The job hunting support thread

[Cloo]

OK, RIBA job has confirmed a 'no' - I was prepared for that by now. Would have been gutted if it had been permanent so it's merely a bit disappointing right now, but at least things are happening elsewhere. I suspect that by the BSI interview next week I will have been asked for one or two other interviews.

This is much better than last time I was unemployed in terms of things to apply for and getting interviews, but in some ways worse because there's a lot of interviews when I only had about 8 over 6 months last time, I'm nearly at that many already, plus a few have gone to second stage and that's a lot of mental effort.

 

[newme]

some employers will not do the 'no thanks' bit with some / all candidates until the first choice candidate has said yes / got through references etc, so that they can offer to second choice candidate without making it obvious, or having to re-advertise.

Yeh makes sense but is annoying especially when some end up changing interview dates etc cos they are oh so busy. So they could be slow cos they haven't dealt with it or you may just not be first choice. Last job took so long to get back to me I was already a month into a temp contract when they got back to me to even start interviewing.

Just found there is a job nearby thats for a well known and rated charity who also do remote if you want, unfortunately it could also mean travelling to rather sketchy places for upto 30% of the time which they hid in the details

 

[Cloo]

And with that, I have now applied to 50 jobs

The annoying thing is that I expect around half were not even offering anywhere near the money I'm at but I have no way of telling which is which. The built environment one I've applied to this morning, for example, is one that I would have assumed was at the lower end if it didn't say, but as it is, it's offering a really good salary.

Agent has just rung me about a nice role with legal firm - lower end of pay but it covers a bit of comms, editorial, writing, marketing, bids/pitches so they won't find anyone who can do all of those things meaning no need to worry if less strong in some areas at interview, and also would keep the field very open in terms of career direction to take from there. I've sent him a slightly rejigged CV and he thinks they might have first round before end of week.

 

[Artaxerxes]

“We will not be progressing your application

We would be very grateful if you could take 5 minutes to fill out a short candidate experience survey so we can improve our recruitment process”




I wonder how many people actually do cos what’s my incentive here? You’ve already told me to fuck off at the first stage

 

[Cloo]

Trying to get in the zone with next week's interview, but have been distracted by issues from my laptop which is just refusing to connect to wifi - luckily I still have work laptop (until Monday week) so using that for now.

 

[Puddy_Tat]

I have just seen "Liasioning with..." in a job description

:flamethrower:

 

[Cloo]

I saw something about 'Maintaining there reputation' in a comms role advert today

 

[danny la rouge]

I saw something about 'Maintaining there reputation' in a comms role advert today

Presumably they need someone for that role because they’re so bad at.

 

[Cloo]

Got a new phone screen tomorrow, so that's good. Was a bit of cessation in further job offers last week, but then I hadn't applied to anything the week before so the evidence is generally I can manage one or two interview offers per week when I am applying. Tomorrow's is phone screen for another Content Manager role, for a risk management business, specifically about risks of energy transition (eg to more sustainable sources) so that's genuinely quite interesting and an area I do know a bit about from working in the built environment.

Been doing some management-y prep or Friday's big interview, found a useful chap on YouTube, Richard McMunn, kind of shouty and motivational speaker and some of his tips and model answers are a bit cringey and generic, but other model answers are actually really useful for being strong and not waffly, and easy to remember as well. The one for 'What would you do in your first 30 days as manager' was way better than anything I would have thought of although it's fairly obvious really, but it went into more details and sounded a lot more managerial than anything I'd have thought of.

I've paid £8 for a bunch of pdfs from him and a course for 30 days (that I've made a note to cancel after about 20 days unless it turns out to be super handy)

 

[RubyToogood]

I went for a drink with my old manager last week. It cheered me right up and made me realise it really is time to move. It was a great job right up until about 6 months ago but it is great no longer.

He also gave me some good advice on applying for CS jobs as that is where he is now. You need to focus on the linked behaviours that they send you, more than on the person spec. I've mostly ignored them as they just look like a load of waffle.

