Do the councils hire long term unemployed.

Danny30

Hi Fruittea, I am applying for customer service advisor and local housing departments roles in particular. I have previous experience as a lettings negotiator as well as excellent customer service, people and communication skills e.t.c.
I am only applying for roles where I have all the required abilities as listed on their job descriptions.

When they ask for me to list my relevant skills for the applicable position on the application forms, do I need to give examples of where I have used those skills for each of the ones I mention?

Fruittea wrote: »

It would be helpful if you mentioned what sort of job you are interested in - as most Councils employ such a wide range of staff. But in all cases they will be looking for evidence of specific skills and competences. So you managed a product say what it was, how much it was worth and over time was it successful and what were the outcomes etc.


Over years I've seen some really strange applications - example people saying 'I can be a social worker as my friends always asking me for advice'.


So try to apply for the jobs you have the real skills for - otherwise you are wasting your time.


Good luck and do tell us more about your skills.

tomterm8

Danny30 wrote: »

, do I need to give examples of where I have used those skills for each of the ones I mention?

Yes, absolutely.

Skill:
* You must be able to type at 60WPM

Your Application:
As an administrative assistant at Joe Bloggs Ltd, I was responsible for data entry and typed accurately at 65 WPM.

Or:

I am qualified to OCR Word Processing Level 2 and can accurately type at 60WPM.

Go through it like that. For each point in the job description either put an example (from work, preferably, or voluntary work, or your personal life) or some education you've received (or both) that show you match their criteria.

If you can give two or more examples that is even better.

Danny30

Perfect, thanks.

dandelionclock30

Probably theres not much difference between the long term unemployed and council workers as neither are doing any work.

tomterm8

dandelionclock30 wrote: »

Probably theres not much difference between the long term unemployed and council workers as neither are doing any work.

Most of the council workers I've met work very hard indeed.

Unfortunately, though, not always at the right thing:D

MrsE_2

Danny30 wrote: »

Hi MrsE, do you have any tips on the best way to fill in the application form to increase my chances of getting an interview?

Read the jd & cover all the aces.
Don't just say you can do, provide an example.
Don't assume anything goes without saying, we can only mark for it if you say it or write it.

makeyourdaddyproud

Best of all, be likeable and polite. Think of a well formed narrative when prompted for any one of the stock questions (like "Where do you see yourself progressing"). Utilise breaks in your conversation as you don't want to seem rehearsed or contrived.

Expand on a difficult scenario you've had to deal with including any staged resolution even if you weren't solely responsible for the solution.

HTH

poorlittlefish

Back in the 90s I was unemployed for the best part of two years but managed to get an admin job within council housing. That led to a 15-year career in which I ended up in management.

Having had a lot of involvement in recruitment I can confirm that you need to pay close attention to everything listed on the person specification. Make sure you write how you meet every one of the criteria, giving examples. Don't just repeat the spec word for word. Those doing the initial sifting will be looking at who meets all the criteria. We didn't invite someone for interview unless they'd covered everything, due to the sheer number of applicants.

If you can't think of a work-related example, put something relevant from your personal life (eg you might not have worked in a team, but maybe you play for a sports team and could talk about team work from that). Just about every public (and private) sector is big on customer service these days, so make sure you give that emphasis.

Also, you have to be very PC working in housing, so be very careful about your wording.

dandelionclock30

One of my friends is now a semi professional poker player,and undertakes various competitions all over the country. They are sponsored and everything.
They werent particularily into this game until they began working for the council and the whole section spent years playing card games because there was no work to do.
Everyone in that section could play every card game to high standard. I believe things are'nt as slack now but still there are loads of people doing absolutley nothing in the council.

scooby088

I aspire to become council worker they always seem to get paid for doing very little or nothing.