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Posted 27th Apr 2023
Hi.
I've been looking for a job for nearly a year and a half and I've not really gotten anywhere. I've had a few interviews but at a loss.
Had to leave my previous job because of office politics, which I was no way part of, and ended up being bullied out of my job.
Ever since, looked full-time for a job and other avenues to make money. Was about to make a business with my dad but found out if I do that I get 0 benefits from universal credit regardless if I was making any money or not.
No luck on my job interviews, I always get positive reviews once asked for feedback but there was someone else more appropriate for the job, etc.
I've worked with organisations that UC works with to help me found opportunities but they've been unhelpful in that regard.
I don't really get any advice when asked and always get good marks on everything I do, but never any results.
Are people in the same position? Am I alone? Am I missing resources that I'm unaware of?
I am applying for entry level jobs in every sector. I have an IT BTEC certificate for L2&L3, but I'm not finding anything.
I usually put in a good amount of time for job hunting and research, but I'm not having any luck regarding it.
After my interview with UC, that if I go and make money elsewhere I need to be registered as self employment, and then my benefits would be stopped - makes me think the system is completely against me.
I've been looking for a job for nearly a year and a half and I've not really gotten anywhere. I've had a few interviews but at a loss.
Had to leave my previous job because of office politics, which I was no way part of, and ended up being bullied out of my job.
Ever since, looked full-time for a job and other avenues to make money. Was about to make a business with my dad but found out if I do that I get 0 benefits from universal credit regardless if I was making any money or not.
No luck on my job interviews, I always get positive reviews once asked for feedback but there was someone else more appropriate for the job, etc.
I've worked with organisations that UC works with to help me found opportunities but they've been unhelpful in that regard.
I don't really get any advice when asked and always get good marks on everything I do, but never any results.
Are people in the same position? Am I alone? Am I missing resources that I'm unaware of?
I am applying for entry level jobs in every sector. I have an IT BTEC certificate for L2&L3, but I'm not finding anything.
I usually put in a good amount of time for job hunting and research, but I'm not having any luck regarding it.
After my interview with UC, that if I go and make money elsewhere I need to be registered as self employment, and then my benefits would be stopped - makes me think the system is completely against me.
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sorted by1: You're talking yourself out of a job. A very common mistake. Going into an interview, saying things you can't do, downplaying the things you can do, trying too hard to be overly honest and saying too much. Meanwhile the next candidate who may have the exact same skills as you comes in, talks about their experience, their time at uni, what they can do, when faced with a "can you do xyz" that he can't do, talks about how eager he is to learn to do that. See if you can arrange mock interviews (there are various agencies around that'll help on that as part of government schemes)
2: you've got too focused on a particular set of job titles that you're missing out on entire careers that would be open to you. Easy to get focused on a set of keywords, easy to ignore other keywords because you've made assumptions about the skills needed for them. In my industry we're always struggling for QA and our place even started training QAs because there are no experienced ones around (there's the assumption that it's a very technical job when really, most people moderately competent with computers and websites can pick it up). Try to get lists of jobs with minimal filters on, read some job descriptions that you've otherwise passed over in the past at look at the role and skills needed.
3: fake it till you make it. HR loves huge laundry lists of required skills (and programs in IT) . There's a knack to recognising which skills are core to the job (for example, it requires you to be fluent in German) , which you have a basic knowledge of and can improve and which you don't have any real idea of but are such a minor part of the job that you could just use google to help you if/when you need to do it.
4: you're unknowingly putting something in your CV or bringing up in conversation that is a massive red flag, sometimes companies will see a red flag and it'll be why they turned you down, often something they'll be reluctant to tell you about. Could be as simple as typos in your CV, could be more serious in that you've been a bit too honest in the reason for you leaving the previous job and they're worried about the prospect of drama if they hire you (don't tell them why you quit unless prompted and definitely don't tell them it was office politics, even if directly asked). If you were only at that place for a few months that could also be a negative and you'd have to consider dropping it from your CV. Get someone else to read your CV who you would trust to give you truths family and close friends wouldn't
Lastly, general tips for if you're at the stage where you want any job: try temping and contract work (great for your CV and also there's a prospect of a temp job becoming a full time one). Night work at supermarkets is also often hard for them to fill and is easy
- Make sure you tailor your CV and cover letter to every job you apply for - it's time consuming but it gets results.
