the frustrations of job hunting

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my_purple_skys
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the frustrations of job hunting

Post by my_purple_skys » Wed Jun 03, 2009 9:11 pm

so due to certain circumstances a few months ago i ended up living back with my mum. now wheras most of my friends moved away to uni i decided to stay at home but havin graduated over a year ago now and itchin for adventures iv made the decision to leave and look for a job in york. iv resigned myself to the fact ill be living on the outskirts of the city, even somewhere like selby but i have a lot of friends up there so its all good. my financial estimates and talking to ppl show i need to have about £1000 after tax per month to pay rent, bills, run my car, have some savings and money to live. so im lookin for a salaried job of around 14000 per annum. my degree is in art and i have vast retail experience most of it as a supervisor but ideally id like to get out of retail. iv spent most of every day trauling the net but every job seems to be cold callin/telephone sales or minimum wage jobs that would mean workin about 60 hours a week to pay my bills. i need advice on where else to look for jobs. obviously going and handing out CV's to shops is no use as i want to get out of retail plus these jobs are quite poorly paid. how did u full timers find the jobs your in, plus any tips on relocating would be helpfull. please help as at 22 im getting really frustraited with drawing blanks and still living at home. any hints/tips. advice accepted
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Re: the frustrations of job hunting

Post by Princess Pea » Wed Jun 03, 2009 9:24 pm

I'm job hunting at the mo to! So I totally know your pain, it's a hard time to be looking for any kind of work. I'm renting as well so pretty scarey!!

I found a great site called 'Indeed' - not sure if I'm allowed to put in a link? but it basically lists job vacancies from 'all' (i assume a lot but maybe not ALL) job websites. The idea is rather than going through loads of different websites you should be able to find them in one place :P

I'm looking for admin and I've found loads!! just loads of other people have found them to! :roll:

Anyhoo I do have a list of other websites I use, so if I can add links? I'll pop them up (if not I can PM you)

Oooo and It might be worth you joining a job agency to - I've joined 2 so far and they are on the look out for jobs aswell (just means someone else is helping you out :D ). Agencies will often have 'contacts' so you might find out about jobs not yet advertised.

Hope that helps? atleast you're not alone eh? :)
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Re: the frustrations of job hunting

Post by coma_dream » Wed Jun 03, 2009 9:29 pm

I'm also job hunting... and not having much luck. :(

I second the agencies. Just apply with them all, it can't help. Also if you do well temping, the company might take you on full time. :D

Also ask friends, quite often its who you know.

I worked as a helpdesk operator for a while, and this is paid pretty well. I worked for the MOD and was getting £15,000 and that was about 3-4 years ago. :D Also then you can train (on the job or via collage) while you work, ie NVQ in customer sservice etc.

Hope this helps a little, and good luck sweets.
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Re: the frustrations of job hunting

Post by iamtheparty » Wed Jun 03, 2009 9:50 pm

The NHS website always had stacks of jobs. Lots of them you need certain qualifications for but there have also been plenty of desk-jobs every time I've looked. Also, local council website are a pretty good resource, and I think it gets somewhat overlooked. That's where I'd start if I were looking for a job right now.
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Re: the frustrations of job hunting

Post by Miss Liberty » Thu Jun 04, 2009 2:51 pm

maybe check out www.linkedin.com

It's a networking site for professionals. You build a professional profile, and connect to other coworkers past and present, who can write you recommendations. Its a great way to network and have potential employers view your profile. I'm not sure if its very active in the UK, but I can't imagine why it wouldn't be. I work as an asst. career advisor, and everyone here preaches the value of linkedin daily.

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Re: the frustrations of job hunting

Post by MissAnthropik » Thu Jun 04, 2009 5:17 pm

yes you can add links :)

My sister works for the nhs in admin, my friend works for the council in admin. You can either apply for a job you have seen advertised, or try to get on the bank/temp lists they have, which can lead into more jobs. My sister is a band 4 on the NHS which pays about what you are after as a minimum, and she only has GCSEs as her highest qualifications.

My sister used to work in hotel admin, again, just look in local papers and stuff and see what comes up. I don't think she got paid quite as much for that as she does now.

You can get TA jobs in school if you are interested in that sort of thing, or care work, but with care you would almost certainly have to work shifts
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Re: the frustrations of job hunting

Post by Princess Pea » Fri Jun 05, 2009 11:34 am

Okey doke you can find indeed at www.indeed.co.uk and I also have my CV on www.reed.co.uk which seems to advertise all sorts of jobs :D

The job centre plus website can be good to (but navigating it can be a pain) www.jobcentreplus.gov.uk

www.monster.co.uk has a huge database of jobs and you can pop your CV on there, I personally don't like using the site much as it always has annoying pop-ups! but it's worth a go :)

I've been applying to work in the NHS as there do seem to loads of jobs, but I haven't heard back from any :( I have heard that loads of people are applying there tho, so makes sense, but still a little disheartening - just gotta keep at it I guess :roll:

Good luck with your hunt! :D
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Re: the frustrations of job hunting

Post by sashyy » Fri Jun 05, 2009 11:37 am

Im job hunting as well now,
Just finished college and dont start uni till october :(!
Last summer I manged to get a job in a call center but they have all gone bust round this area now!
Good luck eveyrone
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sashyy
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Re: the frustrations of job hunting

Post by sashyy » Fri Jun 05, 2009 11:47 am

I ahve to add one things that frustrates me,
Places require you to have experaince but where are you meant to start to get experaince if every job requires it! :evil:

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Re: the frustrations of job hunting

Post by vivid » Sun Jun 07, 2009 8:08 pm

I feel your pain!

