Does JSA make it harder to get a job?

Cleat Eastwood

I find it's the other way around - having a job is often a barrier to getting JSA

schweiz

johnfinch wrote:

If I were you, I'd drop into your university's careers service and get them to look at your CV with you. They can give you far more detailled advice than anyone on this forum and help you to emphasise your skills and qualities.

If they're any good! Our careers service was rubbish. She ruined my CV and several others that I saw. I've had the same basic CV since 1999 and I just keep updating it but the format is always the same. It's never failed me yet!

I highlight the skills that are specific to the job I am applying for in the covering letter only occaisionally tweak my CV for a specific job.

rick_chasey

schweiz wrote:

johnfinch wrote:

If I were you, I'd drop into your university's careers service and get them to look at your CV with you. They can give you far more detailled advice than anyone on this forum and help you to emphasise your skills and qualities.

If they're any good! Our careers service was rubbish. She ruined my CV and several others that I saw. I've had the same basic CV since 1999 and I just keep updating it but the format is always the same. It's never failed me yet!

I highlight the skills that are specific to the job I am applying for in the covering letter only occaisionally tweak my CV for a specific job.

You graduated in 1999. That's a long time ago.

The support network at most universities is pretty good. Manchester certainly is.

If you haven't, I'd suggest applying through and to recruitment firms to get onto their books. The likes of Reed etc.

The advantage there is they get hold of specific roles that may not be advertised (at least, not that well), and if you get a recruiters' endorsement, you're much more likely to get an interview - after all, the recruiter is putting their reputation on the line by agreeing to put you forward for a role.

schweiz

Actually I graduated in 2000 but I'd already started applying at the start of my final year!

Our careers woman was obsessd with having a one page CV and saying that recruiters would throw it away if it went on to a second page. I already had lots of work experience (Blacks, Cotswold Camping, Builders Labourer, Bar/Restaurant work and my work placements in an Engineering company). I wanted to put all that in to show that I was adaptable and was willing to learn and graft. She wanted to cut loads of that out and reduce everything to 10 pt font to fit my stuff onto one page!

I felt that was seriously underselling my real world work experience and it also demonstrated that I worked my way through Uni. At interviews, it was often a plus point that I had so much work experience even if it wasn't all to do with software and electronic hardware.

rick_chasey

schweiz wrote:

Actually I graduated in 2000 but I'd already started applying at the start of my final year!

Our careers woman was obsessd with having a one page CV and saying that recruiters would throw it away if it went on to a second page. I already had lots of work experience (Blacks, Cotswold Camping, Builders Labourer, Bar/Restaurant work and my work placements in an Engineering company). I wanted to put all that in to show that I was adaptable and was willing to learn and graft. She wanted to cut loads of that out and reduce everything to 10 pt font to fit my stuff onto one page!

I felt that was seriously underselling my real world work experience and it also demonstrated that I worked my way through Uni. At interviews, it was often a plus point that I had so much work experience even if it wasn't all to do with software and electronic hardware.

For sure, use your common sense, but if you're not sure about your CV or the recruitment process, they're a good place to start. They're free and don't have a vested interest in anything.

You'd be surprised how a) strangely obsessed some people get over their CVs with strange rules etc (something recruiters get very tired of) and b) how many people still can't write a proper CV (which I know first hand, since I have to re-write the buggers).

I started secondary school in 1999 :P.

schweiz

I am on the books of several recruitment/head hunting firms and on the whole, many are very good at what they do although I still get too many e-mails asking if I am interested in comletely unsuitable positions! However, it's always wise to remember that some employers will not accept applications via agencies as they do not want to pay the agency fee.

I wasn't saying that Will shouldn't go to an agency, my point about the Uni careers service was that Will needs to be happy that is CV is a full and accurate representation of him, his skills and his knowledge and that it is showing him in the best possible light.

Actually, I do think it's a good idea to apply through agencies, but that Will should not sit back and think that the agency will do everything from now on. You need to attack from both flanks!

rick_chasey

schweiz wrote:

Actually, I do think it's a good idea to apply through agencies, but that Will should not sit back and think that the agency will do everything from now on. You need to attack from both flanks!

Indeed.

willhub

Agencies ain't doing owt, I register at them, upload my CV and all that but nothing.

I'm spending 4 hours a day looking for jobs, trying my best.

schweiz

Have you been into an office (there used to be two or three on Deansgate just after Market St.)? See if you can make an appointment with them. If the recruiter knows you they will be far more likely to put you forward than from 1 in 1000 CV's posted online.

rick_chasey

willhub wrote:

Agencies ain't doing owt, I register at them, upload my CV and all that but nothing.