- Take online courses to improve your skill set and knowledge base.
- If you're told after interview that others have been more suitable, ask for any pointers on what you could have done differently, is it a lack of experience/confidence etc? Feedback like this is invaluable in helping you to know where you can improve
- Volunteer in your spare time to gain experience.
This is a mistake in my part, obviously - didn't include it, but the majority of my jobs I tailor each one to the specification of the job.
I've looked into online courses but can't even afford living at the moment even with Universal Credit. I need a job. I can't rely on a course to be stuck in the same square.
This is the feedback I get when I ask for improvement. They don't tell me anything more than this when I try inquiring further.
I've volunteered and have it on my CV I still have plenty to learn of course but yeah. I can't really afford to even consider volunteering further.
Whether it is legally supposed to have any relevance or not in the decision making process, being realistic it is something any prospective employer will have in the forefront of their minds. When I worked in the public sector I once had a bullying boss who ordered me to do something that I felt was unreasonable and a waste of resources and I emailed her back querying the order and explaining my reasoning. I got a single line response "you will do what I tell you to do and won't question me" so I politely declined to carry out the instruction. Got suspended, ended up at an internal hearing which concluded with me effectively getting paid off to leave.
At subsequent job interviews it was clear that other public sector employers saw me as a potential trouble-maker, whereas private sector companies were impressed at how I'd stood up for myself/risked my entire career on a matter of principle and they realised I'd be an asset to their business (which involved dealing with the public sector, often in scenarios of disagreement etc.).
So I think you need to recognise that your recent job history will, rightly or wrongly, deter some potential employers (but they'll never say it is because of that), but if you learn to present it in the right manner others could see it as a positive.
Saying all that I've run my own business now for 6 years and both the thought of ever returning to work for someone else, or having someone else work for me, makes me shudder !.
In my CV it is addressed as the time period I had spent there with my job duties, absolutely nothing about my leave.
I had a request made where someone wanted to move their computer in front of a shutter door - with no power ports anywhere in sight and no ethernet ports for the best connection (it was policy to have ethernet only computers in the workplace.) The person who requested it couldn't understand you needed electricity to run the computer and why having their computer at a shutter door was such a hazard.
A director directly came to me and made the situation worse and piled a lot more workload on me that wasn't even for the IT department, so had my main responsibilities, plus more (since nobody followed protocol so the IT department had to fix other department's work as well), and then added work on top of that from this director. I left because of the added stress.
Despite that experience, I have never openly shared what had happened to anyone (apart from at this point of time, on a public forum... Which is hilarious thinking about it but certainly not in an interview. I've maintained professionalism in my opinion.
Both my children work at McDonald's whilst at college/uni and both got jobs easily including my son with no prior experience not even work experience at school due to covid.
They also pay very generously to under 21s, my sons just turned 18 and getting £3.10 over millnimum wage plus a free meal each day ( wouldn't advise eating it every day though )
They pay my 20 year old daughter over £11 per hour which is more than most employers, due to increasing costs many enployers have just put staff on minimum wage due to the big 9.7% minimum wage increase (edited)
thanks for your suggestion also, I'm tagging you since this reply applies to you. Thanks both
Try this civilservicejobs.service.gov.uk/csr…cgi
You never know,you may actually like working for them and want to work your way up,I know a couple guys that have done that and they are living very nicely.
Tailor my CV for the majority of them and just end up not getting a response to them or anything so it's pretty heartbreaking.
thanks
On a less self pitying note, do you put your old job on your CV?
They may be giving you bad references spitefully in which case you need to remove them - no experience is better than bad references.
Noone is going to give you a straight answer about what's going wrong because noone wants the aggro. Your interviewers won't admit anything and neither will your old company. They will fob you off with placations because they don't want you coming back and there's no value in it.
Get a friend to pose as someone wanting to hire you and to call your old company to request a reference and see if there is an issue. (edited)
Or maybe train up as an HGV driver…that pays well and there’s a shortage of them ATM. (edited)
Complain about a lack of workers, yet refuse to (re)train or take individuals with transferable skills.
