Job hunting moan

[TarnishedGlitter]

Applying to jobs. Why is pay basically random? It doesn't seem to relate to how hard the job is.

I have a "portfolio career" which basically means I do loads of things and never know how much money I will have at any given time. It does suit me though, I enjoy it. I'd get bored with just one job, and it wouldn't suit my health, studying or parenting needs. Also I get to do lots more fun stuff.

Still, I think people don't realise how much of freelance/contract work is being stuck in job application hell pretty much constantly. Then you get the job, do it, then have to send invoices and chase invoices and do accounts and all that stuff that isn't the actual job. Or you don't get the job but you have applied for several others in the meantime so you get confused by the rejection email, if they bother to send one. And you have to do all the networking bollocks in between as well.

Kind of looking out for another small scale salary job, maybe two days a month or so, just so I know I have something else to rely on for boring things like bills. Then I'll keep plugging away at freelance and short term stuff. I'll be off uni in May for Summer so maybe I'll try for an internship? Who knows.

[Lorraine]

I've just put together my first CV in 25 years.

It's a bit gappy, but I think it might get me an interview. I've been working in care since my son moved out and nobody asked for one. Now my hips and back are pretty knackered I'm applying for desk jobs. I've applied for a job with LCC, supporting Social Workers. Fingers crossed on that one.

[TarnishedGlitter]

I think you would be good at that, best of luck!

Posting on linkedin. It has to be the weirdest social media.

[Lorraine]

I think you would be good at that, best of luck!

Posting on linkedin. It has to be the weirdest social media.

Thanks. My current job ends in 3 weeks and I should be getting my left hip replaced soon after. So I'll be claiming UC for a few weeks until I'm recovered. Ideally this LCC application will go well and they'll wait for me to be fit.

[KingsleyAnus]

Pointless credentialism is my current bugbear. Not just jobs that specify graduate without any need - the other day a mate put me on to a vacancy at his place, doing same job as him. Got refused because I don't have a driving licence. He's been there 10 years and never had to drive once.

[TarnishedGlitter]

I see the opposite of that a lot in the third sector. "we don't care about your qualifications or contacts, you just need passion" then everyone they employ has a PPE MA from bloody LSE.

[Lorraine]

FFS.

I just spent hours on a new CV and supporting statement for an LCC job, thinking it would be the same process as another one I recently applied for.

Got my pdf files all ready to upload to be surprised with boxes to type answers in about why I'd be perfect etc. So, as it was getting close to the deadline I filled them in quickly thinking I'd get to upload my files at the end.

No. Wasted my time and look like a blithering idiot.

Gutted.

[Lorraine]

I've just put together my first CV in 25 years.

It's a bit gappy, but I think it might get me an interview. I've been working in care since my son moved out and nobody asked for one. Now my hips and back are pretty knackered I'm applying for desk jobs. I've applied for a job with LCC, supporting Social Workers. Fingers crossed on that one.

I've been invited for an interview. OMG. Now I'm scared.
I don't have a copy of the job description as I didn't think to save it before it was removed from the portal on the cliosng date. Lesson learned on that one.

[Lorraine]

Interview day tomorrow and I've just started an application for a 999/111 call operative.

[Lorraine]

Interview day tomorrow and I've just started an application for a 999/111 call operative.

So that went well. I waa over prepared.

Should hear back in a day or two.

[Lorraine]

Interview day tomorrow and I've just started an application for a 999/111 call operative.

So that went well. I waa over prepared.

Should hear back in a day or two.

I got the job! Woohoo!

[Beaker]

I got the job! Woohoo!

Working at Broughton?

[Lorraine]

I got the job! Woohoo!

Working at Broughton?

No, in Chorley. I was offered the first job I applied for as Social Care Support Officer with LCC. I'm chuffed to bits.

I'm not going to complete the application for call handler now. I'm happy with this one.

Oh, and the call handler job was at Middlebrook, Horwich. Not far from where I live.

[Sugarmouse]

Can I have a moan too?

I work part time PAYE, have a partnership (small business) and pick up freelance tutoring and counselling jobs.

Currently still contracted to a company who teach up to qualifying level counselling students, but they have not given me any work since January. They told me they'd be in touch 'soon' about a month ago. I don't want to be hasty however because they're a great company to work for and pay well, so I am just in limbo with them, but feel unable to pick up any other freelance work (if there was any, it is few and far between as it is)!

I start (hopefully, checks pending) a small tutoring company in October. I wish that wasn't so far off. I have submitted my lesson plans and CV etc, but it apparently takes time.

My PAYE job just about pays the mortgage and bills, and is incredibly boring. It is a grad/qualified position but I feel like a glorified admin assistant. I am hoping to find something with similar hours and WFH that just pays a bit more and doesn't leave me feeling brain-dead, but I am struggling to find anything that fits that! Plus it might be sensible to stay where I am as there's nothing wrong with it per se, I just know my earning potential is more and I am bored out of my brains. I could go for promotion but I am just not interested in it (the company, the work, anything about any of it) so that might be a silly idea.

[Lorraine]

Just got my first UC payment statement. For some reason they think I'm still working so am entitled to ZERO.

I suspect my previous employer never thought to tell her payroll company that my job had ended. She was always flaky and unreliable on wages issues.

I've appealed to UC and texted my former employer. All I can do is hope. Hubby probably doesn't know yet. He's going to be over the moon. (We applied as a couple).

[Snaggletooth]

I've just put together my first CV in 25 years.