I'm spending 4 hours a day looking for jobs, trying my best.

For sure.

Applying through jobs at the agencies tends to get more response from them (though not always, and you're probably doing that already).

Else, pick up the phone and call them. If you have any friends who have got jobs through agencies, ask them who their recruiter was and call them up etc.

I'm not trying to insinuate you're not cracking hard at it - I'm sure you are! Just a) I work in recruitment (though not grads it has to be said) and b) I've been in your position since not very long ago.

migrantwing

Will,

I've just made a claim for JSA, the second time since October. I worked in a corner shop for two years on a very low wage (£80 per week), but would rather work than claim benefits. The only reason I claimed JSA was because, after the premises went bust, and no work was to be found, I needed financial help. That's the type of guy I am.

The first time I signed on for approx 6 weeks. I had some work on for a few days which equated to £106 in my pocket. Called the Jobcentre repeatedly to tell them that I had a few days work as I was supposed to sign on that Friday. They never answered the phone, so my money was stopped for failure to attend. Luckily for me, the work was ongoing for a few weeks, a day here, a day there. I got by.

I then applied for a job thru word of mouth from a manageress at another of their stores. B&M retail. I got the job in an instant. The first week I worked 38 hours. The second week, they dropped my hours to 8 hours per week?!?!?! The assistant manager was an a**hole. I won't bore you with all the details, but it was the worst job I've ever had in twenty years of my working life. I walked out as I would have knocked the guy out (and by no way or means am I the violent type). Bumped into a young guy who worked there about a month later, and he told me that three other people had been sacked/walked out. The more time that went by, I was convinced that this was their plan, as the guy I had replaced had come back from holiday. I wasn't told this. So, I was subject to requirment. Took ten weeks and constant phone calls to their head office to get the money I was owed. I'm 36 years old, have a good work history and experience and they treated me like s**t.

I then got a job working for Safestyle UK. I'd applied for a warehouse vacancy and somehow ended up walking the streets as a canvasser. I made £0 in a week.

All in all, most jobs out there at the moment, unless you are lucky, are crap. You will have no rights, no contract, they'll mess you around, and the way you'll be treated will break you down.

My advice. Claim JSA and anything and every other penny you can claim. During this time, look for a job, the best job you can find. Make sure you get a contract and know the ins and outs of your entitlements and rights. These companies at the moment know that there are so many people unemployed and desperate for work during these hard times that they are expendable.

I, as many in this post have mentioned, spend a lot of time looking for jobs. I must have looked thru 500+ jobs in the last few days, and maybe one or two have caught my eye as half-decent. There just isn't that much out there, and what is out there is crap.

I know and see, first hand, everyday, scum who are getting benefits who are working illegally, getting their homes paid for when they are not entitled to anything, let alone deserve any help. Claim whatever you can to help you until you find something of interest and that is beneficial to you.

Don't expect miracles from the Jobcentre. You may get lucky with them finding you a job, but don't hold your breath. Just use them to your benefit.

Good luck with finding a job!

Anonymous

The only thing I would say is that you are perfect material for a graduate scheme. Admittedly, there are varied fortunes, but Manchester is a VAST place and somewhere with (i'll let you quote me on this) "structured career development" can't be too hard to come by. Seeing as we are in May now, isnt think recruiting season?
Assuming you went to the main Manchester Uni, i'm sure its up there with one of the best in the country, there must be recruitment fairs all over the place.
As of the content of your degree, I don't think that should be hugely relevant - its more of a tick on your CV that you can apply yourself, support yourself and generate your own ideas and manage your own time. I am a couple of years down the line in a major financial institution and my peers are geographers, historians and a musician...

If you are desperate to stay, then perhaps you can find something you may not like (I can think of accounting as a place to start - assuming you have good maths and analytical skills). There MUST be places up there who do that.

As for moving home or not? It depends on your parents. My sister just got made redundant on Friday, the family went home for the weekend and she was back on my sofa my Monday night. My mum is THAT annoying!

It's a hard one. If you are desperate to stay, you might need to suck it up for a while until something lands on your plate. If you'd rather find the dream job, you'll need to go home, really.

If I could change one thing from when I graduated (2009) I would have done a ski season. Do it.

shockedsoshocked

Not got any advice Will, but I know your feel. 3 years at Uni to get a better job and hopefully see out the recession, I'm leaving in a matter of months and it's no better. It's terrifying/depressing in equal measure. Worked in bars and shops since I was 16, looks like I'll still be doing that for a while longer, just with BSc Hons attached to my name.