11/02/11

Jobs I have applied for today:

• Speculative letter to connexions
• Market Researcher, jobisjob
• Mail order assistant, directgov
• Care worker, totaljobs
• Parcel sorter, directgov

I spent a long time applying for that Market Researcher job. My cover letter was frankly amazing. I wrote to connexions, I know their funding has been cut but I would really like to work helping people to find jobs, especially the neglected young people of this country. I also decided to search for postal services on directgov, and applied for those mail assistant and parcel sorter jobs, I'm hoping my experience in art handling/archiving in museum/gallery will be enough experience.

Response: I didn't get the mail order assistant job. They said my CV was of interest but unfortunately they recieved a lot of applications and there were people with more relevant experience.

Lying on your CV

Jobs I have applied for today: 

• Care worker, gumtree
• Artist in residence, univeristy of arts website
• Home keeper, directgov
• Domestic cleaner, jobisjob
• Room attendant, directgov
• Hospital porter, nhs

I've come to my mum's house to use her internet, and I am trying to wack out as many applications as I can but I'm finding it harder to even see jobs I want to apply for now, I feel like I've exhausted most of the ones I want to do so I'm having to branch out into areas I don't exactly have experience in. This is not my first time applying for cleaner jobs but I decided to up my chances of hearing back by altering my CV...

So I lied about having a cleaner job, well, I technically bended the truth a little. But how hard can it be? I've done cleaning in ALL of my catering roles!! I have been trained in food hygiene, cleaning, and safe heavy lifting, and done all sorts of cleaning tasks from cleaning floors to toilets. All I really did was add a job title I didn't have. Is it wrong if I have the skills and experience without the title that they scan for when looking at your CV?

I bet they have thousands of applicants and I'm starting to think I might be overqualified. Should I take my degree off my applications? Is it really a sin of omission... Or just one of the things we do for money.

I have also exagerrated language skills I have such as saying I speak basic French, when I did it at GCSE 8 years ago and remember a few words. Saying I speak basic Slovak when I haven't used it since I got back in November and pretty much never expect or want to again.

Job Centre: you HAVE to apply for these or we'll cut you off

Jobs I applied for today: 

• Receptionist, jobcentre
• Marketing Assistant, jobcentre
• Warehouse packer, directgov

The top 2 jobs were ones that the jobcentre gave me. I only realised today that they're giving me 2 every time that I have to apply for or I won't get benefits anymore. What's stupid is that they didn't even inform me of that in previous weeks. I just naively thought they were trying to help me (luckily I applied for them all anyway, because I am actually desperate)

When I was in the Housing benefit office, I remember hearing some woman moaning that they cut her off because she didnt apply for "one job", now I know what she meant.

It's worrying though isn't it. What happens when people who are employed in high paid jobs (for example in the public sector) face unemployment due to being made redundant (laid off), do they have to apply for any old minimum wage job that the job centre give them? Do people have the right to choose the job they want to do?

Personally, I have experience in waitressing, so the job centre have told me I must apply for jobs in that. Luckily I swayed them into generalising it as customer service instead, because I just don't feel confident or happy as a waitress any more. Will it come down to people being handed a job, and told they start on Monday or they won't get benefits. I won't be surprised if it does. But it just makes one's degree even more pointless.

Closing of public libraries

Jobs applied for:

• Care worker, directgov

I'm having trouble applying for jobs at the moment because our internet has gone down and they're not going to sort it out until the end of March! I'm having to use the local library (where I can get a maximum of 2 hours per day for free) I spend most of that time just searching for jobs I can apply for. It is good that the library is available for people like me though, I heard a rumour that the government are going to close loads of public libraries! The idiots. I swear they want our country to become an uneducated country with high unemployment....why? Don't they recognise that libraries are amazing for a number of reasons, including helping people to apply for jobs! Plus there's of all those librarians whose job will be lost.
Library cuts- Guardian Website

Not even a rejection!

 Jobs applied for:

• Cleaner, directgov
• Housekeeper, directgov

What I hate most about applying for jobs, is not hearing back at all. I can send tonnes of applications, and not even a rejection. Is it me? I just wonder if they even read them! I guess they don't have the time, I can have a realistic view, it's just that I spend so much time individually writing each application because I CAN do the bloody job!

I wouldn't mind being a cleaner, I figure that I could work independently without interacting with the public!! I actually enjoy cleaning, and love things to be clean. In my last job I was a bit OCD, everytime someone put sugar in their tea, I was there wiping up the tea rings. My colleague said to me one day "you really like this job, don't you"- I felt like a bit of a loser, and sheepishly hung my head with an  "I just like things to be clean."

I have so much cleaning experience, why won't they hire me!?

Telephone Interview

 Jobs I applied for:

• Painter, artsjobs
• Census Collector (again)

Last time I applied for the census collector job I didnt do the tests on time, so I did it again with another Email address! I really think I could do the job and it pays £10 an hour, yes please.

I put loads of effort into this painter application, but the problem is, I don't have any good examples of my paintings, I'm so stupid. I never take pictures of them. All of my paintings from A-level got "lost" by my sixth form :( and my others have been lost or damaged at my mum's house. I don't even have a decent camera to take pictures of my work with. I really need to sort this out if I want to be an artist, I know. I plan on doing some more paintings soon, once I've moved into my flat and sorted out my studio properly.

Response: I had a telephone interview for the census collector job. It went terribly. I messed up by losing my ability to speak, I couldn't get out the word "approachable" and said things like "approachment"... Then I was put off, so my answers were short, but they only asked a few questions (I thought they would ask more so didn't say enough!) And then I read out an answer I had prepared, and it was so obvious. She said "I've recorded your answers and I'll pass them on..." I don't think I'll be getting it. I got really down and upset at myself today because it was technically easy and I still messed it up because of nerves. I knew that I could do the job and had the experience, but I didn't sell myself enough.

27/01/11

• Customer Adviser, gumtree 
• Support worker, gumtree

I put a lot of effort into the support worker one, as you know, I'd really like to help young people to find work. 

Response: I got an interview for this support worker job- I applied because I wanted to work with young people helping them to find employment, but it turned out to be more of a social worker position. I don't know very much about social working and found the questions really difficult. For example: "If you went to a house and a nine year old boy told you he was hungry because his mum didn't give him breakfast, or dinner the day before. What would you do?" My first instinct; buy him some breakfast! But I couldn't think of what to say. I answered, "I'd report it to a manager. I would hope to receive training about what to do in this kind of situation." They said they'd call. They haven't. I don't think I wanted the job anyway.