A
female
age
30-35,
*ilPixie
writes:This probably isn't the right place to ask as this isn't relationship related at all, but I thought maybe some of you could give me some advice.I finished college in July and moved in with my boyfriend over a month ago. The whole time while I was at college I was unable to find a job because everywhere I looked only wanted people who could work full-time. Now that I live with my boyfriend I've been trying to find a job everywhere, but I've not even got any replies from anyone. Couple of days ago I went into town to look for a job and only managed to get one CV handed! Since I moved here, I've gone into town to look around for a job at least twice a week and look online daily but I just don't seem to have any luck. I'm getting really bored of being stuck inside all day, everyday with nothing to do, I'm losing my motivation to do anything. We're also really tight on money because my boyfriend has to pay for both of us for everything. I applied for jobseekers allowance over the weekend and I've got an interview tomorrow so I hope that it all gets sorted out fast so that we can atcually have a bit more money. I just hate that I have to rely on something like this rather than earning my own money... Sorry about this being so long, I just hope that someone can help...
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female
reader, LilPixie +, writes (19 November 2010):
LilPixie is verified as being by the original poster of the question I got a call from the nursery yesterday, I can start on my apprenticeship on monday :)
A
female
reader, LilPixie +, writes (9 November 2010):
LilPixie is verified as being by the original poster of the questionJust to let you guys know, I'm pretty sure that I've got a job... well apprenticeship. I had my interview on friday, was asked to come in for a trial day today which went really well and they want me to come in as a trial for the rest of the week.
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A
female
reader, anonymous, writes (12 October 2010): I moved back to England 3 weeks ago after living abroad for 7 years. I have not one bit of experience in here but i was determined to get a job. I found a place to live in my first week on moving here and the next day i moved into my new place i was out on foot handing out CV's. Within the first week i got called back for a interview for 3 jobs. I started work today and i love it. I'm working as a retail sales assistant. when i was looking round all the places where telling me they needed staff for part-time as where coming up to Christmas. I guess i put it down to pure determination, if you want something that bad you will do anything you can to get it. don't give up! I would advise you to go on foot,ask for the manager at whatever shop you go to so you hand your CV to them. DO NOT hand it to anyone else because your CV could just end up getting thrown away or there could be a position available but you won't get it because you spoke to the wrong person! Also by doing that you already have your foot in the door! Wish you all the Luck:)
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A
male
reader, LazyGuy  +, writes (12 October 2010):
 What is it YOU want to do. What is it you CAN do. What is it people WANT you to do.
The first is most important, although you are still young enough to be able to mess around for a while. But if you are not happy with a job then it will be hard to be motivated for it, and with the economy in the UK down the drain, why should anyone hire a non-motivated candidate. You don't want to work in a clothes store. I can imagine, but don't you think that shows during a job interview?
What did your education teach you. Sounds like nothing much but surely it was more then just a waste of time... Are there things you did as a volunteer or as a hobby that could be job related. Think the girls that work in clothes stores. Safe bet they like fashion. Who is going to hire a child carer who never cared for children?
And finally, the most practical. Were are the jobs. Once you have a job, no matter how unrelated to your chosen career, at least you are showing (hopefully) that you can hold down a job. It ain't easy even if motivated after over a decade of school. No holiday's, no skipping days, no talking back to the teacher etc etc. In a down economy, it might be wise to set your goal not yet for what you want to do, but what you can get. And then move on from there.
As a final bit of advice. Most people get the good jobs NOT through official channels but through their network of friends and family. The fast majority of jobs are never advertised and those that are tend to be the ones that nobody wants or require hard to fill qualifications. First thing I do when hiring is ask "does anybody know anyone"? Far simpler as I get a reference from somebody I know I can trust. Best thing you can get as an employer.
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A
female
reader, LilPixie +, writes (12 October 2010):
LilPixie is verified as being by the original poster of the questionI don't actually want to work in a clothes shop, the reason why I've been to all of them is because I know a lot of girls from college who work in clothes shops and none of them seemed to have a problem getting a job there. What I'm really interested in doing is child care, I just didn't realise until a couple of months ago, otherwise I would have done that at college.
