Job Centre Rant

Cloudydaze

This is probably more of a rant but it would be useful if someone could confirm what I have been told is correct.

I was made redundant recently & decided to claim contributions based JSA. I had my first 'meeting', signed my Jobseekers agreement and was given an appointment to go back for a Personal Advisor Interview.

During the last 2 weeks, I have...
- Signed up with 6 recruitment agencies (met with 4, the other 2 later this week.)
- The agencies I met with have sent my CV off to 7 jobs.
- out of the 7, 4 want to meet me (1 interview this morning), 3 to follow.

So was feeling fairly positive until....

My Personal Advisor Interview was this morning after the job interview.

Unfortunately I was 10 mins late at the job centre as the person interviewing me for the job was 25mins late. So I was given my first warning letter. My advisor refused to look at my proof I was at a job interview. In fact, she didn't even ask me how the interview went. Clearly it's not part of the Advisors role to show any interest in my job search.

Apparently my efforts to find a job so far aren't adequate. I need to do 3 DIFFERENT things to find a job. Contacting 6 different agencies is doing the SAME thing. Its not enough even though it has resulted in 4 interviews.

I was advised to look at a local newspaper and send my CV directly to companies. I tried to explain that this would be fruitless for the type of role I was looking for. I was told that if I failed to stick to my Jobseekers Agreement (ie do the 3 different things) I wouldn't receive any JSA.

So, in conclusion. I have learnt:
- it's more important to be on time for a Jobseekers appointment, than it is to attend a job interview
- it's more important to be able to tick different boxes than it is to focus on the most productive methods of getting a job.

Obviously, I'm being facetious but I'm pretty annoyed. Not for me (i'll now play the game) but for the people who genuinely need some guidance but are being forced to follow these rules that are actually not really going to help them.

Rant Over.

Dogger69

Would you have arranged two job interviews so close together? This does seem a slip up on your part.

You do need to contact employers directly, either through speculative applications or advertised vacancies.

You are clearly new to claiming JSA. The system is very simple to follow as long as you do what is stated on your JSAgreement. Yes, you may feel you are doing more than is required, but you still need to cover the basics.

Cloudydaze

Well, the job interview was arranged AFTER the job centre meeting. I imagined I would have an hour's grace but the interviewer was late and then the tube was too. Yes, my mistake but it wasn't as if I'd got out of bed late.

Yes, I realise the system is simple to follow and now i will.
But my point was that i HAVE to do things that won't find me a job and not do the things that will. Just seems like the emphasis is on box ticking, not helping you find a job.

I will not contact companies speculatively. I got sent lots of speculative CVs in my previous jobs. They never got looked at, just handed to a junior to do a thanks but no thanks letter. We used recruitment agencies to fill roles.

The type of job I want will be through an agency.

Dogger69

Cloudydaze wrote: »

Well, the job interview was arranged AFTER the job centre meeting. I imagined I would have an hour's grace but the interviewer was late and then the tube was too. Yes, my mistake but it wasn't as if I'd got out of bed late.

Yes, I realise the system is simple to follow and now i will.
But my point was that i HAVE to do things that won't find me a job and not do the things that will. Just seems like the emphasis is on box ticking, not helping you find a job.

I will not contact companies speculatively. I got sent lots of speculative CV in my previous job. They never got looked at, just handed to a junior to do a thanks but no thanks letter. We used recruitment agencies to fill roles.

The type of job I want will be through an agency.

JSA is about box ticking, there are not the resources to tailor make each claim.

No one is saying you cannot do the things that you think will find you a job, but you have to follow the very basic instructions as well. If you choose not to do so, you will get sanctioned.

After thirteen weeks you will be expected to relax your search limitations - you will have to apply for lower paid work and jobs outside your industry. It would be worth you getting used to the way things work now, so it does not come as such a shock when the time comes.

Cloudydaze

Dogger69 wrote: »

JSA is about box ticking, there are not the resources to tailor make each claim.

Yes, expecting someone to apply a bit common sense is an unrealistic expectation.

However, I did have quite a nice, fluffy letter with my 'welcome' pack which said my advisor could help me improve my chances of success. I now realise this is not the case. My advisor is there to tick boxes.

Dogger69

Cloudydaze wrote: »

Yes, expecting someone to apply a bit common sense is an unrealistic expectation.

However, I did have quite a nice, fluffy letter with my 'welcome' pack which said my advisor could help me improve my chances of success. I now realise this is not the case. My advisor is there to tick boxes.

As are you - if you want to receive payment, you need to get used to it, and lose the attitude!

Cloudydaze

Ok, maybe i was being a little flippant. In fact, its not really about me. I'm pretty confident of getting a job soon & I had quite a comfortable redundancy payoff so claiming contributions based JSA is more of a choice, than a necessity (at the moment.)

I'm just shocked that people who genuinely need help aren't really getting the right advice. Also that the emphasis isn't on doing the things that optimise finding a job. I can also see that telling someone to do something (ie sending a speculative CV) that has zero chance of success could be demoralising and therefore lower self-esteem which might then further damage someone's chances of success.

Troutwrestler

I find its hit and miss at the job centre. My previous personal advisor was a form filling pen pushing moron who took it upon herself to give me medical advice ( stop taking my epilepsy meds if they make me tired, they don't do you much use anyway!!!) she wasn't interested in anything I had to say . My new personal advisor is lovely and very helpful, always happy to help, it's luck of the draw I think

Cloudydaze

Wow, Troutwrestler. That's outrageous. I'm glad you've got someone better.

Yes, maybe I've just got the 'bad apple'.

Neelienew

willber wrote: »

I know what I would have done in that particular situation - I would have made sure I had her name, then popped along to my GP and told him/her that the 'Advisor' at the Jobcentre told me to stop taking the epilepsy meds as they seemingly aren't working and that before I do, I should advise you of my actions.

No doubt the GP would have a few things to say, and I would suggest to hm/her that maybe he/she should write to the Jobcentre Manager giving his/her opinion - mentioning of course the name of the 'Advisor' that gave this medical advice.

Then the next time you go to the Jobcentre and hopefully see this 'Advisor' ask her if she is in correspondence with your GP over the rights and wrongs of the particular drugs that you are being prescribed - asking her if her advice is more valid than the advice of your GP.

Good advice willber.
Go to the GP and tell him you advisor has told you not to take your meds and please can you write to the Job Centre Manager :rotfl::rotfl:

missapril75

Many valid points in the original post.

Just one quibble on the point of lateness. Everyone knows about targets. Each interview involves a series of targets for the advisor.

Lateness for an interview does not give the advisor time to do something else. There isn't anything that they can usefully do knowing that their client may arrive any minute.

What being late does is to reduce the time they have for their job searches/referrals with you (that's a general "you") or the following person.

Not meeting their targets may impact their job appraisals and, subsequently, their actual pay. For something outwith their control and often within "your" control.

If they are meeting targets and/or are interested in more than targets - in other words they might be in a position to genuinely help "you" or a subsequent client - then they are less able to do so because of "your" lateness.

If they want to help they have less of a chance to do so. If they just want to tick boxes (keeping their head down and not getting problems from their managers) "you" may be causing them problems.