Trials of Finding New Job

[FocusRS3]

Chrishum said:

I have had to do the job hunting thing recently too.

Utter nightmare with everything being online and many phantom jobs or not really what they seem jobs out there. It pays off eventually though I’ve just secured something that pays enough to keep me happy for a two/three day week, so decent jobs are out there.

Can I ask what it is you are doing ?

[NewbishDelight]

ToothbrushMan said:

I do tire of hearing about loads of employers who report that they "cannot find the staff"........where are these illusive employers with these vacancies why cant they find staff?

We've got loads of entry-level vacancies, but only accept inflow at certain stages (age and health ranged), and we promote from within so not relevant to many jobseekers' expectations or options.

I think part of it is the increasing number of people choosing to do degrees (many for minimal gain), or unrealistic expectations of working life.

[ToothbrushMan]

wonder how those that got their degrees are finding it now finding a job.

[Flibble]

ToothbrushMan said:

wonder how those that got their degrees are finding it now finding a job.

Very much depends on degree I think.

[RizzoTheRat]

HistoricBM said:

Or retrain as a tradesperson, Electrician, no decorator, they're in short supply around here and charge the earth.

I think this is probably not a bad idea these days. There's a massive driver to send people to university and very little in the way of apprenticeships for manual trades, which seems to mean that decent tradesmen are few and far between.

ToothbrushMan said:

if I could weld I think I would set up on my own repairing the plethora of "modern classics" we have out there where good quality welding seems hard to find......plenty of cowboys who will not cut out the rot and carefully weld in new steel, they just seem ok at tacking plates over the rust! Whats the point of that..........I think the money could be quite lucrative for this service as well. Id love my own little cottage business with a unit and working at my own pace.

I am not sure what the best route to take might be as I have heard of MIG and TIG.....I could at least look into college courses maybe???

Wonder if the state will pay for a course?

I know a guy who did a course through his local tech college as he wanted to be able to weld on his own cars. He reckoned it was ok and learning the basics but he needed a lot of practice and additional advice from people he knew who could already weld before he trusted himself to touch his car.

[lyonspride]

Number one problem with finding work......

Fake job ads!!!
Bloody agencies filling their books with candidates in order to win contracts, some even now still selling your contact details to 3rd parties, others just trying to get your references contact details so they can call them and either try to replace you OR just sell their services.

Employers who post fake ads, get people in for interview to pump them for information, because they don't think it's worth employing a someone for a £30k role, when they can just pump you for information and do it themselves.

Job sites selling your information to anyone who wants it, you waved all rights by signing up.

The resulting nuisance calls (mostly PPI) and spam email trying to sell you CV writing services.

[ToothbrushMan]

just had a long chat with one of the agencies that actually seems to be doing some recruiting work......

anyway we discussed a role and she said its likely to pay about £25 - asking me is that OK? No, as its a lot less than what I used to earn but how would you tackle this one? Swallow your pride and just make out 25K is fine and hope it swings you the job? National average salary is now £27,271 so its a fair bit below that for a professional role requiring a professional qualification in the UK and I dont agree with it.

Even if I make it to an interview if the question comes up is it best to just say nowt and suck it up-take the job because its a job and accept it could be a lot lower money on minimum wage or try and talk myself up to get at least the £27k? The next person interviewing might just say 25k is spot on and they get the ob on that basis of being cheapest.........

is there a danger I could lose out if I even try to get more money?

I heard a good one the other day about jobs not being all about the money and that you could for example try to negotiate less hours. Sounds good but I think the reality is they will allow you less hours but with proportionally less pay so its not actually a gain.

My gut tells me to keep quiet get the job then try and either make that job work and demand a raise down the line or use it and keep looking for another job at better money.......

Edited by ToothbrushMan on Wednesday 26th September 13:36

[ToothbrushMan]

and all this rollercoastering and sweating over a job offering what is really a pissy £25,000

you can see why cyber crime is on the rise. sit back and watch a computer screen for a few hours a day sniffing out your victims not ever having to lift a finger...no boss on your back, no deadlines to meet etc......you might lift £20,000 net in one hit from somebody buying a house and paying their deposit to their solicitors (or thinking thats where its going)........mind you forever looking over my shoulder is the bit I couldnt stomach

[lyonspride]

ToothbrushMan said:

I heard a good one the other day about jobs not being all about the money and that you could for example try to negotiate less hours. Sounds good but I think the reality is they will allow you less hours but with proportionally less pay so its not actually a gain.

It isn't about money, i'd take a cut to not work with complete aholes. I'd also take a cut to work just a few mike from home, just to avoid the cost and stress of driving to work, and health gains from cycling/walking.

Unfortunately most employers who pay poorly, will also treat you like crap OR you'll have to sit there all day working under an oppressive regime of rules and procedures, under a boss who's never done your job but thinks everything only takes 5 minutes, whilst the dumb bimbos in the office do whatever they like, spending all day on social media or online shopping, taking long breaks, starting late, finishing early and getting paid almost as much, if not more than you.

[anonymous-user]

A jobs a job, when you don't have one you can't be too picky, when you have one you can. You said you might lose your house, i would be taking anything and still looking, that is how it works.

[hyphen]

ToothbrushMan said:

just had a long chat with one of the agencies that actually seems to be doing some recruiting work......

anyway we discussed a role and she said its likely to pay about £25 - asking me is that OK? No, as its a lot less than what I used to earn but how would you tackle this one? Swallow your pride and just make out 25K is fine and hope it swings you the job? National average salary is now £27,271 so its a fair bit below that for a professional role requiring a professional qualification in the UK and I dont agree with it.