I'd be happy if I could get a job in a supermarket - at least I wouldn't be sitting down all day, problem is that none of ours are recruiting.
I've been to some of the jewellery shops around the area as well, which is something that I'm not interested in at all, but haven't heard from any of them either.
Thanks for the link for the apprenticeship website, but I'm already signed up with them. I've already been to connexions as well but they actually weren't any help, all they did was print out a list of places that are looking for people - except I'd already been to all of them. I will check out the other link that you have sent though.
I'm gonna look into volunteer work so that I at least have something to do until I can find a proper job.
I'll let you guys know if I find anything over the next few weeks.
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A
female
reader, madeinbelfast +, writes (12 October 2010):
 You have had a big change to your life - moving is stressful, not having a job adds to that, gettin used to being a couple in the same address can also be a large change to adapt too - this will come across in your approach to people while job searching. Try not to worry about getting jobseekers as though dependant on others. You are entitled to that and while searching it will help for food and other emergencies.. How about joining a local gym, get yourself a hobby ?! You don't need to spend all your time indoors, that will give you too much time to dwell on the negatives.. Build your self confidence and motivation, then hit the shops with your cv - but don't take their lack of enthusiasm as a negative.. Alot of companies have to follow a certain procedure. The dole will take your cv and help you on your job search. Enjoy the time off, rather than allowing it to become added stress.. Join a library too, getting out keeps the mind active .. Good luck..
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A
female
reader, k_c100 +, writes (12 October 2010):
 Thats still not enough - there are bars, restaurants, shops, temp workers......you are just looking at the things you want to do i.e. clothes shops. If you need money then you will have to take any job you can find, regardless of whether it is something you want to do or not.
Emailing nurseries is never going to work either. Companies get dozens of emails each day from people wanting jobs, it is too hard to read through them all. And in an industry like childcare where they are busy all day every day, they are not likely to be sat around looking at their computers. They are far likely to be more responsive to a phone call, or even dropping in one day in person. Or a CV and cover letter in the post is better than an email.
This website might be of some use http://www.apprenticeships.org.uk/Types-of-Apprenticeships/Health-Public-Services-and-Care/Childrens-Care-Learning-and-Development.aspx
Connexions www.connexions-direct.com is also a good place to go if you are 19 or under, if you are older then www.careersadvice.direct.gov.uk. There are advisors there that can help you to get an apprenticeship or get into work, they are specifically designed to help young people. But YOU need to make the effort yourself to make an appointment and go and see them, they will only help people that want to be helped.
As I said before, you are too narrow in your search and need to lower your standards. There are plenty of jobs out there, you just need to drop this idea of working in a clothes shop and face facts that a supermarket or bar might have to do for now.
With your qualifications, have you not thought about working in a theatre? There must be plenty of them in your area, or at least a few of them. Again, speculative CV applications can often prove useful. Even if there are no jobs advertised online, and you ask a person in there and they say no - often the person you speak to is not the right person who deals with HR so they just say 'no' because it is easier. So if you send a CV and cover letter in the post, just addressed to the manager then this is a better idea than walking in yourself, or emailing. I have got most of my part time jobs just through randomly sending my CV to a shop/restaurant/bar etc and then they have contacted me saying 'are you still looking for a job? Something has come up now and we would like to interview you'.
And make sure you remember all the public sector jobs that are out there - like the NHS, Police, Fire Service, local councils, local government departments e.g. DWP (department for work and pensions etc, all have massive local offices). There are plenty of admin jobs in these organisations you could do, that pay reasonably well and you dont need qualifications. Take the NHS as an example, they have filing clerk positions, receptionists, admin assistants, secretarial assitants etc. These are all basic, no qualifications sort of jobs. Banks also take on plenty of staff, just their main desk workers for example. My friend started out in this sort of role (cash desk) aged 16 with only her GCSE's and now she is a mortgage advisor at HSBC.
