has the recession really gone?
Discussion
Hi all
I Was just made redundant at last my job at a hospital as a IT 1st line support person. That happen last year back in September. Problem is, Ive been looking full time work since then. Had a few imterviews but, most times about 5 people attendant the interview and only 1 person gets the job. The unemployment gap my CV wont look good either
I did the clever thing and put my cv on jobsite, cw jobs and reed.
I am not sure if anyone else has this problem looking for work 1st line work? I also tried customer service call centre jobs, not keen on those pre interview group activities they have
whats the best alternative to get some money and to keep the old man happy?
I Was just made redundant at last my job at a hospital as a IT 1st line support person. That happen last year back in September. Problem is, Ive been looking full time work since then. Had a few imterviews but, most times about 5 people attendant the interview and only 1 person gets the job. The unemployment gap my CV wont look good either
I did the clever thing and put my cv on jobsite, cw jobs and reed.
I am not sure if anyone else has this problem looking for work 1st line work? I also tried customer service call centre jobs, not keen on those pre interview group activities they have
whats the best alternative to get some money and to keep the old man happy?
viper2 said:
Had a few imterviews but, most times about 5 people attendant the interview and only 1 person gets the job.
And why isn't this you?Forgive me if I'm wrong but job shortage or not there are always going to be more than one person going for each job, I would be looking at why you're not getting these jobs more than where else you can look for an easier job...
Since the PC has become a must have in every home 1st line support has become swamped with everyone from your 16 year old kid who grew up with computers to your 59 year old on his last wicket.
To stand out you need qualifications or experience they don't.
So it is difficult to day if the recession has gone as you are looking for a job that almost everyone can do.
To stand out you need qualifications or experience they don't.
So it is difficult to day if the recession has gone as you are looking for a job that almost everyone can do.
okgo said:
viper2 said:
Had a few imterviews but, most times about 5 people attendant the interview and only 1 person gets the job.
And why isn't this you?Forgive me if I'm wrong but job shortage or not there are always going to be more than one person going for each job, I would be looking at why you're not getting these jobs more than where else you can look for an easier job...
When I get calls from the recruiters about my performance/feedback at the interview, most times they are very very vague. they say I did ok but the other guy has X, Y or Z. And never state what exact skill they wanted from me be it PHP or SQL.
Sheets Tabuer said:
So it is difficult to day if the recession has gone as you are looking for a job that almost everyone can do.
this is something similar to what I asked at the job centre and he said the exact same thing V2, may I ask roughly how old you are? I only ask as if you don't have any real responsibilities yet (mortgage, kids), would there be a chance of further studying, or a relevant course? Would certainly help the cv. Or, if further studying isn't your bag, do you not have any friends, relatives etc, etc in a similar environment? Ask around and see if anyone can pull a favour or 2 for you.
Chilli said:
V2, may I ask roughly how old you are? I only ask as if you don't have any real responsibilities yet (mortgage, kids), would there be a chance of further studying, or a relevant course? Would certainly help the cv. Or, if further studying isn't your bag, do you not have any friends, relatives etc, etc in a similar environment? Ask around and see if anyone can pull a favour or 2 for you.
sure, I am 25 which also means my insurance should be going down very soon 
I dont have any kids etc apart from paying off my small loan under £1200. I am not sure why, but I cant get myself to do learn another course. I think its cause I spent most of my learning days when I studied for my MCP. I did look in C+ programming but that looked like its not something that be done under a few months more like years. programming is something I wouldnt mind getting my hards dirty.I have asked a very small number of friends but I might have to broaded that out. One already found me a job in IT within his work force but required more IT cisco router stuff. I think this alone is the key.
As we had some total noob that came into our helpdesk with no IT qualifications or IT background but was given the job because his wife worked in HR to the hospital >_>
The recession hasn't finished. I would say that it hasn't really started yet. The country is bankrupt, and soon there will be huge spending cuts in government spending. This will affect everybody in one way or another.
The next few years will be tough in "new" industries(such as IT).
People who work in food production and the utilities will be quite safe.
Maybe now would be a good time to think of a career change?
Don
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The next few years will be tough in "new" industries(such as IT).
People who work in food production and the utilities will be quite safe.
Maybe now would be a good time to think of a career change?
Don
--
I'll make a comment that might help- You have posted on a forum frequented by people who may have jobs in their gift, and what have you done? You haven't filled in your profile, so anyone clicking on it doesn't know if you are in Newcastle or Newquay, and you've peppered your posts with spelling and grammatical errors. You need to remember that when you are looking for work you are always looking for work, you must never miss any chance to let people know you are looking, and to show you are a good catch.
Edited by singlecoil on Monday 3rd May 16:26
singlecoil said:
I'll make a comment that might help- You have posted on a forum frequented by people who may have jobs in their gift, and what have you done? You haven't filled in your profile, so anyone clicking on it doesn't know if you are in Newcastle or Newquay, and you've peppered your posts with spelling and grammatical errors. You need to remember that when you are looking for work you are always looking for work, you must never miss any chance to let people know you are looking, and to show you are a good catch.
Harsh but fair. Especially on the spelling and grammar.Edited by singlecoil on Monday 3rd May 16:26
viper2 said:
I did look in C+ programming but that looked like its not something that be done under a few months more like years. programming is something I wouldnt mind getting my hards dirty.
It's not going to take any less time if you keep putting it off. You could have been 6-8 months into this multi-year project by now. That's plenty of time to learn a surprising amount.Hotrod your CV.
In times of need, it really is every man for himself. If it comes down to dog-eat-dog, it's you vs them. You have to do everything to succeed. This includes plausible truth bending.
With a bit of creativity, you can beat pretty much everyone.