I now need to pull my finger out and apply for a job that's come up at a training company and send my CV on spec to a specialist company I like the look of.

 

[Puddy_Tat]

He also gave me some good advice on applying for CS jobs as that is where he is now. You need to focus on the linked behaviours that they send you, more than on the person spec. I've mostly ignored them as they just look like a load of waffle.

yes - my limited attempts at civil service (in recent years) haven't been very successful. there are vast quantities of bumf on how to do it, and i haven't really got the hang of it. i think it's like learning a foreign language...

i did put an application in for something CS london based last week, which is a bit of a tangent to stuff i've done in the past, so thought it was worth a go. i'll try and read up a bit more if i get as far as an interview.

 

[Cloo]

Yeah, I agree with how you feel about CS applications Puddy_Tat . It feels like it's something really hard to get into from the outside at my level as well.

So I've reached 'Waking up in the night thinking "Shit I haven't got a job"' stage - it's self indulgent really, I have nothing massive to worry about, I have a payoff that will cover me for a few more months, longer if I eke it out and cut spending to a minimum although that's not a possiblity I'm looking forward to and even beyond that I do have plenty of savings, loath as I am to go into them for this. So at least my fears are 'things being a bit miserable and maybe it'll be longer before we get a new kitchen' and not 'Oh fuck we could lose the house and I only have 2 months until my cash runs out'.

Phone screen in half an hour - have looked up the business and got some more context, it's a surprisingly old and interesting outfit that began as a marine insurance organisation in Norway in the 1860s. I'm pretty sure I can talk my way to interview stage with the usual intro and 'why I'm interested in this job' discussion for this one, after that it will be a matter of swotting up on running a marketing campaign as I think my lack of experience there loses me these content roles at interview stage though I'm pretty sure it needs very much the same skillset as running a publishing schedule.

 

[Puddy_Tat]

it's a surprisingly old and interesting outfit that began as a marine insurance organisation in Norway in the 1860s

i hope urban's mine of information about acceptable maritime first aid procedures was a useful resource for you

 

[Cloo]

It was OK but in a bit more depth than I expected and may have fluffed it on a question about what I expected the role to be like where I think I was a bit waffly so that might take me out. Other stuff was fairly good I thought, so I guess there's a chance it could move forward but I'm definitely not certain of that.

 

[nottsgirl]

Applied for a job with the same job title as mine but paying a lot more. I was going to stay where I am for a while to learn more, for pension reasons and so as not to look like I job hop but I thought it was worth sticking in an application for this one. We shall see.

 

[Cloo]

Good luck nottsgirl - today is 'cramming for tomorrow' and also doing some research about marketing campaigns should I need that for future interview. On Monday I'm giving back my work laptop, thus losing access to training videos on LinkedIn, which can be quite useful so better watch those ones before then.

 

[nottsgirl]

I was having a bad day yesterday when I stuck that application in. Today is a better day. But if they want to pay me 28k to answer the phone I won’t necessarily say no

 

[Cloo]

Another role has come back asking for an interview on Monday - it's with a real estate consultancy I've worked with people from before, indeed a lovely lady who used to work there (retired now) was on the advisory board of the journal I used to edit, so there's a good connection there. An appealing role in that it's a good mix of content and comms but doesn't seem to be asking for a super marketing-type person, also it reports into a guy who is charge of bids among other things and that means it could offer a way into that world, which I'm interested in as a potential future direction. They didn't run away when I stated my salary expectations either so that's encouraging.

But glad that's there as I can feel a bit more relaxed about tomorrow knowing that I have other things on horizon.

I'm going to go for tomorrows as much as I can though - I'm not sure I can show the management chops but should be able to make a decent case for myself and it is a good solid opportunity that I could stick with for a while.

 

[nottsgirl]

Ooh I had a missed phone call today.

 

[nottsgirl]

The joys of job hunting.

 

[Cloo]

Job where I might have fluffed a screening question hasn't got back and I think they were going to decide next stage today as they wanted to progress quite fast, so I'm guessing haven't got through.

Though recruiters do seem to quite often to email in the evening.