It's a bit gappy, but I think it might get me an interview. I've been working in care since my son moved out and nobody asked for one. Now my hips and back are pretty knackered I'm applying for desk jobs. I've applied for a job with LCC, supporting Social Workers. Fingers crossed on that one.

Good luck with that.
With LCC jobs, concentrate on the 'Person Spec' for the application and interview. All of the scoring is against that.

[Lorraine]

I've just put together my first CV in 25 years.

It's a bit gappy, but I think it might get me an interview. I've been working in care since my son moved out and nobody asked for one. Now my hips and back are pretty knackered I'm applying for desk jobs. I've applied for a job with LCC, supporting Social Workers. Fingers crossed on that one.

Good luck with that.
With LCC jobs, concentrate on the 'Person Spec' for the application and interview. All of the scoring is against that.

I got the job! Whoop!

I start in August after I'm recovered from a surgeey.

[Sugarmouse]

Congratulations Lorraine! I'll bet you're excited/happy.

I have applied for one that I really want, I suspect it'll have about 100,000 applicants however so I am not holding my breath.

[Lorraine]

Congratulations Lorraine! I'll bet you're excited/happy.

I have applied for one that I really want, I suspect it'll have about 100,000 applicants however so I am not holding my breath.

I am. Can't wait to start earning again.

Best of luck with your application.

[Sugarmouse]

Congratulations Lorraine! I'll bet you're excited/happy.

I have applied for one that I really want, I suspect it'll have about 100,000 applicants however so I am not holding my breath.

I am. Can't wait to start earning again.

Best of luck with your application.

Have you started yet? I couldn't complete the second form I was sent to apply for that job! Website kept going down. It was an utter pain and I had the company's IT team helping me but they couldn't figure it out either. I'll see it as fate I guess.

I have an interview next week and my tutoring company starts up again in October.

I am moving away from counselling. The industry is just corrupt and flawed. I'll do a lot of things for money, (including taking my clothes off) but selling my soul is just a tad too much

[Lorraine]

Have you started yet?

No. They're delaying my start until I'm recovered from my hip surgery, which I had on Monday. (All went well and feeling fine)

[Sugarmouse]

Glad it went well! I imagine the recovery is fairly long?

It's nice of them to be understanding about your start date.

[Lorraine]

Glad it went well! I imagine the recovery is fairly long?

It's nice of them to be understanding about your start date.

I have a 3 month fit note.

[Snaggletooth]

Don't Give Up!

Okay, so I have done quite a bit of recruitment. This is thae advice that I always give: don't give up and don't take in personally.

To the applicant, it all feels like a personal judgement on them- they don;t see all of the other people in the process.

For a typical job, we might get 25 reasonable candidates that we pick 4 to interview. Think about that.

Firstly, it means that it is reasonable to expect 100 applications to get you one job. I have spoken to people who get disheartened because they have applied fo a job 4-5 times and got nowhere. People who have applied for one job and got it have no idea how lucky they are. People who have had good careers often job hunt all the time. Not when they need to. One you have a CV just keep it up to date and keep a list of work stories that you can polish and use.

Secondly, it means that getting an interview is actually harder that getting the job. Be pleased, not disappointed.

Getting the interview is a judgement on you. But, from then on, everything depends on what the other candidates say. And you have no control over that and you never get to hear it. So prepare, prepare, prepare.

Recruiters are just a lazy as everbody else. They do not waste an hour of their time interviewing somebody that they would not give the job to. Don't say "Yes, I can do that". You would not be in the interview if they did not already think that you could do that. Use is as a hook for one of your prepared stories. "I did that last week because we had this problem. I had forseen it, so I did this thing. As a result this happened".

Come prepared with pen and paper and ask if you can write the questions down. This helps you in the interview because it gives you a pause before answering. More importantly, after the inteview you can write down what you should have said. That way, you build up a bank of questions and answers for the future.

[Lorraine]

Don't Give Up!

Okay, so I have done quite a bit of recruitment. This is thae advice that I always give: don't give up and don't take in personally.

To the applicant, it all feels like a personal judgement on them- they don;t see all of the other people in the process.

For a typical job, we might get 25 reasonable candidates that we pick 4 to interview. Think about that.

Firstly, it means that it is reasonable to expect 100 applications to get you one job. I have spoken to people who get disheartened because they have applied fo a job 4-5 times and got nowhere. People who have applied for one job and got it have no idea how lucky they are. People who have had good careers often job hunt all the time. Not when they need to. One you have a CV just keep it up to date and keep a list of work stories that you can polish and use.

Secondly, it means that getting an interview is actually harder that getting the job. Be pleased, not disappointed.

Getting the interview is a judgement on you. But, from then on, everything depends on what the other candidates say. And you have no control over that and you never get to hear it. So prepare, prepare, prepare.

Recruiters are just a lazy as everbody else. They do not waste an hour of their time interviewing somebody that they would not give the job to. Don't say "Yes, I can do that". You would not be in the interview if they did not already think that you could do that. Use is as a hook for one of your prepared stories. "I did that last week because we had this problem. I had forseen it, so I did this thing. As a result this happened".

Come prepared with pen and paper and ask if you can write the questions down. This helps you in the interview because it gives you a pause before answering. More importantly, after the inteview you can write down what you should have said. That way, you build up a bank of questions and answers for the future.

That's all really helpful. Thank you.
Question. If you fail to get an interview and the same job gets re-advertised, should you apply again? That keeps happening to my husband who is applying for retail management roles. His attitude is that if they were interested they would call him back.