Job seekers + universal jobmatch

miamoo

Son has just signed on for the first time and it wasn't explained to him very well. When you are claiming Job seekers allowance do you have to go on universal job match to do all of your job searches every day, or can you use other websites, because the universal job match site isn't as user friendly as some others. Can you just go on to universal job match once a day to update the notes on any other things you have been doing to find work.
Most of my sons applications have been direct on the employers own website so far, and haven't even had a reference number but have had an application received email reply.

elsien

You do not have to use UJM to apply for jobs or give the job centre access to it if you do not want to, although job centre staff will try to tell you otherwise.
I created the UJM account then never used it again. As long as if you are using other sites you can show sufficient proof of your job hunting activities then there shouldn't be a problem.
Print off the application received emails, show them emails he has sent, His registration with any agencies, etc. Keep a written record of phone calls and speculative applications - anything and everything but he doesn't need UJM to prove anything if he doesn't want to.

miamoo

That's really helpful thanks
Are there are guidelines on how many hours a week he has to job search, and does he have to do it every day including weekends? Also how many jobs should he be applying for each day/week.
Oh and one other thing if you don't mind, he has just left the army and is highly qualified in IT, his agreement says 'apply and accept any job' can he only apply for IT just for a short while, say a month or 2 months and then obviously just start looking for any job, or will they expect him to apply for and accept any job from the start?

He only applied online for JSA on Monday this week.

elsien

Has he had the discussion with the job centre advisor and had his agreement drawn up yet? When my agreement was done it said I had 3 months to apply for equivalent roles but after that would have to apply for anything and everything. I had to ask for that though, if I remember rightly.
Job hunting is meant to be full time so I treated it as a Mon to Fri thing. Realistically there aren't enough jobs out there to do that for any length of time so a bit of creativity may be required - I used to exaggerate how long it took to research a job and fill in the application, for example. He can also include networking if he's contacting past employers/people he knows in similar fields in his job seeking. Checking emails and the job sites every day can clock up a couple of hours on paper. Include professional development if he's keeping up to speed on developments in his field.
In my (limited) experience, if he's genuinely job seeking and can show that they won't be so fussed about the number of hours he's putting in as long as he's not taking the !!!!. That'll come later if he's unemployed a few months down the line.

miamoo

Yes I think his agreement has already been drawn up, it says go on UJM every day, go on indeed, ask friends and family. Take any job capable of doing. But he just agreed to whatever they said. (he's young and foolish lol) They said take any job, and he said ok. Can he ask to change it or is it too late now, do you think. Is it true they have people specifically to support ex forces in the job centre do you know?

He is genuinely looking for work, and will be for at least 25+ hours a week, but its just hard showing that on paper, it feels like the jobsearch stuff he has to comply with are actually a hindrance to him looking for work.

I understand the point of it, and that there has to be some rules, but to have to fill that sheet in, and the booklet thing every day, then go on the UJM that's rubbish compared to indeed.com etc, it feels like he's wasting a couple of hours a day.

Its hard asking these sort of questions because it can so easily sound like I'm trying to ask how to get away with doing the minimum, which I'm not at all, its just hard keeping to the rules, if you don't know what they are!

Thanks again for all your help its much appreciated

Bananas123

hello,

make sure your son has told them that he is qualified in I.T. etc ?.

> like next time he is there, can you make him ask "please can you help me get a job in I.T. as i have qualifications" etc.

if they haven't told him what to do, they can not expect him to do it, also i think you get a bit of leeway to begin, although i only signed on for a brief period many years ago.

also, i think you can expect a warning / "advice" if you are not doing what they deem to be enough, so i wouldn't go full pelt from the beginning > like you can exhaust toooo many opportunities / avenues for work to begin, it will get harder and harder later if he can't find a job.

---

also though, he could look for a job to tie him over in the mean time and independantly look for work in i.t. that way around ? / join an agency (alot of agencys cater for i.t. / admin jobs)

i think ex-military may get some help with housing (maybe deemed higher priority on the list ?), but i don't think with job seekers allowance, but i don't know for sure.

regards

miamoo

Thanks for that. I know, that's exactly what I mean about job seekers making it more difficult to find work. Before he signed on, he had already applied for around 10 jobs plus 20 or so tentative applications for jobs that looked ok, but were in a different field not using his qualifications, and that he probably wouldn't want to do at this point, but would definitely consider if they sounded interesting at interview.
But his thinking was, its experience, if he gets an interview he can use it as experience and then ask for feedback.
But now he can't apply for any job he doesn't actually want, incase he gets it, then he would lose his money if he didn't take it.

Plus if he applies for jobs at this speed are they going to expect 30+ applications every week!
If it got to the point that he would lose the contribution based JSA (6 months I think) then he would just take any unskilled job and continue looking, but obviously its harder to properly look for work when your in work. You can't take 2 or 3 days a week off to go to interviews or to attend open days for prospective employers. Maybe he could look at something part time, to cover at a minimum his JSA, and then he would have a few days free for interview and job search.

One plus point is that he is happy to relocate, so we are looking at 20 mile radius from home currently, but he is happy to move to Manchester/Liverpool/Chester if need be, so when we have exhausted all options locally we can start on the next city lol

I will look into the housing help, especially if he does have to relocate for work.

One other thing, which might sound like a daft question. Can he apply for jobs and NOT tell the JSA about them? eg for something he is unsure about, it might not have much information in the advert. As long as he's actually applying for other jobs that satisfy their requirements, if you see what I mean.

elsien

Most people apply for jobs they don't want to make the numbers up. He may well find he's not getting interviews for these as he's considered overqualified. They've got no way of checking what he's applied for except from the information he gives.
If he does get an interview for a job he's not sure about, he can just not tell them about the interview, if necessary. I used to recruit people for roles and the job centre never phoned up to check on applications and whether people had been invited to interview or not.
I was in your sons position 18 months ago, and I think you're overthinking it slightly. I was serious about getting a job but only applying for 4 or 5 jobs a week to start with because I was looking at equivalent roles and there weren't that many out there. The criteria will get stricter the longer he is out of work so don't stress too much at the moment.
UJM is terrible for higher level roles so using indeed etc is far more productive. Log on once a week, take a screen shot if he wants to, then prove the job search using other methods. Much less of a waste of time.

pmduk

Sign up for other sites such as Monster etc. Make a note of every email you read from them. Note every employer's website you randomly check for vacancies. They rapidly get an idea who's swinging the lead.

miamoo

Ok thanks very much
He's already got a note pad that we write down everything he's done/doing what day and the outcome. It's just easier like that to chase up applications and to remember where he's up to. Rather than having it all in different places. So he can take that with him each time he goes

xylophone

http://www.britishlegion.org.uk/get-support/employability/jobs-careers-for-leavers/?gclid=CJbiir611MwCFQcUGwod6GoKGA

http://www.forcesrecruitment.co.uk/

https://www.networkrail.co.uk/careers/ex-forces-personnel/

https://www.ctp.org.uk/job-finding

may be worth a browse.