Do you have any IT experience? If not, have you thought about doing some voluntary IT work for local charities so you can put this on your CV?
As an aside, I'm sure there was a recent thread on here regarding IT jobs which had a lot of useful info in it - maybe worth doing a search.
I have IT experience. Worked as an IT 1st line support member, but I was the only one and maintained our entire service desk inquiries and system, so I also consider myself a service desk team leader.
I have worked with charities and helped other people in their projects. I have my experiences on my CV where appropriate.
I admit I hadn't noticed/searched regarding similar threads. Was very upset when I posted this (was when I found out I wouldn't get support from UC if I started my own business) so didn't really look into things.
Thanks for the advice/feedback Highly appreciated.
Actually you could seriously consider self employment. There is a lot of help out there in terms of grants etc but mainly you can claim Working Tax Credit. I realise that total monies wouldn't match UC but it would do a hell of good for your self esteem etc. My advice would be to keep your earnings at a very modest level, certainly below Income Tax personal allowance threshold if you know what I mean.
Rather than me going on, explore self employment opportunities with UC people as to what help is available in your area. (edited)
Appreciate your insight to being self employed. Problem being is the business we're at is pretty good, it would take quite a while to start up and cannot afford the risk of any universal credit will go. I've been told personally that if I went into self employment that any benefits would stop and if I need help I can get grants, but grants are not long-term if the business either fails, especially when it's difficult to even live right now.
It's an avenue to investigate further, but I don't see it happening unfortunately.
Are you employing the STAR method in interviews? (look this up).
With job adverts if you have a name, follow up your application, so your application is not lost and the recruiter remembers you.
Apply to recruitment agencies again follow up recruiters.
Also consider doing another Level 3 course, in tech like Cyber Security for example or a boot camp in tech. Go for the government funded ones, there are loads. There are options to study in the evenings or full time. The national career service can help you with this. These courses are often linked to employers.
Good Luck.
Let us know how you get on. (edited)
Yep, been advised about the STAR method.
I'll update once I've found something, highly appreciate the advice
Been looking into getting into different careers but I can hardly support myself at this moment of time, and don't see myself 0being able to do that for even a year.
learn.microsoft.com/en-…es/
also i wouldn't wait for job adverts to pop up, go find managed service providers near you, these tend to have high recruitment drives in IT sector and applying to them directly rather than going via recruiting agencies already puts you at the top of the list cos then they dont have to pay any finders fees.
Yeah I don't wait for job adverts to show up. I look every day and the list has new things aside from what you've already applied for. I'm not waiting for the jobs to come to me haha.
Yeah I've had some "opportunities" with service providers, however when I've gone through with it they've blown me off and been a waste of time. Literally had a few cancel around 2 appointments/interviews and had a hiatus of things.
Most jobs outside of office work will expect you to work weekends, unsociable hours etc.
Where I am there's loads of jobs in care, nhs, hotels etc.
Willing to work anytime - contract, part time, full time, weekends, weekdays, night shifts, day shifts, etc.
Employers are risk averse and you state you were bullied out of your previous job. Regardless of who was at fault or who was to blame this cries out that you are a problem employee. There are a multitude of ways an employee has to counteract a bullying culture and an employer will question why it was you that left.
Secondly, you are now out of work for too long. There is a long list of well qualified employees with pristine records looking employment so you need to break the chain on both points and get employed. It is always easier to find work when already in a job.
My advice - take any work you can get, work hard and get at least 6-month experience under your belt. Make friends and create good references. This is what will get you your next job.
I don't know what age range you fit into but most employers think gen z are useless and have no work ethic but at the same time they are generally desperate for employees due to loss of foreign nationals post Brex.. If you can show you can work hard you will find employment.
Another point to note is that most larger multinationals hire based on equity. This is a fact although I do not know the legality of positive discrimination but having asked my Union official who said there's not much can be done about it. This can be used to your advantage as companies actively want to employ LGBTQ employees. This is supposed to be confidential on monitoring forms but it is not. There is nothing stopping you from belonging to a minority group for the purposes of getting a job. I know various times this has worked for people.
This isn't meant in any way to be criticism, just some advice as well paid jobs are few and far between.
