Are there any people here who've been long term unemployed?

BigAunty

This time of year is apparently very good for seasonal employment in the run up to Christmas - your local shops and post office might be hiring, so too might bars and restaurants be seeking temps.

I got a temp Christmas job in M&S once and many of us were offered permanent jobs afterwards, it seemed to be a way that the company liked to recruit the bulk of its staff as they got to check out their performance and reliability before committing to a job offer.

Hedylogos

tomtontom wrote: »

Is there anything to stop you applying today?

No, actually i just applied to it a little while ago. I feel anxious and apprehensive just sending out that application for volunteer work it's been so long. I thought i will do now while i am feeling in a more upbeat mood. Thanks. I put down two days a week because i don't want to rush into too many hours/days in case i'm overwhelmed. I will start sending out applications for jobs, but i'm still a bit pessimistic about how many replies i'll even receive having been out of work for a long time.

Hedylogos

BigAunty wrote: »

This time of year is apparently very good for seasonal employment in the run up to Christmas - your local shops and post office might be hiring, so too might bars and restaurants be seeking temps.

I got a temp Christmas job in M&S once and many of us were offered permanent jobs afterwards, it seemed to be a way that the company liked to recruit the bulk of its staff as they got to check out their performance and reliability before committing to a job offer.

Thanks. Yeah i am going to start sending out some applications and see what happens. I am not holding my breath though as i know what a let down people can be.

Hedylogos

BigAunty wrote: »

For those on JSA, there's the New Enterprise Allowance scheme that offers mentoring to help develop a viable business plan, that pays benefits for a time until the business gets off the ground and which offers a low interest loan.

There's also the Princes Trust that offers similar business start up support for young people.

Also, there are many businesses which require little or no start up capital because they require very little in things like tools, skills and equipment - self employed cleaner, dog walker, pet sitter and so on. There will be websites dedicated to suggesting low or no capital self employment opportunities.

Obviously, one issue you need to address before going down this potentially stressful (but also potentially rewarding route) is your health and well being issues.

At the moment, your confidence is so low, and your decision making so compromised, that this could undermine your attempts at self employment which requires a lot of drive and planning.

This, I think, is your main barrier rather than lack of capital. I mean - you have been unable to do quite simple tasks like apply for voluntary work so are you capable of researching a business, marketing it, dealing with clients and the paperwork like accounts and taxation?

I don't mean for you to dismiss it as an option, just that if you dive in suddenly and then hit a minor set-back, you may lose your nerve and withdraw, and hurt your confidence even more. However, if you get mentored and supervised, rather than diving it, this is good, as you get a measure of potential risks and how to deal with them.



I have no idea how you can transfer that interest into paid self employment positions, though most people in the creative industries are self employed.

There are lots of college courses to learn performing but very little stable employment for their graduates but it could still be worth looking into, if nothing than to get you out of the house, engaged in something that you are passionate about, meeting people.

Alternatively, you find regular employment (despite you considering it dull, low paid and so on) and this will allow you to pursue your interests as a hobby - pay for singing lessons, buy and learn an instrument, meet like minded people in community music events. There's nothing wrong with having a passion that has no commercial return.



In terms of paid work for singing/music - becoming a drama/singing/music coach - there are lots of drama clubs for children that are run either independently or as franchises? karaoke host? busking?

In reply to the business venture i agree that i think it would be too much too soon, but it's something i will look into. How about earning money via ebay buying and selling? I know a couple people who do this while working their full time jobs and it seems like a good idea if you know what to sell/buy. I don't know anything much about ebay buy/sell so i will have to research this too. It would have to be something low stress to start with, then eventually increase the stress load.