Even if I make it to an interview if the question comes up is it best to just say nowt and suck it up-take the job because its a job and accept it could be a lot lower money on minimum wage or try and talk myself up to get at least the £27k? The next person interviewing might just say 25k is spot on and they get the ob on that basis of being cheapest.........

is there a danger I could lose out if I even try to get more money?

I heard a good one the other day about jobs not being all about the money and that you could for example try to negotiate less hours. Sounds good but I think the reality is they will allow you less hours but with proportionally less pay so its not actually a gain.

My gut tells me to keep quiet get the job then try and either make that job work and demand a raise down the line or use it and keep looking for another job at better money.......

Edited by ToothbrushMan on Wednesday 26th September 13:36

The time to negotiate money in a new job, is after an offer has been made.

Once they have decided you are the best person, you have more leeway, as they don't want you to say no and them potentially wasting another few months interviewing.

[MYOB]

As you have been out of work for some time, you're probably not in a strong position to negotiate.

The other question is can you afford to turn down a salary of £25k? The old adage of taking one step back to take 2 steps forward could apply.

Accept anything you are offered, try and negotiate but the key thing is you need to be in employment.

But there's nothing stopping you from continuing job hunting to look for something more suitable.

[deckster]

I would take a big pay cut just to have a job.

It is far, far easier to find a job if you already have one.

[Jerry Can]

ToothbrushMan said:

glad its not just me mate. Ive noticed this and the reason I noticed it was because I am very wary about these online applications so if I see a vacancy for arguments sake a Ford dealership in a nearby town but the application takes you off to an agency site to apply- I have been looking at the dealerships own careers or vacancies section on their website to check or apply direct and many are not shown.

I do wonder how many "jobs" are phoney. Is it recruitment agencies scraping the barrel for more CV's to top up their database "stock" by attracting new applicants by simply posing as the employers agent ?

I do wonder. For jobs that I can take or leave if its with an agency I have not heard of before then I pass.

Hello

I am reading your thread with interest as I work in an industry that struggles to get good people. It's the motor industry. I would be amazed if you could not get a job in a dealership by the end of the week. Turn up to your local motor park and speak aim to speak to 10 dealerships, GM or DP. Sales you'll need to demonstrate you can sell, aftersales you'll need to demonstrate that you can follow a process. Then there are all the other jobs like parts, or van driver or CND driver. Honestly unless you have halitosis or some such you can get a job in a dealership.. Pay might not be what you want, but 35k plus for sales is do able. And if you want it you could have a career. I appreciate however that you might not want to work in the motor industry, but if you are desperate..

[funkyrobot]

Jerry Can said:

Hello

I am reading your thread with interest as I work in an industry that struggles to get good people. It's the motor industry. I would be amazed if you could not get a job in a dealership by the end of the week. Turn up to your local motor park and speak aim to speak to 10 dealerships, GM or DP. Sales you'll need to demonstrate you can sell, aftersales you'll need to demonstrate that you can follow a process. Then there are all the other jobs like parts, or van driver or CND driver. Honestly unless you have halitosis or some such you can get a job in a dealership.. Pay might not be what you want, but 35k plus for sales is do able. And if you want it you could have a career. I appreciate however that you might not want to work in the motor industry, but if you are desperate..

Sounds good. I might give it a try. Would be interesting to get into the motor industry.

Still no feedback from the national chain. It ain't coming.

[funkyrobot]

ToothbrushMan said:

and all this rollercoastering and sweating over a job offering what is really a pissy £25,000

you can see why cyber crime is on the rise. sit back and watch a computer screen for a few hours a day sniffing out your victims not ever having to lift a finger...no boss on your back, no deadlines to meet etc......you might lift £20,000 net in one hit from somebody buying a house and paying their deposit to their solicitors (or thinking thats where its going)........mind you forever looking over my shoulder is the bit I couldnt stomach

I've done two job applications for my wife tonight. We had to do her CV first, that was last night. I've applied for a couple of roles for her with her sat with me (she isn't very IT savvy). Anyhow, it's taken is an hour to do two bloody application for low paid jobs.

One wanted a CV upload, the other didn't, but wanted everything you have on a CV in the different fields across multiple pages. One job had pages of equality nonsense. The other had some security check stuff, but that was about 10 tickboxes!

Seriously, we are both worn out and we've only done two applications.

[Flooble]

Don't give up hope on the feedback. Sometimes it surprises you. I've had things plop into my mailbox anything up to a month after an interview.

[Flooble]

Just had an agent approach me (yaaay) about a role.

Except I worked out where it was and know the guy who runs that department so in response to her initial email I asked how my mate was and if they still ran a particular system (I know they do).

Got an automatic ‘here’s the job description, tell me what you think’ reply. Didn’t acknowledge my two questions.

So evidently either a real person not reading their emails or an entirely automated CV collection system.

Sums up the state of today’s job market

[funkyrobot]

Flooble said:

Don't give up hope on the feedback. Sometimes it surprises you. I've had things plop into my mailbox anything up to a month after an interview.

Cool. I'll keep an eye out for it.

[funkyrobot]

Some applications posted today.

1. Local bakery needing someone to help with sandwich making etc. Sounds good.
2. National chain of restaurants want a waiter. Applied with literally 3 clicks (name, email, CV). Didn't seem to be much effort. Probably farming for CV's.
3. National chain of travel agents. One of the hardest applications to date. CV, cover letter, then an assessment consisting of reading comprehension (10 minutes), maths (10 minutes), test scenario responses (30 minutes) and finally, a 138 question personality check (40 minutes). I managed to do it all in under an hour. But, jeez. A lot of work just to get passed the first step. Don't even know yet whether or not I'll get an interview.

Need to sort my JSA out as I officially became a jobless bum at 5pm this evening.