It is also worth reviewing whether an apprenticeship would suit you. Many of these are government subsidised and although most are garbage from an upskilling pov i.e. production operator apprenticeships, many do pay the living wage.
Also worth keeping in mind emigrating. The UK has went backwards in the past 10 years both in relation to opportunity and civil freedoms. If you don't have any ties, this could be an attractive option. (edited)
I am also assuming you also have someone suitable to help with practising interviews. I do not know your neighbourhood but my local library system has a programme where people help job applicants with CV writing and interviewing.
Best wishes. (edited)
Yeah that organisation that works with my job centre/UC has helped me get practised interviews, they say my performance is very good with very little flaw, and they've given me the negatives to help of course - and over time been able to help.
Understandably I get more nervous when I actually have interviews but that would come down to overall practice, though I do think I score at least decently in my interviews when I do have them.
Once again, thanks pal
There is the problem right there, no urgency and not fussed is how it will appear!
Got plenty of advice and input on my CV and changes I've made hasn't shown any change, unfortunately.
Thanks for the good luck wishes
if you left a job without another and haven't had another job in so long it's not going to be easy, so try and get the first suitable job you can, and stick in for a few months but keep looking for other work as many employers will wonder what's wrong with someone who can't get a job in so long, especially after walking out on the last one. unless desperate and you are one of the few candidates with relevant skills they may not want to take a risk. if you are still young with little skills and experience it may make things harder. potentially looking at volunteering at big organisations like charities may help as one the foot is in the door you may see new vacancies advertised internally first that you may get. in big employers like that, it's common for people to do that, and then jump around various short term internal contracts for a while before something more permanent comes along. you also meet staff there who can give advise on how to get those jobs and stick in
NO that is the system protecting the taxpayer from paying benefits to somebody who is earning X amount while being self-employed. The welfare was meant to act as a safety net and not a way of life as it has become for millions of people and for SOME they have no intention of changing. With all due respect they get enough to live on and everything for free so working a 40 hour week for an extra £50 really is pointless.
You have a L3 BTEC in IT, depending on what units you studied and the grades you got this needs to be your main focus for employment, education or training UNLESS you want to do something totally different. Cyber security is the biggest focus at the minute. University close by you could apply to or the OU run any courses? I know a few people who have done IT at degree level remotely and of course this was spurred on by COVID.
REMEMBER each year that passes the total number of people with your highest qualification increases and you become less employable as a result. The experience you have of working with the latest software is all so a factor, the longer you are out of the circle the harder it is to get back in.
At this point any employer is going to look at your age (I assume you are under 25), see an 18 month stint of benefits and think, no!
As said in my OP, I've been told by my work coach that if I set up a business, my benefits from universal credit stop regardless if the supposed business is getting money or not. I understand that there are safety measures to rectify if I was getting the money.
Fair, but then it's just an infinite cycle of unemployment. This does nothing to fix the problem.
Thanks
I maintained our ticket support system. Actually maintained it. I was the administrator who made sure we met our SLAs and chased up problems because unfortunately the ticket creators wouldn't reply to me back with information needed.
Redirected it to my superiors if they were 3rd line issues.
I lead projects on behalf of the IT team regarding updates to our MIS system, for example building up a delivery system, because before I joined the company had done it so astonishingly terrible that it caused losses (in cost) and was very complicated. (this was not the only project I was on, was apart of 3 others)
I installed computer hardware and software, updated all machines, installed printers, monitors, laptops, maintained IT inventory.
The IT staff before I joined didn't keep information on our inventory, so I had to do an asset check and a history check for all tech devices and record them for the company's history.
I also corrected many mistakes in other departments and did 2-3 hours overtime because the directors blamed the IT department for them. So safe to say I have a teeny-tiny bit of estimating and goods-in work thrown in there too.
That's off the top of my head, I'm sure there's more just can't think of everything at the moment. (edited)
Maybe something else you can do on a pc for yourself. Maybe sell stuff you pick up in sales or at carboot. Generate some income while you sort yourself out.
Add in that anything not at least a quid above NMW means it costs her to work because of childcare so starting at the bottom again isn't an option, even if someone would hire a junior in their 40s