Due to various circumstances I left a well paid permanent job in Leeds to move in with my boyfriend in Burton on Trent, and since then its been almost impossible to find a new job. I've applied for loads with the NHS and either not got past the application stage, or the vacancy has closed earlier than the advertised closing date - which seems completely unfair to me. I've applied for jobs advertised on the jobcentre website only to be told the vacancy has already closed (and I'm getting so paranoid now, I can tell you...) and been in to see an agency who told me it wasn't even worth registering with them right now as they have nothing in admin, even basic data entry. The only glimmer of hope I've had is I applied to actually work for Jobcentre Plus, which I've done before... I passed the selection tests, and the interview... now I'm on a waiting list while they do the Disclosure checks (which I know will be fine, lol). So I just have to sit tight and keep my fingers crossed...

In the mean time I have to rely on my boyfriend to 'keep' me, and having been raised to be independent that really doesnt sit well with me. Of course, I'm still on the look out for more things to apply for, but like you the only thing there seems to be available is sales or marketing, and its really getting me down. Its so hard to keep positive, I know =/

All I can really add is that the full time, permanent jobs do take a while to get anywhere - my last job took almost 4 months from the initial application to being told I'd been successful and given a start date, so being open minded to temp jobs while youre still looking is a must. Good luck!
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Re: the frustrations of job hunting

Post by MissAnthropik » Sun Jun 07, 2009 8:20 pm

vivid - if NHS jobs are closing before the closing date I would kick up a fuss, very anti-equal-opportunities, they are not allowed to do that. No job should, but NHS should stand up to rigorous scrutiny
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Re: the frustrations of job hunting

Post by halocaustic » Mon Jun 08, 2009 12:31 pm

Sometimes the NHS close jobs to advertise internally. They have to have the go-ahead of many bigwigs to do it though so often they advertise normally and then when the powerrs that be ok them advertise internally, they close the vacancy and make it internal. Often in big organisations they'll already have someone practically lined up for the job unless its an entry level job.

It's utter crap that they can do this though...I got stung with it once when I applied to work in a different hospital. I'm at F grade level in nursing (ie charge nurse) and applied to move to a Unit Sister in Infectious Diseases as a secondment to cover maternity leave. I had extensive management experience, 4 years experience at senior level and had previous ID experience. However the job went to an E grade nurse who was friends with the ward manager....who then went on to make an arse of the job completely.

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Re: the frustrations of job hunting

Post by MrsEss » Mon Jun 08, 2009 12:47 pm

is it just me or does £14k seem like a pittance for living in York??

I earn a decent amount for what i do (i'm on about £10an hour) but i didn't start on that, i started on £10k, with a small child to feed, rent to pay & the rest of it...i think it was about £720 after tax a month...how we managed i'll never know considering rent was £300 & council tax was about £70 (this was 4 years ago) we got no help in paying the rent n stuff. i still work for the same company now, but am no longer taking calls...i progressed relatively quickly while the company was doing really well about 2 years ago & thankfully, the amount that i earn means my husband stays at home to look after our son & we manage comfortably with what i earn....with a little topping up from working tax credit.

what i'm trying to say is - it isn't easy to start off with, but a buget helps (i don't have one, i can't stick to them), my best friend lives alone, earns about £12500 a year & her rent is more than mine, she has 2 dogs - but she copes. she has no internet, landline, sky etc but has a nice kept house, friends many, many DVD's & a mother who ocasionally fills her fridge.
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Re: the frustrations of job hunting

Post by Dystopatica » Mon Jun 08, 2009 12:57 pm

I second the suggestion for looking at the local authority temp register, most councils will run their own internal temp agency and they usually open it for registrations quarterly. The largest business requirement will be in admin, and dependant on the size of the authority and the scale of the post you can be on roughly 13-18k. Temp staff are not entitled to holiday pay but they do get an additional increment on their wages to compensate for this which usually bumps your hourly rate up by about a quid.

Temp contracts also have the bonus of allowing you to apply for internally advertised council jobs, and also if you stay in the post for longer than 12 months you qualify for redeployment rights. This means if your assignment ends the council is required to guarantee you an interview for any available relevant posts.

I'm working permanently for the local authority and got in via the normal interview process but there are girls in my office that started out as temps and have been taken on as perm after a few months. My boyfriend has also secured a council contract after 5 months as an internal temp, so it's definitely do-able.
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Re: the frustrations of job hunting

Post by Sakura » Mon Jun 08, 2009 1:25 pm

I've found the despite showing willingness to work whilst studying I have been turned away from basic clerical and admin type jobs because of lack of office experience. Really does not seem to matter that I had been studying for 3 years to them but hey. I've been forced into temping which is frankly pretty soul sucking but lots of good office experience and the pay hasn't been too bad, much better than i would have got in retail anyway. It would be worth finding out which temping agency in york hold teh contracts for NHS temps and PCT temps as you're likely to get a steady stream of assignments as there are always gaps to be filled within the NHS and PCT.

York's a lovely place, good choice!

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Re: the frustrations of job hunting

Post by ScarletLady » Mon Jun 08, 2009 2:27 pm

I'd definitely recommend Job agencies as well - Blue Arrow are great, both times i've registered with them they've found me permanent work within a cuople of weeks - I recommend them to everyone! :lol:

Good luck hon - I know it's hard - my OH was out of work for 6 months and only started his new job last week so i've had to cover everything on our flat in central london since christmas. But without Blue Arrow I wouldn't have had work either. Keep at it - the right job will come along :)
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sashyy
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Re: the frustrations of job hunting

Post by sashyy » Mon Jun 08, 2009 2:34 pm

Got my CRB back this morning so I have just registered with a teaching assistant temp agenices and they said I should be ready for working next week!

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