So stop being so defeatist about the whole situation, there are thousands of jobs out there but you have to be willing to do them. Yes the applications online take forever, and some at the end just tell you that you are not suitable. Yes it is annoying and frustrating, but having no money is worse. So lower your standards, accept you might have to do a job you dont want for a little while until you find something else, and see a careers advisor about your apprenticship. You can get a job, and I'm sure you can have one in the next month or 2. It just depends on how much you are willing to do, and how much you are willing to change.
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A
female
reader, LilPixie +, writes (12 October 2010):
LilPixie is verified as being by the original poster of the questionThanks for the replies so far :)
I've been to all the clothes stores in the area, but they've all either said they've already hired for christmas or don't have any jobs available.
I have signed up to several websites and also to some stores... Take the body shop for example, I signed up for job alerts about a month ago and when I went into the store a couple of days ago they told me they've already hired everyone although I never got an email saying that they are looking even though when you go into the shop all they say is to look online - yeah, very helpful.
I'd love to work with children and been looking into an Apprenticeship, but there aren't many around in this area. I've even emailed about a dozen nurseries to ask if they do apprenticeships or if I could do some volunteer work there but haven't got a reply from any of them yet.
There was one job that I applied for online, and when I was done with answering all the questions, they sent me a message saying that I'm not suitable for the position because I don't have any work experience yet.
I really wish I'd made different choices regarding the subjects I chose for my GCSE's and also for college. I did drama and dance at school and then took Performing Arts at college which has left me nowhere, just at the time I didn't know what I wanted to do...
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A
female
reader, k_c100 +, writes (12 October 2010):
As much as it is difficult to find a job right now, there are still plenty of jobs out there. Where are you looking for a job? Have you tried every single available option?
1. Sign up with ALL the local recruitment agencies in your area, especially the temp agencies as lots of part-time and short contract work comes up through there.
2. Register for job alerts on ALL the job websites, like Monster, Job Site, Reed...etc. Then you will receive email alerts when a new job comes up.
3. Send your CV in the post speculatively to a variety of places - shops, supermarkets, hair salons, dentists....you name it, just send your CV.
4. Spend some time working on your CV to improve it, make sure it is perfect. Make sure your cover letter is excellent too, and change it for every single place you apply to. There is nothing worse than a CV and cover letter that has clearly been sent out in bulk - you need to personalise it depending on where you are applying to.
5. Do some volunteer work in the mean time - dont get bored sitting at home. Instead find a voluntary job you can do and this will keep you occupied and look good on your CV. No prospective employer will be impressed when they see a massive gap following college where you have just sat on your bum doing nothing.
6. Lower your standards. Look for jobs everywhere - dont rule out supermarkets, corner shops...anything. Working will always bring in more money than jobseekers will (its only £50 a week - and even when they approve you in your interview tomorrow it takes around 4 weeks before you get any money. Yes they backdate it so you get about £200 but it still take a while to get it.)
7. Clothing stores and retailers - they will be needing xmas temps over the next month or so, so keep an eye out for that. These often lead to permanent roles too so if you can get one then that is a good start.
I understand how hard it is (I was in a similar situation when I left uni, I had no job and just moved in with my boyfriend) but there are jobs out there you just have to be patient, and be better than everyone else out there. My sister recently took a while to find a part-time job, she was looking for something in the summer between uni and took her about 2 months to get something, but she got there in the end.
Be patient, work every day on finding a job and improving your chances of finding a job (i.e. your CV) and eventually something will come up.
I hope this helps and good luck!
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A
male
reader, CaringGuy +, writes (12 October 2010):
I'm in the same position as you, and I know exactly how this feels. I had to close my company, and now I can't get a job. All I can say is continue to send out CV's, and make sure you're out the house doing something, even if it's just out for a walk that gets you away from being stuck. You're one of about 1 million young people in the UK who have been failed miserably, so you're not alone. Just keep your head up, continue to send out CV's and make sure you're out, even if it's just for a walk to the shop to get a paper to read or something.
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