Travel to interview allowance/Suit Allowance

Reggie_Rebel

JustOnce wrote: »

Don't you have better things to be doing than arguing on the internet anyway, like setting fire to the homeless or something?

Strike down with a bolt of lightning if I'm wrong but don't you also have better things to do than argue on the internet? You've already mentioned buying a suit

JustOnce

Reggie_Rebel wrote: »

Strike down with a bolt of lightning if I'm wrong but don't you also have better things to do than argue on the internet? You've already mentioned buying a suit

What an odd thing to write.

Sncjw

£500 on blazer, shirt, trousers and shoes. Your being unrealistic with your money. Nothing wrong with a suit for £100. Your going to have to make sacrifices before you get anywhere.

JustOnce

Sncjw wrote: »

£500 on blazer, shirt, trousers and shoes. Your being unrealistic with your money. Nothing wrong with a suit for £100. Your going to have to make sacrifices before you get anywhere.

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I bought these things when I was already somewhere (and bought them second hand - £4/5 for a £175 shirt from a charity shop in W1 for instance; or gifted - a pair of Loakes f.e.), and I was at that point in my PhD studentship where I was flown to places like the US to talk about my research, or personally invited to the House of Lords Science and Technology talks.

And where have I said a suit for £100 is insufficient? Not once have I said that. Some idiot made that assumption, and I think everybody is running with it from there.

JustOnce

Met my advisor this morning, and they're funding a suit. Pretty spiffing of them, and the amount is very close to what people have convinced themselves I said is an insufficient amount. (apparently they take into account the level of the position you are being interviewed for to justify the clothing allowance).

My advisor said they may not be able to pay for travel, but will get back to me. So its a good job that for the 12 months I lived on baked beans, I didn't spend my limited savings on outlandish items I had no need for at the time, like suits and things, and had the foresight to see I'd need it to pay for my job-search-related activity.

Though when I do land a position, I'll certainly use whats left of those savings to send the Job Centre a bunch of flowers and thank you letter.

jude47

I've been lurking on this thread OP, each time I thought I had an idea for you, you'd already thought of it, so I just wanted to wish you well at your interview. Do come back and let us know how you get on. Good luck!

Sncjw

the way you come across saying you had a suit for £500 seems like you expect the jobcentre to fund a suit thats costs hundred of pounds.

JustOnce

jude47 wrote: »

I've been lurking on this thread OP, each time I thought I had an idea for you, you'd already thought of it, so I just wanted to wish you well at your interview. Do come back and let us know how you get on. Good luck!

Thanks Jude! I'm pretty excited about this opportunity. The position is really exciting, and although I'm really optimistic about finding an academic/industry position this one is particularly exciting (and about as impressive an addition one can have to their C.V. for a position outside of academia)

duchy

If the train fare is £100 I think I'd have preferred them to shell out for the fares and spent time trawling the charity shops for a designer suit as you are time rich and cash poor at the moment.

A one off suit payment is all very well but it will be held against you if you ask for fares to other interviews later.

JustOnce

Sncjw wrote: »

the way you come across saying you had a suit for £500 seems like you expect the jobcentre to fund a suit thats costs hundred of pounds.

Then its my mistake. I certainly did not want a £300 pound suit, I was more concerned that the entire fund would be £300 for travel and clothing. Because that essentially would fund the suit and an interview or two, that was why I was interested to know the amount.

And having developed expensive tastes, doesn't mean I'm not able to regress as the situation demands. I was just as happy eating Morison's value beans on pitta bread last night for dinner, as I was when I used to do part of my weekly shopping in Waitrose

Although I was thinking this morning on the way back from the job centre this morning, that it's a shame job centres don't have some sort of system to allow people to donate clothes that have been purchased for them when they get into work, that way people could easily borrow suits etc, for interviews.