Asked to look for 8 jobs a week

brokeinwales

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

This. Absolutely this.

On the one occasion I had to sign on I found the jobcentre absolutely useless in terms of getting me back into work - they just wanted me to carry out tasks that I knew from experience were a complete waste of time and would get me no closer to gettng a job (the back-to-work group talks are the best: "Have you thought about checking the local paper?" "What? Really? Who knew?!").

Basically you just have to suck it up, do their daft little box ticking tasks even if it's a pain, and in the meantime, work out your own more realistic strategy for finding work. In my case the things I found most useful were:

- finding out what companies existed locally (there were a lot more than I thought) and checking their websites for jobs.
- signing up with good temp agencies
- talking to friends for ideas - which resulted in me discovering I could get funding to do a short course that helped my prospects a bit, and also in getting a bit of freelance work I could do from home. I also spoke to someone who was disturbingly knowledgable about bus routes and could let me know in seconds whether a job in a certain location would be viable for me to get to before I applied!
- getting my mum to help me with applications (!)

I'm not saying these will all necessarily be relevant to you - just that the things that get you a job are likely to be outside what the jobcentre asks you to do. You just have to jump their hoops and use the rest of the time for "real" jobhunting.

Definetly ask about travel expenses though - they often don't tell you this stuff unless you ask, and find out about free training/ CV help and careers advice that may be available for free in your area (either through teh job centre or more likely elsewhere).

Also, consider whether there are any companies that aren't necessarily on your doorstep, but might allow you to work from home - this is becoming far more common. The last company I worked for employed translators, bookkeepers and operational staff who rarely or never attended the actual office. Sometimes even if a job ad doesn't specifically state that home working is an option, it may be worth asking.

And btw, as a fellow vegetarian, i totally understand about the fish factory, I wouldn't be able to do that either!

princesskasren

Crikey. some people just jump to conclusions without reading all the posts. Of course I am already signed up to Indeed and reed and s1jobs and teh papers and I go into town to ask about jobs in shops. I did mention taht already. Also the vegetarian thing. I have not ruled out coffee shops serving food if I had I would have said taht but I just mentioned the fish factories...as for the people who STILL are bringing up the moving thing. I am living rent free at the moment and i cannot afford to move and my plan is to get a job, save like crazy and move somewhere with more opportunities.
Clifford=Pope up there your comment is esp caustic and uncalled for. I have had interviews. I always go to interviews and fill out all applications. I am not a child and there is no need to be so dismissive. Just because |I am questioning something doesn't mean you need to preach at me.
Something corporate...you need to read all the thread as I have already explained I am not complaining about the work or the time it takes me to fill out and send cvs..all I have is time...it just seems to me you gave my Op a cursory glance and then jumped in with your comment without reading all posts.
Jimmythewig...thanks for understanding my original point! LOL
Everyone else...thanks so much for the comments and advice. It is much appreciated.

princesskasren

Oh and a quick question...is everyone ticking the box to let their advisor have access to their account? I am not afarid of what she will see as i religiously look at jobsites but it does feel a tad big brotherish.
Oh and also when I was at teh jobcentre today she gave me an appt for some group information session? LOl...again it sounds like a cult!

DCFC79

princesskasren wrote: »

Oh and a quick question...is everyone ticking the box to let their advisor have access to their account? I am not afarid of what she will see as i religiously look at jobsites but it does feel a tad big brotherish.

I think its to make sure your applying for jobs rather than make jobs up(not saying you do) just to satisfy the JC.

brokeinwales

Oh and also when I was at teh jobcentre today she gave me an appt for some group information session? LOl...again it sounds like a cult

!

Yeh i went to one of those - it's basically where you go and sit in a room with some other jobless people and someone talks at you about stuff you already know. Just go along and take it with a pinch of salt - it wasn't so bad getting to hang out and have a bit ofa b**tch about the situation with the other jobseekers.

I think basically what you need to do is take the whole job centre farce for what it is - a box ticking exercise, annoying, but not wirth getting wound up about. You will find a job eventually through your own efforts - it sounds like you're already doing a lot of things right given the circumstances, and people on this thread have given you some extra ideas to try.

