no subject

[taimatsu]

Yesterday I did a large amount of laundry, cleared up about half the bedroom, registered with a doctor, and visited two job agencies. This is good. The job agencies were not, however, very helpful, and I am getting increasingly panicky about not having any work.

I have been looking for permanent work, given that I am available for at least a year. I just can't find any, or any agency that will be any use for me. I am worried that the jobs on my CV are all too short-term. I don't want another job where I have to timesheet every week, and where I won't get interesting tasks and responsibilities because I'm just a temp.

What do I need to know about jobcentres? I'm not registered unemployed, I am living on savings and handouts from parents, and I don't necessarily want benefits. I just don't know what I can do.

Select told me they had a permanent job which might suit me, kept me hanging around for a week and a half, and then told me I hadn't been shortlisted by the company. Brook Street will make me register and sign an exclusive contract with them before I know they have work for me, which I am unimpressed by, as if they don't have anything for some time I'm screwed. Office Angels have my CV and will call me if they find anything, but the consultant was a little dubious about the length of my previous posts.

I have been jobsearching online, and there are a couple of jobs at the University of Reading which might suit me, but I applied for one of those before (Classics SEcretary) and the application form is hell on wheels. I guess I'll have to try it again, though. There's also a post with West Berkshire council, but that's in NEwbury, and a medical admin post, but that's in Crowthorne. I have no transport.

I am panicking. If anyone can help calm me down, I would appreciate it.

Comments

[riksowden.livejournal.com]

www.jobs.ac.uk

Listing of all uni/college jobs in the UK, many of which can be applied for online...its how i got my job and is pretty good...

[taimatsu]

The Readung U jobs which are on their website don't turn up on a jobs.ac.uk search. Given that I am limited to the Reading area, I don't think it's more use to me than looking at the Reading Uni site itself. But thanks.

[riksowden.livejournal.com]

Hmm, sorry then :(

[borusa.livejournal.com]

Slow down.

It's not the end of the world if you don't get a job immediately, it just means that we need to be careful. You can't get JSA, as you're living with me.

It's a little bit annoying when agencies want you on an exclusive contract without any promise of work.

I think you should consider doing temp stuff, at least short term. The important thing is not to stop looking while you work.

*hug*

Robert

[taimatsu]

I should try temp stuff, I know. I have been saying, when I go into agencies, that I'm interested in permanent work but if I have to take temp work while waiting for something to come up, I'm fine with that too. Which, again, is exactly the truth. I am intelligent, skilled in general office functions, very, very good at picking up new tasks; surely there must be a company out there which wants me?

[beingjdc.livejournal.com]

What do I need to know about jobcentres?

They tend not to have anything very good, because companies with jobs people are going to want aren't interested in the sort of people who are likely to be unemployed for long enough to be looking there. That said, they sometimes have slightly unusual and fun stuff.

What you want is a temp job with a company that's looking for someone more permanent and can cunningly steal you from the temp agency, but that's tricky. Have you bought the local paper? Not everything makes it online. As far as searching online goes, Reed is good (you can use pre-made CV, and it tells you how many people have already applied) and fish4 used to be ok.

If you're available for a year it's best just to say you're available indefinitely, rather than admit that. Apart from that, I'd encourage you, but you were around when I seemed incapable of finding a job, then incapable of finding a proper job. See, all works out in the end...

[taimatsu]

At the moment, the top of my CV says I eventually want to go back to university; firstly because it's true, and secondly, because I am reluctant to look like a school-leaver no-hoper. I am good enough to get a degree and I will eventually.

I'll try Reed. I went to their office but there was no answer to the bell, so I gave up and went elsewhere.

[beingjdc.livejournal.com]

Well, clearly it depends on the job.

Use the Reed website, it has more stuff than the branches, bizarrely.

[lnr]

OK consider, would part-time study ever suit you? Because that's the sort of thing which can be done while working and which sometimes employers will even help fund, and it would leave you open to more long term opportunities at the moment.

The jobcentre might not be very much use, but it's possibly worth going in and having a wander round. They have details of jobs up on the walls and unless you actually see any you want to apply for you don't have to actually sign up to look at them.

I'm afraid living with Robert you probably wouldn't get many benefits even if you did want to sign up for them.

[taimatsu]

Part-time study might suit me. However, I can't support myself and pay for the study on the wages part-time work would get me. I have fifty pounds in savings. My parents would pay, but I don't want them to; I eventually want to just go back to university as a full-time student (I think I would manage a degree better like that than if I were juggling work and study).

