Jobseeking is driving me mad!

Horace

I have been unemployed since August last year when I was made 'redundant' - I use the term loosely because the job is still there and someone else is doing it:mad: I have now got to the stage that I am so fed up of applying for jobs and getting no response that I am in the process of setting up on my own with help from my local jobcentre.

Websites I have used in the past:

Civil service gateway - they send me all sorts of civil service jobs
Jobs.ac.uk - for all types of jobs in the higher education sector

I admit to not bothering looking in the higher education sector now because I don't want to go back into that environment. I'd rather be the boss instead of having a boss breathing down my neck all the time.

Jobcentres usually give grants of £100 but if you put a good business case forward then you can sometimes prise some more - I managed to get £520 out of mine:D

For those that can do it, temping is also a good way of getting different experience, maybe more money and there are possibilities of working temp to perm.

Oldernotwiser

Dippychick wrote: »

Every single day I apply for jobs, I am always looking at several different job sites and always trying to find reasonable and relevant ways to train.

I really am at a loss - yes it is demoralising. I have good experience, good GCSE's - but also have 3 small children.

I want to further my training but can't afford it, so need a job to fund it, yet can't find the job, so am going around in circles - better quals mean better chance at job but need the job to pay for better quals! :rolleyes:

I have changed my CV today to just add my skills right at the top in bullet points

If your GCSEs are your highest qualification and you're looking to study at the next level up (A levels/BTEC National/NVQ3/etc) then you would come under the Level 3 entitlement. This would mean that there would be no tuition fees to pay for a course, whether full or part time, regardless of income. Hope that this might help.

lb364

lol, can't believe I started this thread and am now going to try giving advice!

In response to Dippychick's post, I'm currently studying for a degree with the OU and they offer funding if your household income is below a certain level. You also need no qualifications to get accepted just a willingness to learn, might be worth a shot?

lb364

Horace wrote: »

I have been unemployed since August last year when I was made 'redundant' - I use the term loosely because the job is still there and someone else is doing it:mad: I have now got to the stage that I am so fed up of applying for jobs and getting no response that I am in the process of setting up on my own with help from my local jobcentre.

Websites I have used in the past:

Civil service gateway - they send me all sorts of civil service jobs
Jobs.ac.uk - for all types of jobs in the higher education sector

I admit to not bothering looking in the higher education sector now because I don't want to go back into that environment. I'd rather be the boss instead of having a boss breathing down my neck all the time.

Jobcentres usually give grants of £100 but if you put a good business case forward then you can sometimes prise some more - I managed to get £520 out of mine:D

For those that can do it, temping is also a good way of getting different experience, maybe more money and there are possibilities of working temp to perm.

Congratulations! What are you setting up as?

skintas_2

i was job hunting sept 06, i found it really depressing. i would go to job interviews. people theyre who had just arrived into the country from the eu. i was up for jobs against them,. theyre english was very good , but not the first lanuage. they had experience and uni and all sorts. to me i just felt like giving. up i felt if they get a job before me, when ive been looking hard for the last 6 months ill be screwing, was really getting to me to. al the jobs where minium wage. wasnt more than £5.50 ph..

i finally did get a job it was in market research, at least its more experience to go on my cv. also i find when you have a job you can get a job, when your not working you can never get a job,

therealdessie

Bold: it's a fine line. As you say you don't want to be aggressive but you want to know you're in the running. Here's why employers don't like it: they don't want to feel pressured, simple as that. If an applicant came to me through an agency and then called me, I'd be wondering why they've contacted me directly as that's a definite no. If I had advertised the role directly I'd understand it, but only after a week had passed.

A general good rule of thumb is: Apply, wait seven days. Don't hear, you didn't get it. Hear and get an interview, write a letter to say thank you straight after the meeting - this is your chance to highlight your skills again (briefly) and answer any concerns they may have had. Again if you don't hear within seven days, move on.

It's always possible that they're waiting for the right CV, which is why they continue to advertise - in which you have to wonder: do you want to work for a perfectionist? They might be on holiday - do you want to work for someone with poor organisational methods? They might just have a lot of people to get through: do you want to work for someone with poor decision making skills?

In all cases seven days should be your limit, and it should never stop you from putting in applications elsewhere: as they say, you have to cut through the jungle to get to the jewels.

Horace

lb364 wrote: »

Congratulations! What are you setting up as?

Thanks, I am going to set up as a wedding planner - I have done lots of event organising in the past so this will be a step up. I chatted with one of my ex work colleagues this afternoon and it is likely that she will extend her photography hobby and do weddings - so this could tie in quite nicely.

Good luck to all those on job searches - hope you find the right job when you least expect it.:D

eyelinerprincess

Thanks, Horace. There's still nothing around where I live atm, and it seems too complicated to move, OH has a £1000/month job and it seems that it'd be a disadvantage to both of us to move. Like a lot of others, my training is in retail but I want to get out of it, and find that everywhere wants experience.

To make matters worse, one of my best friends has got a half-decent job and it's making me feel worse that I can't get out of the low paid one I have.

Bismarck

Well, small comfort I'm sure but it's good not being alone in the uneven game of employer v jobhunter.....talk about a rigged set of rules! Do this, do that, mustn't do that...we'd like THIS much experience BUT only pay you that.....

been away for 2 days, having send off a load of applications last week....I've theoretically got a lot in the pipeline but letters received...none...emails...none...phone messages....none...pah...I'll start again tomorrow.

P.s. really sympathise about the bigging yourself up part....you go into an interview, do pretty well, it all goes to plan and they pick someone else because you hadn't got enough experience....!!!!!!! So, round you go again until you're sick of your own details on an application form.

therealdessie

It is a nightmare, and it is stacked in the favour of the person holding a bag of cash in an office somewhere But that said, you're only trying to get a foot in the door, and you need to do whatever it takes to do that.

Once in the interview it will come down to personal fit far more than qualification. If you want I could post up some tips on interviewing?