A joyous day :)
Discussion
August 2010 I quit my job, they messed with my money, they messed around my employee rights, they took the pish, I took the pish back, they didnt like it, they tried to tell me off for something petty and I realized how sick I was of them and I left.
The story isnt about them though!
Today, almost 8 months later I have a job offer
My last 3 jobs have been different, but I've always been able to point out 2 key similarities in them... this new job is veeery different, the story isnt even about that, even though it is the cause of the joyous day.
My experience of being unemployed has been a little something.... like this!
As I quit my job, I knew that there would be a period of time where I could not get dole, I accepted that, no complaints, but I was told I needed to sign on to keep 'my stamp' up to date, so I went down to Job Centre Plus (JCP), was given a phone number to call and told I could use the phone there or call from home, I went home.
I called and gave all the details to the person on the phone, I explained I'd quit, it was recorded, all OK so far They book me in for an appointment at JCP, there is an appt in 5 mins time, can I make it? Yes I can! So back I go. They have all the information i'd given on the phone ready printed out, an efficient system, i'm impressed! We check all the info is correct, I mentioned again that I quit but they dont seem to concerned, and my claim is filed.
Before too long I get a letter saying I have been approved for Job Seekers Allowance, superb! No penalty for quitting my job, I think... they must have looked at my work history, seen that I've paid in for 20 years and worked solidly and theyre not punishing me, great!
Eight weeks later I get a letter saying 'we suspect that you left your last job voluntarily and we must investigate this!' ..... hmmm, so 8 weeks to suspect something that i'd told them as fact on at least 2 occasions, and signed a document to that effect, the system was perhaps TOO efficient!
Two weeks later they have investigated and found that yes, I did leave my job voluntarily! So... 8 weeks to suspect something i'd told them... and then 2 more weeks to verify something I'd told them... useless b
ds! So... no JSA for 6 weeks, I feel pissed off, not cos of the lack of money, I'd accepted that fact when I chose to quit, I was annoyed that they'd approved me, then gone around it in such a stupid manner.
This is the end of my gripe with JCP staff though, as most of the time they were excellent. They could see that I was not a career-dole-monkey and that I wanted work, they never looked down on me and they all seemed genuinely supportive and pleased when interviews came up. They gave me no hassle at all as each fortnight i gave evidence that I was applying for any job i thought i could do or get, not just the 3 jobs i'd specified on my job seekers agreement.
Hopefully i'll never have to deal with them again, but I will think back on my dealings with them very positively.
Sadly, there are still plenty of gripes to be had with unemployment...
Employment Agencies.... utter tts, all of them. They sign you up and make promises of how they'll work for you, how they'll contact you with relevent jobs and they do not. When you chase them up and force them to put you forward they then provide noooo feedback, no updates. They dont work for you, they dont work for the companies, they do as little work as possible to get their fee. If I had the know how I'd make a review website so job hunters could leave reviews for every agency they encounter, perhaps when their stness is being broadcast they'll all raise their game and compete against each other to provide good service.
Next, of course... are the employers themselves... what a bunch of tts!
It seems as if the art of interviewing has died and they now rely simply on 'have you done this job before?' as a solution. They also have a belief/pretense that what they do is soooooo complicated that unless you've done it already, you'd neeeeeever comprehend how hard it is, an outsider could never know the compexities of what they do!
Of course I dont mean all employers, but too many!
Too many dont bother letting you know how you got on as it's too expensive to let all candidates know... yes and thats why we have email now, so you can send a mass email for free!
I interviewed for jobs that didnt actually exist, the best one was for a company that simply miscounted how many staff they had! They interviewed a bunch of people and I later found out that they replied to no one at all, I also found out that someone had cocked up and triggered a whole recruitment process that left them a laughing stock.
I interviewed for a job that involved loads of tests, I passed each one with full marks, but was rejected as I have long hair (tied back)
It's been an odd 8 months, it was a handy time to have swine flu as the sick days dont count against me I've done some modifications to my motorbike that I wouldnt have done otherwise, I've incresed my practical knowledge of working on cars, I've done some landscaping to the back of my house which I would neeeeeever have done while working. I had the whole of a winter off work, no scraping ice off the car at silly o'clock in the morning No getting to work through the snow only to find out that people who lived closer to work than I do, who travel the same road as I do didnt even try and get in.
I've been to 2 concerts and not had to worry about getting up for work the next morning or booking half a day off to recover, I've started reading again, I got bored and managed to track down/stalk a childhood tv hero online and had some interesting chats with him, nice fella, he was very glad to have a fan after all these years hahahaha
So now I'm back, and ready to pay some more tax to support those lazy arse dole scum! Get a job you scummers!
The story isnt about them though!
Today, almost 8 months later I have a job offer
My last 3 jobs have been different, but I've always been able to point out 2 key similarities in them... this new job is veeery different, the story isnt even about that, even though it is the cause of the joyous day.My experience of being unemployed has been a little something.... like this!
