really down, cannot get a job

Conor_3

Get signed up with some of the agencies. They're starting to recruit for the Xmas rush.

bird-brain_2

hey guys. well, you won't believe it. today i had a phone interview for a job that an agency found for me, after i applied for a similar position via jobserve. interviewed at 4.15pm, was offered the job within the hour and start - eek - tomorrow. has anyone got any first-day-at-work tips? i've been self employed for as long as i can remember!!
it's only a 4 week contract but i guess it may be extended. it's an IT helpdesk position, salary around £15.5k

Savvy_Sue

first-day-at-work tips, try to smile, but not with a fixed grin. firm handshake when you're introduced to people but don't break any bones. make sure they show you where the toilets and fire exits are, and where to hang your coat. Oh, and where the coffee facilities are, and how the 'system' works. (Mine's a Redbush tea, milk no sugar!)

Best of luck.

Homework

Fantastic, do your best, tell the agency if you are enjoying it and ask them before the contract ends if they have anything similar. Good feed back will mean more contracts with the Agency and as with eveything - who knows what may happen as a result of this.

You obviously were very focussed on this after coming on the site and it has paid off.

Have a great day tomorrow and again what a fantastic turn around in a few days.

bird-brain_2

thanks everyone. the job is going ok. i'm two days in now. i think i've made a few faux-pas, one of which was asking a co-worker if it was OK to be on the internet if i had nothing to do, which seemed to be the wrong advice, either that or i mis-interpreted his answer. i had asked him and the boss if i could do anything else and they said no, but it still seems to have been frowned upon, although nobody has told me off or anything, i think i should just watch myself. yeah, that was stupid of me, but i'm learning. i've decided i'm just gonna stare at my screen if the boss is around. hopefully this will change when i am trained a little.

i've got my eye on another job but i'm not sure i can ask for a reference from my current employer after so short a time. would i be OK to keep my old references on the form, do you think, or would it look weird?

lindsaygalaxy

Its a temporary vacnacy, so the reference would come from your agency.

Whoever your new ( if you get a new job) employers will be they will call or references from your previous eployers regardless of who is on your CV, as some people miss their last /recent employers off and this then looks as if they are trying to hide something.

bird-brain_2

thanks lindsay.
does that mean that i should put the agency down as my employer?

Terrylw1

Hi Bird-Brain,

Glad you got something.

Your Agency is your employer as they are paying you if you are a temp. However, you can include details on your CV of who you temped for as it will show your relevant recent experience. Thats what I did when I was hopping between jobs years ago.

On the internet thing, I would leave things like that until you build a working relationship. As a temp, it's a faux par since they will only have you for a short while and they don't want any hassle. A lot of staff abuse things such as mail/net so employers are getting stricter over usage. If they haven't got anything to do, thats their problem though.

Savvy_Sue

You could always turn it around and ask what you SHOULD do when you run out of things to do ... it sounds better that way!

binnie

Congrats to you, maybe your luck will rub off onto me
I got laid off work July 11th very unexpectedly, and have applied for so many jobs and had no interviews even.
Then today I had an interview at a place I swore I would never work at because of the low pay and high turnover of staff and I find out tomorrow if I get it or not.

If they offer it me, then I will take it, I've got so bored at home, I tend to stay up til 2am and then get up at 11.30 am.
Hubbie works permanent nights and I have to try and sit still on the sofa all afternoon whilst he is sleeping, what a boring time.
xx