so far in my job hunt

lemontart

I attended an interview and no letter or call to say thanks but no thanks, got a letter thanking me for application and attending an interview for another job that I did not actually get an interview for and been asked to stand and tell a joke, sing and talk for 2 mins on why the youth of today need more discipline .......................................applied for a non existant job online for an agency that is merely collecting details for a database of potential staff for a company that often needs new staff in a hurry - so high turnover there me thinks................thats in 2 weeks....not to mention the 100 or so other applications I have made.

Is this normal these days?

lisa21

I feel your pain!!!!....I've applied for countless jobs through agencies, most of which I have never heard back from, or the ones I have heard back from have been totally unsuitable and not as described....I have been told a job is a certain salary by an agency, only to attend an interview at the company in question and find that the salary is way below what I currently earn and what the agency told me it would be....I have emailed companies direct with my CV several times with no repy.....it is so frustrating, I have had my CV professionally written and have lots of experience in the roles I am applying for, but the job market just seems to be dominated by agencies more concerned about sending you for as many interviews as possible even when they are totally unsuitable....AAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRGGGGGGGG!!!

boosas

Don't give up! I know the feeling, after 7 months of jobhunting, I have only just secured a job. Personally, I have joined loads of online agencies never to hear a thing from them at all so I stopped joining and concentrated on looking directly with companies I would like to work for, local papers, yellow pages etc.

I'ev had my fair share of interviews and all thanks but no thanks and I just put it down to gaining more interview experience! Something will come along, keep looking and don't give up!

Good luck.

emmaroids

agency's are crap tbh, i had been with several for about 2 months and not once did they get me anything (and i wanted all shifts and any work so i wasn't picky) they even advertised in the local paper with `immediate starts` so i would ring and they would have been filled :mad:
i spoke to a mate who works in this factory and he told me that the local agency's are only employing polish workers

as it turns out i landed a cleaning job with flexible hours so they can stick their shift work in a sweaty factory tbqfh.

good luck with your job search but don't rely on agency's to find you owt cos there shiite.

lemontart

agencies have always been a pain in the proverbial and really not worth chasing as if they actually get you an interview they will see the £ signs in front of their eyes and call you then..........and have found only other time they call is when the last person you spoke to has left and a new keen starter joins..............it was being asked to sing bit that got me but I would not do it as did not want to get done for cruelty to dumb animals - did not think the man interviewing me got the joke but heh I was not applying to be on the x factor,

viktory

The employment market is horrendous at the moment. I have recently applied for four jobs, got offered one that I turned down and have been rejected for the other three. You just have to plod on and don't lose heart.

Try to learn something via feedback from each interview. I found that posting my CV on various employment websites such as total jobs means I get at least one call a week from various agencies. Be honest about what you want with the agencies, for example, I always make it clear that I don't want to work in central London.

Regarding interviews where you have to sing a song, tell a joke, etc, I wouldn't do it. I did once and I will never open myself to such humiliation again. No job is worth it and as far as I am concerned, no employer worth their salt would ask that of their potential employees.

I also found that if I did sign up with local agencies, calling every couple of days helped, as it keeps you in the forefront of their mind.

Good luck!

looby75

Lemontart I know what you mean, I've been trying to find a job since Jan, I'm limited to the jobs I can apply for due to childcare problems but even so there is just NOTHING out there at the moment. I had a lone parent work focused interview a couple of weeks ago and my advisor said in all the years she's done that job she has never seen things as sluggish as they are at the moment.

She also told me not to bother with the agency's, they have had so much trouble with them, they use the jobcenter to advertise but there are no actual jobs, they are just trying to boost the numbers on their books.

jobbingmusician

Employers are just rude, if you ask me. I work in the charity sector as a senior employee and so am normally interviewed by the board (all volunteers). I have been for some interviews recently and NONE of the interviewees has had the courtesy to notify me promptly of the results of the interview. I have had to chase them each time, including a post where I made a 120 mile round trip at my own expense (at their request, of course) to be introduced to the outposted staff :mad:

Be assertive in chasing feedback - you have given them your time, filling in the application form and going for interview. They should be willing to give you feedback on how your application could have been better, at any stage.

krispy444

I went for an interview two weeks ago and still haven't heard anything about it. The agent tells me that the person who interviewed me is trying to talk to the senior and partner and HR, but i'm still waiting to hear. To be honest i'm fed up of ringing the agent, and have decided that this job is going nowhere. Don't you think its bad that you hear nothing after two weeks ?

lemontart

I visited the local volunteer bureau about a month ago and applied for approx 6 positions and not one has got back to me even to say no thks.......so much for getting a volunteer job as advised to help with job search,

Plum_Pie

I'm about to start jobhunting again. Am really sick of my current role (have been there a year).

After my efforts last year, I wouldn't expect an employer who didn't want to interview me, to contact me.

I got my current role through an agency who rang me 7 months after I registered with them, which was 5 months after I stopped calling them because they were flipping useless! (I have just discovered that the agency no longer exists - I imagine it's gone bust!)

Even regarding volunteer roles, I would advise chasing rather than waiting to be called. Some people take a scattergun approach to job hunting and staff just don't have time to contact everyone. (I used to be a volunteer coordinator!)