As I quit my job, I knew that there would be a period of time where I could not get dole, I accepted that, no complaints, but I was told I needed to sign on to keep 'my stamp' up to date, so I went down to Job Centre Plus (JCP), was given a phone number to call and told I could use the phone there or call from home, I went home.
I called and gave all the details to the person on the phone, I explained I'd quit, it was recorded, all OK so far
They book me in for an appointment at JCP, there is an appt in 5 mins time, can I make it? Yes I can! So back I go. They have all the information i'd given on the phone ready printed out, an efficient system, i'm impressed! We check all the info is correct, I mentioned again that I quit but they dont seem to concerned, and my claim is filed.Before too long I get a letter saying I have been approved for Job Seekers Allowance, superb! No penalty for quitting my job, I think... they must have looked at my work history, seen that I've paid in for 20 years and worked solidly and theyre not punishing me, great!
Eight weeks later I get a letter saying 'we suspect that you left your last job voluntarily and we must investigate this!' ..... hmmm, so 8 weeks to suspect something that i'd told them as fact on at least 2 occasions, and signed a document to that effect, the system was perhaps TOO efficient!
Two weeks later they have investigated and found that yes, I did leave my job voluntarily! So... 8 weeks to suspect something i'd told them... and then 2 more weeks to verify something I'd told them... useless b
ds! So... no JSA for 6 weeks, I feel pissed off, not cos of the lack of money, I'd accepted that fact when I chose to quit, I was annoyed that they'd approved me, then gone around it in such a stupid manner.This is the end of my gripe with JCP staff though, as most of the time they were excellent. They could see that I was not a career-dole-monkey and that I wanted work, they never looked down on me and they all seemed genuinely supportive and pleased when interviews came up. They gave me no hassle at all as each fortnight i gave evidence that I was applying for any job i thought i could do or get, not just the 3 jobs i'd specified on my job seekers agreement.
Hopefully i'll never have to deal with them again, but I will think back on my dealings with them very positively.
Sadly, there are still plenty of gripes to be had with unemployment...
Employment Agencies.... utter t
ts, all of them. They sign you up and make promises of how they'll work for you, how they'll contact you with relevent jobs and they do not. When you chase them up and force them to put you forward they then provide noooo feedback, no updates. They dont work for you, they dont work for the companies, they do as little work as possible to get their fee. If I had the know how I'd make a review website so job hunters could leave reviews for every agency they encounter, perhaps when their stness is being broadcast they'll all raise their game and compete against each other to provide good service.Next, of course... are the employers themselves... what a bunch of t
ts! It seems as if the art of interviewing has died and they now rely simply on 'have you done this job before?' as a solution. They also have a belief/pretense that what they do is soooooo complicated that unless you've done it already, you'd neeeeeever comprehend how hard it is, an outsider could never know the compexities of what they do!
Of course I dont mean all employers, but too many!
Too many dont bother letting you know how you got on as it's too expensive to let all candidates know... yes and thats why we have email now, so you can send a mass email for free!
I interviewed for jobs that didnt actually exist, the best one was for a company that simply miscounted how many staff they had! They interviewed a bunch of people and I later found out that they replied to no one at all, I also found out that someone had cocked up and triggered a whole recruitment process that left them a laughing stock.
I interviewed for a job that involved loads of tests, I passed each one with full marks, but was rejected as I have long hair (tied back)
It's been an odd 8 months, it was a handy time to have swine flu as the sick days dont count against me
I've done some modifications to my motorbike that I wouldnt have done otherwise, I've incresed my practical knowledge of working on cars, I've done some landscaping to the back of my house which I would neeeeeever have done while working. I had the whole of a winter off work, no scraping ice off the car at silly o'clock in the morning No getting to work through the snow only to find out that people who lived closer to work than I do, who travel the same road as I do didnt even try and get in.I've been to 2 concerts and not had to worry about getting up for work the next morning or booking half a day off to recover, I've started reading again, I got bored and managed to track down/stalk a childhood tv hero online and had some interesting chats with him, nice fella, he was very glad to have a fan after all these years hahahaha
So now I'm back, and ready to pay some more tax to support those lazy arse dole scum! Get a job you scummers!
all of the above! And nice write up.
thank you
the tv hero is not very well known ... he played Guy of Gisbourne in the kids show Maid Marian and her Merry Men. The character was basically a ginger shreiking tt, but played with such gusto that I still quote the occasional line from him 
Guy - What are all those dirty beggary people doing?... I'm the funniest king EVER!
Guy - (shouting up to castle window) Sorry to badger you...
Sheriff - No.. I'm badgering you! (throws dead badger out of window)
the tv hero is not very well known ... he played Guy of Gisbourne in the kids show Maid Marian and her Merry Men. The character was basically a ginger shreiking t
t, but played with such gusto that I still quote the occasional line from him Guy - What are all those dirty beggary people doing?... I'm the funniest king EVER!
Guy - (shouting up to castle window) Sorry to badger you...
Sheriff - No.. I'm badgering you! (throws dead badger out of window)
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