Just as an extra thing to think about: do you have any skills or resources that you could turn into a small home business to make a bit of extra income? (not plausible for everyone I know, but just an idea - things like proof reading, tutoring a foreign language might be a good way to generate a bit of income and could also look good on your CV when you apply for more regular work?).

Also, I'd look into casual work, such as babysitting, TV extra work, covering an odd shift in a corner shop, helping to decorate a local scout hut (all things I have done in the past when I've needed a bit of extra money) - if you're under a certain threshold you don't necessarily have to sign off JSA to do the odd day or half-day here and there, and it may be worthwhile in terms of building up your work experience and providing good references for future employers as well as just putting a bit more cash in your pocket.

I'd have a look at short courses as well if tehre are any running near you - things like First Aid, ECDL, Food Hygiene etc - come in quite cheap, give you an edge, and often you get a discount if you are on benefits.

paulmapp8306

somethingcorporate wrote: »

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.

True, but I have some sympathy here. Its not doing the aplications, its finding places to apply to. As the OP said, she lives in a small village and doesnt drive. After a couple of months 8 per week, she will have most likely exausted all the employment opportunities that are viable. After all its no good applying for a minimum wage job, that costs what you earn in travel, and extends your working day by 4 hours.

Mooving isnt always an option. For instance, I know of a couple en a small village, and neither drive. They own their house outright so no rent/mortgage - if they moved they would ne3ed to start paying something. Secondly the husband works in teh village. if they moved so the wife could work, the husband would loose his job.

I know thats not where the OP is comming from but sometimes personal circumstances dictate that applying for 8 jobs per week means you run ourt of jobs after 2-3 months. What do you do then??

JimmyTheWig

paulmapp8306 wrote: »

sometimes personal circumstances dictate that applying for 8 jobs per week means you run ourt of jobs after 2-3 months. What do you do then??

Start again? Just because there were no vacancies 2-3 months ago, doesn't mean there are no vacancies now. After two such letters they may be more inclined to remember you a month later when a vacancy does come up.

Hopefully in the meantime, however, the OP will have found a job.
If not then, hopefully again, the Jobcentre will realise that the system of applying for jobs by going through the Yellow Pages systematially isn't working for the OP and they'll come up with something that might help. You can but hope!

lucy03

Clifford_Pope wrote: »

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

The problem is that there are some people who will always be able to find a job, they may be social butterflies, very talented, very confident, well connected, out-going, be able to run their own business, have no ties, and so on.

However, there are some that can't for all manner of reasons, whether it's family commitments, personal health issues, confidence issues or many other reasons.

There are people that lie in the middle, some who actually don't feel able to do certain jobs, for any of the above reasons, and need assistance and support. Unfortunately that support isn't always there, even if the local job centre has the best of intentions.

In a rural area it may be challenging to find 8 places to apply to every other week if looked at over many months. And moving is an option for many, it's not viable for others, however much they want a job.

All I'd suggest to the OP is to do what you can to meet the job centre's requirements, although that might not be the best way of finding work, if that's what they want, then probably little can be done. At the same time work out where you'd really like to work, and then start to plan a route into those companies using as much initiative as you can find.

Good luck OP

Nicki

princesskasren wrote: »

...I am in HIS house living on MY savings.
.... I am applying for any job...cleaning...bank...retail....hotel work. I need a full time job so I can pay my own way and not have to rely on this government. Saying that I should move is not only imparactical

This isn't a dig, but would you consider a live in post in Aberdeen, or one of the bigger towns around if there are any? If you are living in someone else's house after a breakup, that must be pretty precarious anyway, and it might solve the problem of there not being a lot of opportunities in the small village you live in.

Housekeeper, mothers help or carer for an elderly or disabled person might all be possibilities even without formal qualifications or experience in these roles. Not fantastically paid but if accomodation and bills are paid whatever you earn is pretty much your own.

skintandscared_2

You don't have to move house to work outside of your local village. Just get a local bus map and train map and apply for jobs in those vicinities too. I have worked at the same London City firm for 20 years but have lived in High Wycombe, Wembley, Portsmouth, Hertfordshire and now Kent and have commuted from all of them. The 2.5 hours each way from Portsmouth wasn't much fun, but you do what you have to!