A short term job while job hunting?

[Undirection]

My job search is going predictably slowly. I am getting good interest from agencies, my CV is on a lot of job websites, my CV seems spot on in terms of content, I have written to a few companies but it's frustrating playing the waiting game and there's only so much time I can spend watching Jennifer Aniston is reruns of Friends whilst waiting (joking, there's not!).

Assuming that I am not the only one who has been in this situation I was wondered if anyone had gone for a low paid temp role/job etc? TBH its always been a shock how low paid some of these roles are but then ...

[anonymous-user]

I've been in your position and ended up working for a year and half at lower paid money to keep my skills up. A few jobs took 6 - 1.5 years from start to offer and sometimes companies move slowly., but stick in there. Sometimes an opportunity comes out of it

[skeggysteve]

My advice is to log into the job centre website many times a day, keep a look out in your local papers websites and look at the companies that you want to work for websites for vacancies.

I got a NMW job via the job centre website driving cars, it was OK but not a job I could have stuck at for more than I did (nearly 12 months) because the company was so disorganised - it's OK for so long being paid to sit around but soon gets very annoying!

When I got the job I'm doing now the interviewer complimented me on putting up with it for so long.

Also, don't bother with the likes of Tesco as they will know that you will be moving on.

Good luck.

[Tannedbaldhead]

I shovelled st (literally) in a stable.

Skipped out, fed, watered, administered supplements and medication to the horses, changed their jackets, hacked one or two to keep them used to being ridden, put them out in the fields in the morning and brought in and bedded them down in the evening. In the late morning and early afternoon I walked dogs.
Made £200 a week, rented my flat to a tenant and moved in with my parents. This was after losing my job as a commercial manager when the construction industry crashed so was down on income in a big big way.

Sounds rough but it was a genuinely happy time in my life. I have never been as uplifted starting a day's work than I was every morning opening the main stable doors and all the horses started neighing and braying in delight.

Other unexpected benefit was I became interesting. Tell someone in company you are a Quantity Surveyor and conversation doesn't get much further the "witty" "so you count bricks then". Tell someone you are a stableboy and, bloody hell, they perk up and want to know more (especially women).