3 send cvs to...I wish there were that many around here! I dislike the new website it's a bit counter intuitive.

Caroline_a

Unfortunately if you want benefits you will be asked to prove your entitlement to them. I would suggest that you look at how you can widen your opportunities - this may involve moving!

mixenvixen

8 does seem high for the JCP to ask. When I was living in a city a year and a half ago, I was asked to apply for 3-4 a week.

Saying that, I was actually applying for 5-6 a day- and it still took me a month to find a job, so maybe this target could prove helpful to you.

I wouldn't worry about running out places to apply, I quick look in your yellow pages will probably really surprise you how many local business' are actually in your area. Perhaps keep a log of all the places that you've applied to- then if you feel you're coming to the end talk to your advisor about next steps. This would show that you are genuinely looking and hopefully keep the JCP happy!

montymud

Yeah I got asked to look for 8 about 2 years ago when both me and my husband were out of work. It seems a tall order but we found it worth it as got a job that way. We found local papers and the internet invaluable. Also if you are really desperate you could ring around the pubs - thats how I got my job in the end and the pub was only a 5 minute walk from my house. Good luck in your search

JimmyTheWig

princesskasren wrote: »

my advisor said to just look in the yellow pages and cold call or send in cvs.

Sounds a little pointless just to make up the numbers.
But in terms of the time it takes to print off 8 CVs, find 8 companies in the Yellow Pages and write out 8 envelopes I don't think that's unreasonable to ask in a week, is it?

A bit pricey on stamps, maybe, though.
Could you organise the local companies into areas and apply in an area at a time. Then, at least for the ones close to home or in areas that you go to anyway, you could hand-deliver them.


I think that it is a waste of your time, but if it takes an hour of your week in order to receive JSA then I think it's worth it.

snuggle69

Sorry but I hope your joking complaining about applying for 8 jobs, if you really want to work you will be out handing CVs out to all and sundry and applying for other things online.

I am sure we would all love our work to be on our doorstep sometimes travelling is the only option

Beggers cant be choosers if you need a job and really want to work you will take anything.....trust me I have been there and done that

brokeinwales

I think that is now fairly standard - my OH just signed on and his target is 8 a week too - some weeks it does mean applying to the occasional thing you know you have no hope in hell of getting just to make up numbers, but these are the hoops you have to jump through.

Have you asked them about claiming expenses for travel to interviews and loans you can get on starting work etc? That might help if location is a problem, then once you're earning again you can look at moving o reduce travel time. (Just wanted to point out to the person who suggested moving as an option in order to look for work - moving house is costly enough when you're employed, trying to find deposit and pay six weeks rent in advance, cost of hiring a van to move your stuff - virtually impossible when you're on JSA.)

donnajunkie

princesskasren wrote: »

So I have never had to ask for help from anyone least of all the government but when I went to the jobcenter to sign my jsa agreement I was asked to look for 8 jobs a week. Now I live in a tiny village and Aberdeen is the closest big city but i don't drive so Aberdeen is past the 90 min travel allowance. So there are few jobs in my area so my advisor said to just look in the yellow pages and cold call or send in cvs. I have no problem doing that but 16 every 2 weeks seem a lot and i forsee running out of places to call...however, i also worry if I bring this up that she will think I am being lazy..is 8 a lot?

just look further afield to achieve your numbers target. make the usual effort on the applications that are suitable and just do a quick effort on those that are just making up the numbers. you will be very unlikely to get a response from them and even if you do you can explain your problem.

Caroline_a

OP are you actually looking for a job?