I've been applying by email with my CV/Covering letter , checking umpteen websites for dozens of jobs and keep seeing the same vacancies cropping up week after week is making me wonder if the jobs even exist or the system is that broken ... demoralizing to say the least as I'm truly eager to get grafting so to speak and have a decent CV and work history !!

The weird and also shocking thing is that if you apply for few jobs a week then you may qualify for financial support. But, if you were to apply for every job available, then there were no new jobs advertised the following week, because you were not seen applying, or in this case reapplying, then you would be sanctioned. This system is shambolic at best. Madness.

Honestly , I thought after 10 applications that I'd maybe get 1 interview .. But now well over 20 applications and no interviews ,starting to wonder if the vacancies are imaginary !! Definitely weird

Seen this happen to my son, it's soul destroying. It's so hard to get a foot on the working ladder for youngsters these days, as well as older people.
Most people want to work even if it means earning less then getting on benifits.
I did keep telling my son ...Don't worry there will be a job out there with your name on and not to get disheartened and in the end he did get a job.

Article about this couple years ago. Some chap in Birmingham was getting a small kick back for posting fictitious jobs on Jobsearch. Several thousand in fact. Think it generated a small income each time somebody hit the website link or posted a cv. A guy decided to follow up some of the so called jobs and found out they were not genuine. He became suspicious when several jobs he was trained in kept coming up .

http://www.channel4.com/news/why-is-government-website-carrying-fake-jobs

It really does make one wonder how low some people will sink. This is simply cashing in on other folk's misfortunes and aspirations.It would have been good to read that he had been jailed for a long time but I guess he has not actually committed a crime.

Myself and other members of Unite have continued Direct Actions following the National Day of Action Against Sanctions, last week.

I urge anybody to stand outside a JCP for an hour or so and listen to the stories from those who have been sanctioned and the idiotic reasons.

Spotting opportunist/ fake jobs and not applying was one of them, such as reported above.

Another fella had a job interview at the same time as his signing-on time/date. JCP stopped his money for 4 weeks because he did not sign on, despite him telling them about his interview.

Have you had a relevant 'someone' check out your C.V. Gary? Could it be too wordy perhaps , when most employers bother to read only the first half page and discard if they havent got to the essence? Could be you're overqualified for some of the jobs you're applying for and employers will pass over you to take on someone at the 'right' level who will stay with them rather than seek to move onwards and upwards. On the other hand maybe you have undersold yourself? Dont get despondent . Your time will come .

Exactly ... Sure that's still going on based on what I've seen over the past 5 weeks .. definitely the same jobs have popped up 3 or 4 times

Yes , several professionals have looked at it ,made their suggestions for altering it, so I now have a couple of differently worded great looking CV's / covering letters that I send out ...
It truly seems that either there are 100+ candidates going for each vacancy or the vacancies are fictitious or both Will keep on trying nevertheless !!

Just for a joke.....
My son is also currently looking for work.

Last week he got an interview, followed up by a telephone interview. Put on a shortlist to attend another 3 hr interview tomorrow.
so far, this am., he has not been told what the job entails, neither has he been given an address to go to for the interview and cannot raise anyone by phone.

That's what people are having to deal with.

His computer went down last week for a couple of days and he was not able complete the 35 job applications required, so assumes his benefits, which won't be paid until the third week in April anyway, will be cancelled.

So there must be plenty out there, suffering the same fate.

I'll reply when I'm at my pc.

Right, first things first, you need to check the following things...

1) Are you applying for the 'right' jobs?
2) Is your CV good? Have you had someone who works in the industry give it a once over?
3) Are you just clicking "Apply" with the 1000's of others and expecting a reply?

You need to sit back for a minute and reorganise.

Heres some tips.

1) Get your CV, read it several times. Get someone else to read it. Then get another person to read it. Ask for suggestions on what to tweak. Apply the suggestions and rinse repeat until you are truly happy with it.

2) Unfortunately, its a tough market out there. I see 1000's of CV's a week. If the most recent job, doesnt match the job applied for, it goes in the bin. Its harsh, but its true. Recruiters and HR staff havent got time to go through every cv with a fine toothed comb. If you are applying for an "IT Technician" role and you havent done it since 1990, noone is going to be interested. As I said, its a tough market and emplyers want to see relevant experience. If you have spent the last 10 years at home playing xbox, you will need to start at the bottom (ie. Factory, call centre etc)
OR go and get some training in something. that you could see yourself doing.

3) Following on from 2, apply for jobs that are relevant. Its goes back to the age old saying "How can I get experience, if I nobody will give me experience?!" The truth is, they wont. If you have worked as a mechanic for 20 years and decide to work in an office doing admin, its going to be difficult getting someone to give you a chance unless you know them personally. If you want to find work quickly, you need to find jobs that MATCH your last job, exactly or there enough.
If you have 20 years admin experience, you should be looking for admin work. If you have just left college and qualified on a nail technician course, you should apply for nail technician roles. Its a tough market and people arent willing to invest in you if you are unproven.