I'm looking at having to "go back to work" for extra cash and I'm in exactly the same boat.
They want to see a whole glorious peacock tail, even though they are only interested in one particular feather. Show them that.
In times of need, it really is every man for himself. If it comes down to dog-eat-dog, it's you vs them. You have to do everything to succeed. This includes plausible truth bending.
With a bit of creativity, you can beat pretty much everyone.
I'm looking at having to "go back to work" for extra cash and I'm in exactly the same boat.
They want to see a whole glorious peacock tail, even though they are only interested in one particular feather. Show them that.
IT outsourcing/support has not really been affected by the recession. in some areas it has prospered. i have not stopped recruiting since it happened.
if you work in IT support then the key is not qualifications or experience. these can come in time. i am not saying they dont help, they do.
we would, however, rather recruit people who are 'normal', can hold a conversation, clearly explain issues to end users and generally wont flap or hide in a difficult situation. most users would rather hear 'i am sorry i dont know how to fix your problem but i will find out and get back to you.' instead what we see a lot of in interviews is the type of person who would try to hide their ignorance, make something up and users see right through it.
the second type of person represents 90% of people we interview and they are never successful. when interviewing for IT, the idiom be yourself is perhaps more true than other professions.
if you work in IT support then the key is not qualifications or experience. these can come in time. i am not saying they dont help, they do.
we would, however, rather recruit people who are 'normal', can hold a conversation, clearly explain issues to end users and generally wont flap or hide in a difficult situation. most users would rather hear 'i am sorry i dont know how to fix your problem but i will find out and get back to you.' instead what we see a lot of in interviews is the type of person who would try to hide their ignorance, make something up and users see right through it.
the second type of person represents 90% of people we interview and they are never successful. when interviewing for IT, the idiom be yourself is perhaps more true than other professions.
Beardy10 said:
singlecoil said:
I'll make a comment that might help- You have posted on a forum frequented by people who may have jobs in their gift, and what have you done? You haven't filled in your profile, so anyone clicking on it doesn't know if you are in Newcastle or Newquay, and you've peppered your posts with spelling and grammatical errors. You need to remember that when you are looking for work you are always looking for work, you must never miss any chance to let people know you are looking, and to show you are a good catch.
Harsh but fair. Especially on the spelling and grammar.Edited by singlecoil on Monday 3rd May 16:26
If his CV is equally bad, it would get thrown straight in the bin here.
My short answer:
yes *fingers crossed*
My long answer:
Context - I work in a HR team within a multinational retailer
From my perspective I am seeing a rise in the amount of competition we are seeing when we want to hire someone...
2009 - we hired throughout the recession and had an unmanageable amount of applications to sift through for each role. When we had found the right candidate we were able to offer and almost guarantee an acceptance.
2010 - we still have a high level of applications although not to the level we experienced in 2009. However, I am finding the stronger candidates are now being snapped up along the process by our competitors and we are often make offers to candidates who already have other offers on the table.
This means the retailers are doing better, they are back-filling roles and some are even expanding = some positivity in the UK.
However I do worry that - as some people have alluded to on this thread - this is a short-term uplift that will be followed by a sharper fall in the next 1 yr/18 months.
Lets hope that ^this^ is just a mild case of pessimism
yes *fingers crossed*
My long answer:
Context - I work in a HR team within a multinational retailer
From my perspective I am seeing a rise in the amount of competition we are seeing when we want to hire someone...
2009 - we hired throughout the recession and had an unmanageable amount of applications to sift through for each role. When we had found the right candidate we were able to offer and almost guarantee an acceptance.
2010 - we still have a high level of applications although not to the level we experienced in 2009. However, I am finding the stronger candidates are now being snapped up along the process by our competitors and we are often make offers to candidates who already have other offers on the table.
This means the retailers are doing better, they are back-filling roles and some are even expanding = some positivity in the UK.
However I do worry that - as some people have alluded to on this thread - this is a short-term uplift that will be followed by a sharper fall in the next 1 yr/18 months.
Lets hope that ^this^ is just a mild case of pessimism
sloopeh said:
IT outsourcing/support has not really been affected by the recession. in some areas it has prospered. i have not stopped recruiting since it happened.
if you work in IT support then the key is not qualifications or experience. these can come in time. i am not saying they dont help, they do.
we would, however, rather recruit people who are 'normal', can hold a conversation, clearly explain issues to end users and generally wont flap or hide in a difficult situation. most users would rather hear 'i am sorry i dont know how to fix your problem but i will find out and get back to you.' instead what we see a lot of in interviews is the type of person who would try to hide their ignorance, make something up and users see right through it.
the second type of person represents 90% of people we interview and they are never successful. when interviewing for IT, the idiom be yourself is perhaps more true than other professions.
I have to agree with that, personality is a major point in IT that alot of people working in it don't have, being able to communicate a problem to a variety of people outside of the IT department whether it is the CEO or the receptionist in a way that they can understand is important. I have found that the most successful people I have worked with are the ones that can work with the business and are not the stereotypical IT geeks. You can generally teach anyone technologies (assuming they have some apptitude for it) but you can't teach them personality! This is also something that can't be blagged in an interview (unlike experience etc)!if you work in IT support then the key is not qualifications or experience. these can come in time. i am not saying they dont help, they do.
we would, however, rather recruit people who are 'normal', can hold a conversation, clearly explain issues to end users and generally wont flap or hide in a difficult situation. most users would rather hear 'i am sorry i dont know how to fix your problem but i will find out and get back to you.' instead what we see a lot of in interviews is the type of person who would try to hide their ignorance, make something up and users see right through it.
the second type of person represents 90% of people we interview and they are never successful. when interviewing for IT, the idiom be yourself is perhaps more true than other professions.
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