[juliet]

If I were you I might consider rethinking that. It may be true, but it's not dishonest not to say it unless asked; and it might possibly be putting people off if they think you're only around for a short while. CVs are only about getting your foot in the door long enough to get interviewed, after all.

[taimatsu]

*nod* you could be right. I'll consider it.

Add as much salt as you like

[hfnuala.livejournal.com]

You know, sometimes you really sound like me when I dropped out. There is actually no intrinsic value to having a degree and not having one doesn't prove anything about you. but it will take time to learn to feel that way. I temped for a while and that helped a lot - by turning up every day and do messing up, I was already good enough and any evidence of actually having a brain was praised to the skies, which helped a lot.

Which isn't to say you won't/shouldn't go back, but I wouldn't plan on it for the short term - you need several years of actually achieving things outside of a college environment before you'll be able to separate out a new college experience and what happened to you before you dropped out. Remember, there is *no* *shame* in not finishing university. Anyone who tells you so is talking nonsense.

Re: Add as much salt as you like

[hfnuala.livejournal.com]

... and do messing up

Argh, not messing up! Makes more sense that way :)

[taimatsu]

*nod* It is a weird carved-into-brain mild-snobbishness thing. I have always been expected to get a degree. I have always been told that I am capable of getting a degree and will not be fulfilling my potential if I don't. My mother is still very insistent that I *ought* to go back to university eventually. I think, if I find the right subject, that I would enjoy going back and doing further study, but I want to do it when I'm *sure* I'm in the right place, with the right skills and doing the right subject. I haven't got room for any more degree mistakes (simply because it would do my head in to fail a second time).

Bits of my head are aware that doing a degree isn't going to teach me much that three years in a job, gaining responsibilities, wouldn't teach me, but most of my head hasn't quite made it there yet.

[bopeepsheep.livejournal.com]

I walked out of uni the first time feeling like this. I did go back, five years later, and was much more motivated etc. But I still wound up changing courses, and I was also ill and so I have this weird situation where my degree took eight terms over four years. Be sure that you know what you want to do and it should be easier. You may find a modular degree would work for you, it felt good to know that I'd achieved something (7 credits) at the end of two terms, the point at which I'd previously left feeling like I was getting nowhere. If that makes sense.

[meirion.livejournal.com]

What do I need to know about jobcentres?

they're a waste of time. because they couldn't find anything in the areas i want to work in, they told me i was only qualified to join the army. this was somewhat ... upsetting ... to say the least. plus they keep you hanging around for half the day, and are typically inefficient and bureaucratic.

-m-

[taimatsu]

You confirm things I had suspected. I suppose there might be some more useful ones out there, but I hadn't thought they'd be very helpful to someone in my situation.

[white_hart]

It's a sad truth that it's extremely difficult to get a job when you don't have one already, and that goes double for permanent jobs. An awful lot of agencies like to test people out before they put them forward for anything very good - after all, if they send a temp for a six month contract, or an applicant for a permanent position, and the person turns out to be utterly flaky, that client won't go near them again. Short-term posts are less problematic for them and give them a chance to see who can be entrusted with the better stuff.

What agency were you temping with before? If they have a branch in Reading, it may be worth going there as at least as a company they have some knowledge of you. Otherwise, I really think your best option is temping. I know it's hideous and soul-destroying (I did two years of it *shudders*), but it builds up your profile with the agencies so that even if you don't get permanent work you might get a longer-term contract from them, and sometimes you do strike lucky and find companies who are using their agency workforce as a test pool to select new permanent staff from (that's how I got my first permanent job. Actually, that's how nearly everyone I know got their first permanent jobs.) Unfortunately, it's a slow process, but if you can be the person who clients report back on as being bright, punctual and capable then the agencies will look for better jobs for you. I'd steer well clear of the 'exclusive contract' one at this stage though.

And, in the immortal words of Douglas Adams - DON'T PANIC. You just need to keep plugging away at it, and try not to get too despondent.

[taimatsu]

I was most recently with Secondsite, which have offices in OXford and maybe Newbury, but not Reading. Before that I have had work via Reed and Brook Street. I think you're right - I should start by just temping, and then maybe permanent work will come up. I'm just so sick of being given the dullest possible tasks, with no responsibility and little space for initiative, because temps are only temporary. I was hoping not to have to do that again :/

[j4.livejournal.com]

I don't want another job where I have to timesheet every week [...]

