Asked to look for 8 jobs a week

princesskasren

There are plenty of jobs in Aberdeen but as i don't drive it's 2 buses and 2 hour journey each way not including time between buses and teh fact taht there are only 4 local buses on a Sunday so i cannot work on that day and in retail you need to work weekends. So yeah if I had teh money I would move to Aberdeen...and be terribly unhappy living in a city at a job I hated without the man I love but hey,,,at east I could pay council tax to the people who are being soooo helpful to me...lol

jobseeking_help

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?

Princess

Solely about JSA - the requirement is that you are available for work and actively seeking employment (ASE ). There is no exact definition of ASE - it will depend on individual claimant's circumstances and individual adviser's discretion.

I would suggest that so long as you write down the details of 2 -3 advertised jobs each week that you have applied for ( or indeed say that you have applied for ) I would consider that even if the adviser sent up a query of Decision Making Action ( DMA ) to a Decision Maker then the claim would still be allowed and JSA paid.

You can add on all the speculative approaches you make as well.

It is now complicated by UJM. Jobssekers do not have to register by law but heavy pressure from JCP mgt on staff to ensure that claimants do so that a direction to do so may be issued - in effect forcing through threat of sanction to register. You still do not have to give JCP staff access.

UJM has to be seen to be a succees. The measure of success is the number of registrations, by fair means or foul.

There is real life and there is JSA - do what you need to do to get JSA, do what you need to do to get a job

Sharon87

I get you dont want to work in a fish factory being a vegetarian, but do you exclude all jobs that work with meat? My vegetarian friend got a job in Sainsburys on the meat and fish counter! Well until she got a different job, because she was better off working than not working. I'm not suggesting you do it, but if you're excluding all jobs that involve meat (Gregg/McDs/other food places) then can you really afford to be that fussy?

I'm not saying forget about your morals, but can morals get in the way of you being skint?

choo_choo_2

Not sure where the above fish post came from, lol!

As for the suggestions of moving, it is expensive in and of itself and moving homes is one of the most stressful things you can do. As you are effectively living rent-free at the moment, suggestion seems adverse too. From what I can perceive, the main issue is that your skills and experience are stale. I don't think age will particularly be hampering your search.

Consider looking for voluntary work on do-it.org.uk ? That's something that was suggested to me. It can make you feel useful and provide perspective. The job centre may help with travel costs and you can still sign on. It will also help take your mind off things, which is healthier than what you have described. I have found this letter, by American psychologist, William James, lettersofnote.com/2012/11/time-hour-run-through-roughest-day.html, particularly helpful.

This MSE article on boosting income might help moneysavingexpert.com/family/make-money . I read something on the forum earlier about being a "textbroker", where you write articles or product descriptions that are commissioned by people.

JSA is for when you're looking for a job, as this lady is doing. The job centre, quite rightly, needs you to prove it. 8 sounds a lot and it may feel pointless, but it is actually quite good for getting you to spend more time doing something and getting out of the house and to the job centre. Some weeks I would feel totally demoralised, but that action plan gave me something to do and though I hated getting on the bus (comes only once an hour) to the job centre and sitting there waiting with everyone else, it was motivational and I found my advisor supportive and positive. You can use this forum, or other sources, for a similar lift.

I think some forumers need to click the "Etiquette" button at the top and have a particular look at the point about sensitivity for a reminder.

Job searching is hard, but that is the nature of the beast. Sounds like you are being proactive and open to trying new methods. You might think you need luck, but luck is when preparation and opportunity meet.

Please don't feel bad about claiming. Or that you have to keep sharing personal details to justify it. Benefits are there to be claimed when needed, and the stigma is mis-founded and based on myth and usually comes from distorted media coverage. This is something recognised and studied by leading economists, like John Van Reenen and Tim Harford. Have a look at this myth busting article here turn2us.org.uk/pdf/Mythbusting.pdf

(As a new user I can't post links so I deleted all the www, just copy and paste URLs)

somethingcorporate

8 applications a week? how long does it take to do one application? an hour at most?

Seems quite reasonable for £75 a week - pretty decent hourly rate I would suggest.

Serenity

Sharon87 wrote: »

I get you dont want to work in a fish factory being a vegetarian, but do you exclude all jobs that work with meat? My vegetarian friend got a job in Sainsburys on the meat and fish counter! Well until she got a different job, because she was better off working than not working. I'm not suggesting you do it, but if you're excluding all jobs that involve meat (Gregg/McDs/other food places) then can you really afford to be that fussy?

I'm not saying forget about your morals, but can morals get in the way of you being skint?

My sister is a very strong vegetarian. But she worked on Tesco's deli counter for a good while, because she felt so strongly against it she worked damn hard to get out of it and got onto a manager pathway at a very young age.

Serenity

I live in a very similar rural area. 8 jobs is a lot I agree, when I was signing on my agreement was a lot less but I still wouldn't say it is not doable.

Sign up for indeed.co.uk job alerts. It collates everything, you can put getting the e-mails as one of your activities each signing on period, and it does advertise a lot more jobs then I would find myself.

denla

Serenity wrote: »

My sister is a very strong vegetarian. But she worked on Tesco's deli counter for a good while, because she felt so strongly against it she worked damn hard to get out of it and got onto a manager pathway at a very young age.

Not a very 'strong' vegetarian then. Strong vegetarians are affected by the smell of meat. They'd get sick from it.

JimmyTheWig

princesskasren wrote: »

I wasn't complaining that 8 was too many work or time wise just that the whole making up the numbers to get to the 16 every week seemed a bit false.

Re-reading the OP (original post, this time!) I agree with you. We must have assumed that is what you were complaining about. Sorry about that.

Yes, I totally agree that it seems a little pointless to apply for jobs that aren't there just to make your numbers up.

I think this sums it up the best:

jobseeking_help wrote: »

There is real life and there is JSA - do what you need to do to get JSA, do what you need to do to get a job

In an ideal world they would be the same thing. But if they're not, then just do both.

System

You have to ask yourself, Do I want a job?

Yes - you will already be taking all the steps necessary to try and find one, including seriously thinking of moving, sharing with friends, whatever it takes.

No. Then going through the hoops pretending to be looking will be your job. Fire off applications to all the most unlikely employers you can think of. When you have exhausted all 1000 within a radius of 50 miles, start again, asking them whether they have had any vacancies come up since you last wrote.
In the remote possibility that you actually get an interview, turn up, but unless you are unlucky, you won't get the job.