4) Get more / new friends. Seriously. The more people you know who are gainfully employed, the more chance you will have of finding work. Use your current network to help you in somewhere.

5) Stand out from the crowd. This is the hardest one to do but the most important one. Ive been working for 15 years and have never found a job from indeed, totaljobs, reed etc. NEVER! They are inundated with people, like yourself, who are looking for work. We use these jobsites daily to advertise for our clients and I would probably put my house on it, that 95% of the applications we receive are a) not relevant b) shite c) foreign with no visa. The 5% of good cv's are hardly worth the £1000's per month to use them. Linkedin is better. Get your CV up there, although it is for professional roles rather than lower level or blue collar jobs. If you have some skills, get them on there.

Heres how I would find myself a job. This is for a white collar office job, just target different companies for blue collar.

i) I would research companies in my local area. Within a commutable distance, start close to home and compile a list going outwards. Dont worry about which companies they are. If you are looking for office work, write down any company that has an office. same for site work.

ii) Use linkedin to find the the most senior person within that office (MD, Director, HR person) write down their name and number. Compile your list of people. Now you need to research each company, what do they do? What do they manufacture? What do they sell? Do they have vacancies on their website?

iii) Armed with your new found information, start with the worst company on the list and call them. Ask to speak to the person you found earlier. You may be nervous, hence starting with the least favourable. Be honest with them and tell them that you are an experienced whatever, or a recent college graduate, or whatever and you are interested in working for them. Now there will be one of four things which will happen.

One, "Im sorry, im not the right person"
Answer "Can you tell me who is?"
Speak to them.

Two "fook off and dont darken my doorway again."
Answer "No problem"
Put the phone down and move onto the next call.

Three "You are speaking to the right person, but we dont have any vacancies"
Answer .Politely ask them for their email address and whether it would be ok to drop your cv across.

Four "Sure, send me a CV."
Answer Send them your cv with a message such as this:

Hi Chris/Paul/Farouq/Joe Bloggs

Thank you for taking my call earlier, it is nice to have a conversation with somebody rather than trawling the internet. As mentioned, I am an experienced "engineer / whatever" and have attached my CV for your perusal.

If you dont mind, I would be keen to chat further regarding any opportunities and look forward to your response.



Now what you are doing here is what 99% of other people dont do. You are standing out. Submitting your CV to countless jobs on the internet is soul destroying and often fruitless.

If you dont have the confidence to call managers directly, at least change your CV to match the job spec you are applying for.

Example. Job Spec.


Experienced Hairdresser required.


- Must have experience of short back and sides.
- Must be able to use a hairdryer
- Must have experience of unisex hair cutting and styling.

Now lets say you WERE a hairdresser for 25 years and recently have been looking after a sick relative.

Your CV should look like this:


Experience

2012-Present
CARING FOR SICK RELATIVE

1985- 2012
UNISEX HAIRDRESSER.

As a hair dresser in a busy unisex stylists, I have gained extensive experience of UNISEX STYLING AND CUTTING, Short back and sides and using the hairdryer.


Lets say you have the same CV and you are appling for an entry level care role.

Your CV should read.

2012 - Present
CARER

I have been working as a carer, changing bed pans, running errands and spending quality time with cients.

1985 - 2012
HAIRDRESSER

Hairdresser in a busy stylist etc.



In a nutshell, if your most recent job isnt relevant. Dont make it the focus of your CV. Play it down and talk about the RELEVANT things.

Anyway, any questions, please give me shout, im happy to help!

Good luck.

Deano

Also, just to add to that. Since the job centre put sanctions on people applying for at least ten jobs, people are applying for anything and everything. Ive had cleaners applying for nuclear science positions.

Get away from the job boards and STAND OUT from all the morons.

Thanks for that advice ,A few days ago I did receive an Email for a voluntary position (just a 1 day ambassador role for WBC 3Queens visit)

Then last night at 3am I received an Email from a company I applied to work for ,which stated that they would be in touch this week regarding an interview for a full-time job.

Also I've literally just received a telephone call today for a part-time job that I applied for 26 days ago,spoke to the Area manager and I'm meeting her tomorrow for an interview.

So looks likely that I've ticked all the boxes on my CV and covering letter enough to impress 2 prospective employers and WBC too!

Either that or keeping my fingers crossed worked!

Well Deanobirko I applaud you! How nice are you to have taken the time to post such good advice and help, I'm sure it will help Gary and lots of other jobseekers. Good on you...

No problem. I do it for a living but if I can help someone, then that's great!

Good luck!

Yay !!! Very best of luck Gary

Good Luck Gary from Gods country. I believe you need a break.

Good luck Gary.

I wish you all the best of luck Gary.x

well done gary..fingers crossed for you.x

Best of luck Gary, fingers and toes crossed for you.

Bless you lot thanks for caring xx !!! After me having a little rant about hearing nothing .. I attended my interview this morning .... I START TONIGHT :o)

Then as I get home after my successful interview ,hadn't taken my coat off and I receive another phone from a recruitment agency call asking if I'm still looking for work !!!
Was waiting,hearing nothing for a month then 4 came along at once !!!!! :o)

Well done Gary, good luck with your new job...