When I had a permanent position here I had to do a timesheet every month. Even sion_a, who is a frighteningly-senior software bod and earns more in a day than I do in a week, has to fill in timesheets. It's not some kind of indication of crapness of job -- everybody has to do it. (Now that I'm freelance I just hand in an invoice that says how many hours I've worked, which is easier.)

[From one of the other comments:]
At the moment, the top of my CV says I eventually want to go back to university

Is this a good idea? Yes, it makes you look less like a "school-leaver no-hoper"[1]; but to an employer, it may make you look like you're not likely to stay in a job for long, and not interested in a "career" (whatever that is). If the job doesn't require a degree, then I suspect there's no real value in saying that you want to go back and get one later.

[1] FWIW, all the school-leavers I know are in much better jobs than me. (And recent stats suggest that the average salary for Arts graduates is less than that of people who leave school after A-levels.)

If you're managing okay on support from family etc. at the moment, then might it be worth trying to get a temp job for a few days a week so that you have some cash of your own, & doing voluntary work the rest of the time -- people are suddenly much less picky about who they employ if they don't have to pay them ;) & it certainly won't do your CV any harm.

Sorry if all this is unhelpful. Feel free to ignore it -- after all, I don't seem to be able to get a job myself, so WTF do I know about job-hunting? :-/

[taimatsu]

I might go for some voluntary work, but the trouble is, I'd feel guilty abandoning the voluntary project if permanent work came along. I think I'd feel tied in to only working part-time for an extended period, and previously I haven't really been able to earn quite enough doing that. I rather want to stop relying on support from family :)

Thanks for the info about timesheets. I was seeing them as sort of symbolic of I Am A Temp And This Job Might End Any Time Now.

[beingjdc.livejournal.com]

I shall add myself to the 'I also do timesheets' chorus.

[jojomojo.livejournal.com]

If it helps, I have to fill out timesheets,
I've been here a year and a half, and I make
$55,000 a year ;)

[lnr]

I wouldn't go so far as to say "everybody", because certainly I haven't had to in either my current job or my previous one. I think it's moderately common in large organisations where your time is likely to be "billed" to different departments.

And *hugs* to you both BTW.

[bopeepsheep.livejournal.com]

Timesheets are common in the Civil Service/local government/anywhere that works flexitime. Hard to administrate such schemes without timesheets...

I filled one in when I worked for the Employment Service, yes, in a Jobcentre. They're of varied quality, and are better suited to manual workers, overall, but don't rule them out. I've personally got three good jobs from ESJ's, and got plenty of people into other decent jobs. You need a smattering of luck - spotting a good job from the sketchy details posted takes a little effort - and making allies in the office will help. We used to approach certain regulars and say 'we've just got this in, it might suit you?' based on what we knew about them.

[imc.livejournal.com]

I shall add myself to the `I also don't do timesheets' chorus. Which is probably just as well, really.

Although there is an informal log that we're supposed to update when we are in the office so that colleagues know whether we are in/at lunch/on holiday/whatever. This (usually) contains enough information for someone to construct a timesheet, should they be so inclined.

[mirabehn.livejournal.com]

What kind of job are you looking for?

I didn't know you lived in West Berkshire - hurrah for you! evil_nick and I are moving to Newbury the day after tomorrow, as you may know. :) I can tell you that most of the West Berkshire Council buildings are right next to Newbury station, so if you were to go for that job and it's on the main site, you'd have quite a simple commute this end.

Relax. You did well to do so much laundry and have a right to feel pleased with yourself about that. It's understandable that you're worrying, but I think that things will get better.

*waves*

elly

[taimatsu]

I live in West Reading, near Battle Library. Thanks for the info about the council buildings - it looks like those might be work applying for after all, because it looks as though trains run from Reading West station to Newbury with no changes. Excellent :)

Thank you!

[borusa.livejournal.com]

Just to comment on that - Trains to Newbury leave from Reading West fairly frequently, and Reading West is only about ten minutes walk from us.

Whilst I know that you (meaning taimatsu) would rather not commute at all, it is doable. It's also remarkably easy to get to places like Theale [1]

Robert
[1] As I found out when I got on the wrong train at Reading West last week.