My other half is contract hunting now - he's been living off his savings for last 18 months to develop a product but has realised he'll need another 6 month contract to be able to cover the time and money he'll need for the marketing/launch stage now it's at least at demo stage.

 

[newme]

Randomly contacted by a recruiter from last year when I was working. Maybe some temp to perm stuff in the NHS that would be all be fine to good money wise and be there's 7 positions going at once. Can deal with the non senior roles pay so happy to have that and less meetings and shit plus there's 5 of those going.

 

[Cloo]

Mega-interview this morning isn't going to next stage I reckon - it was my first management interview and of course the first question was about a time you disagreed with someone, which I really haven't had and stupidly didn't just make something up for as I should have done so I fudged it with something vague. And even with stronger ones, I could can feel they were trying to get more out of me in my answers and that tells you you're not meeting the brief. Good lessons learned for if I have any other management interview, though.

Got straight off that to my phone ringing for a screen for something I really did apply to on an off chance in bid writing, not necessarily a shoo-in to get shortlisted but definitely interested as it's a) quite a lucrative direction and b) something that can be done freelance which might be handy if made redundant again or for a path towards end of career. Guess I had an in as it's a competitor in some fields with my erstwhile employer.

Oh well, will crack on with getting ready for Monday's interview after I've given my brain time to recover. I had a rubbish night's sleep, which isn't helping anything, and was a bit headachey so I took a paracetamol with caffeine which is effective but leaves me rather wired.

 

[Cloo]

Amazingly they have asked me to third round from Friday's interview. I really thought I'd fucked that one up and I'm usually a fair judge of whether I have or not. That's next Wednesday, so I'll have time to prepare - they want a 5 min presentation on 'My greatest work achievement', and I think I'll go with what was basically 'Managing a group of non-digital editors to suddenly switch our publication to digital in the course of three months during lockdown with one member of team on furlough, while homeschooling two kids and we actually launched on time'. It works really well for this job as it was clear that a key thing they want to see is capability to cope with a lot of shit happening at the same time, and that's an example that shows it in spades.

Finally handed back my gear to last job - ran into the person I was probably most keen to run into, a lovely Canadian girl I liked a lot and she's said she'll keep an eye out for any suitable jobs for me.

Of course my laptop battery has decided to stop charging today, so I have sellotaped my slightly shonky charger into the side to make sure it doesn't fall out during my interview, and turn my laptop off.

 

[newme]

I went for a drink with my old manager last week. It cheered me right up and made me realise it really is time to move. It was a great job right up until about 6 months ago but it is great no longer.

He also gave me some good advice on applying for CS jobs as that is where he is now. You need to focus on the linked behaviours that they send you, more than on the person spec. I've mostly ignored them as they just look like a load of waffle.

I now need to pull my finger out and apply for a job that's come up at a training company and send my CV on spec to a specialist company I like the look of.

Yeh I found CS jobs today, 4 roles going I could do and remote too, plus I get a bonus for having a specific qualification so that must be a good thing for them. Very acceptable salary and also CS pension contributions, yes please. The application process is like learning french tho, I get they had to have something but fucking hell its a lot of nonsense compared to every single other job I have ever applied to.

Amazingly they have asked me to third round from Friday's interview. I really thought I'd fucked that one up and I'm usually a fair judge of whether I have or not. That's next Wednesday, so I'll have time to prepare - they want a 5 min presentation on 'My greatest work achievement', and I think I'll go with what was basically 'Managing a group of non-digital editors to suddenly switch our publication to digital in the course of three months during lockdown with one member of team on furlough, while homeschooling two kids and we actually launched on time'

Thats a hell of an example to use for almost any work question lol. Especially considering how badly some places fucked up with way more resources then that. Good luck!

Managed to knock out another 8 today, 2 local council I have experience at, some I seem overqualified for but the wage is bonkers for the lack of responsibility compared to other things I have done but whatever. If someone wants to pay me for half the job I did before at twice the pay thats up to them.