I absolutely want to start taking singing lessons. I have had people tell me i am a good singer, but i've never been confident enough to put myself forward into that area. I would like to, but i want to start with getting a singing coach to guide me and help me to improve my voice. It is definitely an industry that is unstable work wise. I enjoy writing songs also, but hadn't wrote any songs for years until recently. I try to write songs when i feel like it, but i just hadn't felt like it until now. Producing music is another area i want to venture and i asked around online for the best resources and apparently i can download a production system for free onto my computer, then start practicing and go from there so i will do that. I have a lot of ideas and things in mind i would like to do, but it can be tough when my mood fluctuates from one day to the next; my mood is never consistent.

p00hsticks

I suspect that offerings may vary a great deal depending on the location and size of your local jobcentre, but my local one offers a lot of work experience opportunities - including in the jobcentre itslef - with a view to building up peoples confidence and giving them a taste of work. They particularly focus on the young unemployed who have never had a job and those such as single parents and others who are returning to work after time off caring or sick who may lack confidence

HappyMJ

Hedylogos wrote: »

That would be great to work for myself. I don't know the first thing about starting a business/becoming self employed though. Don't you also have to have some kind of skill to go self employed? You at least have to have a good chunk of money behind you anyhow, or get a loan from the bank with an idea in mind. I enjoy music and singing, but not really sure how i could transfer that skill over into a business though because i just have a singing voice with no background education in music.

You need some skill but it doesn't need to be much. You enjoy music so how about DJ'ing at the local pub on a particular night each week. Our local does a karaoke every Friday night in the function room. You could host a karaoke night and when the punters aren't playing along you sing a few tracks to get them in the mood. You don't need to be that good a singer.

You don't need much money. Loan's from banks tend to not be available to start ups where the owner has no equity in property. I wouldn't start with much less than a thousand pounds but it is possible to start with nothing and use personal credit such as credit cards.

Buying and selling through Ebay can also be quite good. It takes a lot of work but you do it all by yourself so if you have issues talking to people you can do it quite easily.

topaztiger1983

I (as many others on here may know) was long term unemployed, I found It hard to get motivated so I did voluntary work, get I got my current job (at KFC), and I have now been there for 15 months

So my opinion is that voluntary work may help the OP get out of this rut

topaztiger1983

P.S. I was unemployed for 3 years, and I was 30 when I got back into work via volunteering

slenderkitten

I was out of work for a couple of years and i was severely depressed before i finished the job i was in. Why dont you try volunteering for Rethink! its a mental health charity and many of the hosts and those involved in it have mental health problems some still had relapses. It might be the start you need.

I had to do things the hard way i did seek counselling and it helped massively. but i got back into work, people could see that i wasn't really ready, i kept myself to myself or hung around in groups and said nothing to them and got on with my work. But through working i began to unravel those deep hurtful layers of myself, i am still unravelling now.

If you are working and in and around good people and you like your job that can really help, but like someone else said joblessness makes you feel likee you are useless and are not good enough so if you volunteer for a good organisation then its a start and should help in the long term.

Good luck and hope you can get out of the quagmire you are in.

Hedylogos

slenderkitten wrote: »

I was out of work for a couple of years and i was severely depressed before i finished the job i was in. Why dont you try volunteering for Rethink! its a mental health charity and many of the hosts and those involved in it have mental health problems some still had relapses. It might be the start you need.

I had to do things the hard way i did seek counselling and it helped massively. but i got back into work, people could see that i wasn't really ready, i kept myself to myself or hung around in groups and said nothing to them and got on with my work. But through working i began to unravel those deep hurtful layers of myself, i am still unravelling now.

If you are working and in and around good people and you like your job that can really help, but like someone else said joblessness makes you feel likee you are useless and are not good enough so if you volunteer for a good organisation then its a start and should help in the long term.

Good luck and hope you can get out of the quagmire you are in.

I haven't used "rethink" but i applied to a volunteer job via doit.org and next week i plan to go there to see what will need to be done. You are right it's tough and mentally i just feel drained along with my motivation at an all time low. I have been applying for jobs recently, but have yet to receive any responses and it's really frustrating and deflating.

The jobs i have been applying for are not even jobs that are good pay, just average, but nothing so far. Could it be because of my long term unemployment? How did you get back into work after so long out of work? I kind of feel hopeless and don't want to claim benefits any longer. I have never felt so low in confidence and motivation as i do in this current moment in time.

How will i get a job if no one is responding to my applications? I am trying to figure out for what reason they wouldn't be responding, if not due to my employment gap, but i don't know. It feels as though people aren't willing to give the likes of me a chance. I wish i had some kind of idea as to a self employment opportunity as i would rather this than work for people as searching for work is difficult at the best of times for people, but super difficult when you're a mental health case that people would rather not concern themselves with.