Nice one Gary

Great news, very pleased for you.

Brilliant news Gary. Well done !


Hopefully things are beginning to look up and there are more good news stories out there.

My son was also lucky this week.

Well done. I hope its just the job.

Great news Gary, hopefully it's just what you need.

Great news Gary.

Aww ta very much :o) It's a step in right direction ... i.e Faaaar away from the jobcentre..

I'm going to sign off tomorrow even though I'm only doing 16 hours work and could still claim benefit I just detest the jobcentre to my core as they always want to know everything and want proof for everything or else lol .. feels like an interregation everytime I go there !!

The good news is that until Universal Credit consumes Housing benefit, then you can still claim housing benefit as there is no requirement to work or be seeking work for HB.

IDS has purposely put people in the situation of not claiming their rightful benefits by purposely making them difficult to claim and maintain. I fully understand you wanting to drop out the benefit system, I did the same and life is so much better without the aggro and stress.

Typical foible of modern economics, the government spend money helping people to claim benefits then spend money trying to put you off claiming them at the same time.

Woke up today after my first shift of work ... to a letter from the scumbags at DWP .... they've sanctioned me 10 quid for 7 days for not attending an appointment on time (did reschedule for the same day) But they've taken 70 quid from my universal credit claim (which I haven't even received a penny of yet as I've been claiming for 4 weeks and have to wait 5 weeks before my first payment)

In short .... It's no wonder their offices have 100 cctv cameras and half a dozen security guards !!! SCUMBAGS

Appeal it.

EXACTLY the same has happened to my son also, Gary. He received a letter telling him to attend an interview, which had his address, his NI number and addressed to a strange woman.
He also had a job interview on the same day, got the job and having phoned them today, has been told he will forfeit £10 for each day . Has to have the letter from Job Centre returned by 6th April or more sanctions imposed. Happens to be Easter weekend and 6th is Bank Holiday. So that's another day to be deducted. He too has not yet received a penny.
Just as a matter of interest, how are people like Gary, expected to get to their new jobs if they have no income ?

Absolute disgrace.

Try here.

www.jobseekersanctionadvice.com

You have a month to appeal.

They are corrupt and bullying so & so's !!! They can keep their benefits and stick them where the sun doesn't shine to be honest ... I'm done with their cruel ways ... Spent 5 months penniless in my recent past !!! Hope they enjoy their karma for such cruelty though !!!

Granny, he can ask for more than 5 days if he needs evidence from a 3rd party.

I had 500 leaflets re sanctions delivered to me today.

Cheers Rude.

That just seems so inhuman and callous that it almost defies belief. Surely an appeal would be successful in such cases as highlighted above.

I'm shocked , disgusted and offended at the absolute cruelty and stupidity of the DWP ... Not going to appeal as it's cringeworthy and as I said earlier ... genuinely they can stick it where the sun doesn't shine !!! Truly glad to have got a job and to be able to say bye bye to the jobcentre even though I'm doing 16hours at minimum wage .. that will do me!!!

https://slutocracy.wordpress.com/20...or-sanction-targets-corruption-revealed/

This may be interesting, to some.

Nowt personal to you GaryFromWirral but why not try and claw back your £70?? I reckon you would win it back. You have said in previous posts that you live with your mum- I assume she has been feeding you for the period that you have no money, hence you have not starved. You are one of the lucky ones.

There are people with no support network atall, left penniless and destitute. Literally.

The appeal process is so slow and tortuous its untrue, I succeeded twice but knowing what I went through on those previous occasions, the third time I had to appeal I couldn't face it plus the rules had changed yet again which only made it worse.

The most frustrating part is even when you prove that untruths, downright lies, mistakes were made or incorrect information had been given by DWP and their representatives, there is absolutely no comeback on the staff involved, no comeback on the department and no compensation for actual financial loses you incurred (eg you have had to pay interest on money you borrowed because the DWP incorrectly withheld over £1000 from you over a period of months).

I'm literally sick of the DWP and their scummy ways ... they can keep their 70 quid and stick it where the sun doesn't shine ... I have spent/wasted 5 months of my life doing the whole ATOS medical assessment / benefit stoppage , mandatory reconsideration / appeal process with zero money for the 5month period recently and find the whole process stressful ,soul destroying and annoying to put it one way or another way ... I strongly dislike those parasitic scumbags and the only contact I want with them is to say bye !!

Congrats and good luck with the job Gary!

Personally , Ive seen a business opportunity . Im going into modelling with wax and pins . I think Im going to be overun with orders

Congrats Gaz,I`ll take ten venice .. Thanks

Nice one .. and good luck in your future too ! Silly question ..Are you going to be modelling ? or making models with wax and pins !!

I know a couple who are making wax candles and they are making a good profit.I might get them to show me how its done.
Hope this is what you mean lol.

P.C.S are on the case.

you working full time?my mate would love advise on couples who are seeking work?please share.