 

[Cloo]

I'm actually really glad now that I didn't actually get to bring that up in last interview so I can get maximum play for it at next stage. I was trying to think how to frame my role/task in it all and I've realised I can say that because the whole-team manager had deal with the consultants who helped set the parameters for the whole thing, and the techie guys who were actually creating the new website etc, as the most senior editor I had to manage the day-to-day stuff like how we'd schedule things, how we'd cover proofreading with the subeditor on furlough etc, and that was actually more or less how it played out.

I have interview for something else in half an hour - laptop seems to be staying on but our wifi seems to be occasionally dropping out today, albeit only momentarily, so I'd better warn them it's possible I'll lose connection briefly. Also using a new headset as my home laptop audio is not up to much - have tested with gsv and the only issue is that apparently my audio isn't very loud unless the mic is right against my face, which blocks my mouth slightly, so that's not ideal in terms of being communicative on screen. I'm finding it hard to focus on this interview because I'm suprised and excited about this final stage one.

 

[RubyToogood]

There is very little to apply for in my field at the mo. I sent off my speculative application which got a no as you'd expect, and have, after dragging my feet quite a lot, sent in an application to the training company. I felt a lot less foot draggy looking at it again as it is actually listed as remote so no worry about having to request reasonable adjustments.

Things just continue to worsen where I am and it could be a pretty long time before they turn round if at all.

 

[Puddy_Tat]

Yeh I found CS jobs today, 4 roles going I could do and remote too, plus I get a bonus for having a specific qualification so that must be a good thing for them. Very acceptable salary and also CS pension contributions, yes please. The application process is like learning french tho, I get they had to have something but fucking hell its a lot of nonsense compared to every single other job I have ever applied to.

yes - i'm not sure i speak the right variety of BS for civil service. there is quite a lot of advice and info out there, and a reddit thing that may be worth a look (and may be worth a bit of research on the department / office you're thinking of applying for)

Thats a hell of an example to use for almost any work question lol. Especially considering how badly some places fucked up with way more resources then that. Good luck!

yes, surviving whatever shitstorm covid caused in your particular line can usually provide examples of anything involving shifting a lot of work / difficult circumstances / reacting to an emergency or something like that.

Things just continue to worsen where I am and it could be a pretty long time before they turn round if at all.

 

[newme]

yes - i'm not sure i speak the right variety of BS for civil service. there is quite a lot of advice and info out there, and a reddit thing that may be worth a look (and may be worth a bit of research on the department / office you're thinking of applying for)

yes, surviving whatever shitstorm covid caused in your particular line can usually provide examples of anything involving shifting a lot of work / difficult circumstances / reacting to an emergency or something like that

Yeh me neither but if there's a job opening I can take at the moment then I need to be applying to it I think. Cheers for the link I was sure I'd seen something similar before. Its probably in my 500 bookmarks which are now entirely unusable

Am finding some more unusual sources of things but it's a slog past the standard sources. Local council jobs are particularly bad about it, remote job but only advertised on the council website? Why not, it only means checking every single council site in the UK!

Thinking now what I can use myself from covid, also been remote ever since which has to be some evidence I can do that successfully.

edit was sure I saw an alert about a reply last night for something I had applied for, totally missing this morning on my phone. Seems in the meantime it had been determined to be junk and was there alongside two other things which were not junk. Seems sweeping this is now an extra task worth doing each day.

 

[Cloo]

It's always sucky when you can't find much to apply for RubyToogood - hope something juicy turns up soon.

Feeling more optimistic today and it is much easier to apply for things when some possibilities seem to be opening up, but going to keep at it, and start a very rough draft of presentation for next week as well.

Have marked my last job as over on LinkedIn and changed my profile to be headlined with my main areas (Content Management, Editorial, Real Estate & Professional Services). I've been paid my last salary and extra cash for holiday and an ex gratia payment because I didn't qualify for redundancy, so that's about 2 month's pay, but I could probably eke that out to 4-5 months before going into my savings, though obviously hoping I don't have to as it would not go amiss to have that in the bank this year. I'm vaguely hopeful I might have something in the bag by the end of next week if yesterday's does take me to second stage.