[hfnuala.livejournal.com]

Also, the advantage of signing on is that, even though you're not getting benefits, your NI payments are made (doesn't seem like a big deal, but makes a difference to your pension) and there are various training schemes that you might be eligible for in 3 or 6 months. Disadvantage is they can lean on you to try to jobs you're not interested in, but that doesn't seem to be happening to Alex, even though he's been unemployed for 9 months now.

[taimatsu]

I really don't want to be pressed to do data entry, or shelf-stacking, or something else which would bore me to tears. That's a major reason I haven't yet approached jobcentre-type places. I'll see what I can find out, though.

[lovingboth]

You don't have to be signing on / claiming something to use the JobCentre Plus (as they're now called after wasting a small fortune on rebranding...) services - just wander in and browse the computerized vacancies machines, for example.

And it's entirely possible to avoid those sorts of jobs while you are signing on. (I managed for - coo - about eighteen years.)

Is there any way you could appear to not be living as 'man and wife' but as, for example, landlord and lodger?

"What other people have said" for a lot of it too - eg have you considered doing an Open University course?

And people looking for volunteers will understand entirely if you go off and get a paying job. Find something, like a cause you feel strongly about, and see who's doing something about it locally.

[taimatsu]

As to the man and wife thing: no. Robert's previous housemate was unable to claim a number of benefits she needed (she was ill and unable to work) because they were apparently co-habiting. Except they, er, weren't. So I have no chance of claiming I'm *not* co-habiting when I genuinely am.

I will go and look at the jobcentre, then, and try not to be scared :)

Yes, I have considered OU; but a significant percentage of my problems with my previous degree course were to do with having insufficient tutor contact time and not enough people to talk to. OU is likely to be more lonely than Oxford, not less.

I found the local volunteer clearing-house yesterday, so if it looks like I'm not going to have a job inside the next two weeks I might go and sign up. There's a women's centre needing volunteers, among other things.

[beingjdc.livejournal.com]

OU is likely to be more lonely than Oxford

Possibly, on the other hand if my maths is right, you're talking about completing a degree when you're 26, by which time you might be less interesting in hanging around with teenage students than you were at Oxford.

You might not though, take me as an example...

[taimatsu]

It's not about hanging around with students in an extra-curricular manner - it's about having people in study groups to talk to, and to discuss one's subject with outside class sometimes. I had barely any of that at Oxford and it's not likely to be any better at OU.

[lovingboth]

Yep, some of the training schemes are a complete and utter waste of time - I got caught out once when I hadn't realised they'd renamed one - but there are others which are particularly good.

There are various points at which he will shift from one set of statistics to another. At those points, eg after twelve months, there is going to be more pressure. After two years, the JC+ staff have a lot of incentives to get you off their hands one way or another.

It's always worth remembering that going abroad for more than 24 hours restarts your benefits 'clock' and makes you a new claimant again.

[(Anonymous)]

Is a bit of data entry or shelf-stacking or waitressing (or whatever) really that bad, if it means you can be a bit closer to affording the Japanese course you want to do without hitting your parents up for money?

[taimatsu]

No, it's not that bad. There's a practical issue, though. I have a FLAW, which I have not yet conquered. When I have to do something very boring for a long time, and especially if I have to make a lot of effort to get there (eg. my last job, which was insanely dull and took two bus-rides to get to) I have a cumulative tendency to not turn up, be late, or generally be crap and unpunctual, simply because I fail to make efforts to get somewhere I dislike. I know this is bad and unacceptable in the long term. I know I need to work on overcoming this flaw, and I have been trying to do so. But in the meantime, I am trying to avoid making staying in work harder than it needs to be. I'd take a dull data-entry job almost no problem - if it were round the corner. (I don't think I'd take shelf-stacking because I have a feeling it would look bad on my CV, which so far is solidly office work; and I wouldn't waitress because I'm *partially deaf* and bad with money. Oh, and have poor balance and no experience.)

It would be nice if you felt like telling me who you are, too.

[bopeepsheep.livejournal.com]

Big tip: you don't have to put every job ever on your CV. Only forms that want your complete job history. The interviewers have probably all done their share of bar work, shop work, fruit picking, whatever, and you can cover gaps, if you want to with lines like "during gaps in [listed] employment I have taken a number of temporary positions while I travelled/studied/took some time out/whatever". This can cover periods of illness, unemployment, laziness, crap jobs, whatever, and means you can tailor your CV to the job you want. (If I were to apply for editorial positions my personnel experience gets minimised, and vice versa, for instance.)