I've applied for at least 20 jobds this year. Such is JSA. Some I want to do, others... Less so. Had an interview last week for telesales. not my thing at all in general but it looked reasonbly interesting. area of business, phoning companies, not individuals at home. Meanwhile, the other stuff continues...
The job hunting support thread
- Thread starter Cloo
- Start date
chilango
Hypothetical Wanker
2 more. Must be 40 by now..
Sort of.
One, an agency got in touch out of the blue and wanted to pass on my CV (which I'd sent them ages ago) for a post just coming up. Ok. Easily done. Not holding my breath. Been there before.
Two. A very interesting post gets advertised which is right up my street. Would mean relocating. Went to the website to DL. Application form. Website unavailable. A bit of digging gets me an alternate website, also unavailable. So, riding a wave of proactive energy (it is a really nice sounding job) I email their office. Autoreply. Nobody around to get back to till next week.
Heh.
Sort of.
One, an agency got in touch out of the blue and wanted to pass on my CV (which I'd sent them ages ago) for a post just coming up. Ok. Easily done. Not holding my breath. Been there before.
Two. A very interesting post gets advertised which is right up my street. Would mean relocating. Went to the website to DL. Application form. Website unavailable. A bit of digging gets me an alternate website, also unavailable. So, riding a wave of proactive energy (it is a really nice sounding job) I email their office. Autoreply. Nobody around to get back to till next week.
Heh.
weltweit
Well-Known Member
I had similar, a job I was interested in, applied via www.reed.co.uk. When I followed up a week or so later they had given the job to someone and had not received my application at all!!!!
weltweit
Well-Known Member
I have just made a decision.
I am applying mainly to jobs that are advertised by agencies.
When they receive my details there is no guarantee that they will shortlist me and pass my details onto the actual employer. Sometimes they do, often they don't.
I often see the same job advertised by a second agency. So far I have thought, I already applied for that so no action required. However now I have decided, seeing as there is no certainty that they will pass my details to the eventual employer, I am going to apply to both agencies.
If they both put me forward, and I get the job, which would be ideal, they can sort out the commission between themselves!!! sod em!
I am applying mainly to jobs that are advertised by agencies.
When they receive my details there is no guarantee that they will shortlist me and pass my details onto the actual employer. Sometimes they do, often they don't.
I often see the same job advertised by a second agency. So far I have thought, I already applied for that so no action required. However now I have decided, seeing as there is no certainty that they will pass my details to the eventual employer, I am going to apply to both agencies.
If they both put me forward, and I get the job, which would be ideal, they can sort out the commission between themselves!!! sod em!
r0bb0
wheres my balloon
Yeh sounds like a good idea weltweit
I try and find the actual job listed on the company's website whenever possible but if there on 2 agency websites then might as well do both. I've started inserting a custom Cover Letter into my C.V. when going through the DirectGov website as they just send off the C.V. most times. I've got a meet for Voluntary Work with Victims Support next week so hopefully that'll boost my C.V. a bit and keep me useful too.
I try and find the actual job listed on the company's website whenever possible but if there on 2 agency websites then might as well do both. I've started inserting a custom Cover Letter into my C.V. when going through the DirectGov website as they just send off the C.V. most times. I've got a meet for Voluntary Work with Victims Support next week so hopefully that'll boost my C.V. a bit and keep me useful too.
weltweit
Well-Known Member
Yes that is ideal but I have problems, the agencies are very non specific in their ads so it is hard to even work out what industry the employer is in. That in itself is a pain because I often can't tell if it is going to be a role for me or not.
Pat24
Brixtonian
I have been invited to a second round, but I have yet to know the details of the second interview. I think the first one went quite well, I managed to make both interviewers smile and nod a lot (good sign I guess) and I would really like the job, so please cross your fingers for me and hopefully this week I will ace it 
Anyone used the website Vacancy Central? Maybe i'm being incredibly dense but I can't seem to find the llink / button to actually apply for one of their jobs. I'm registerd, CV's uploaded, answered the general questions. Where's the fucking box to put your cover letter and apply in.
This is exactly the sort of thing I'm looking for too.
http://www.vacancycentral.co.uk/j/p.../3-113663868/service-desk-engineer-cisco.html
This is exactly the sort of thing I'm looking for too.http://www.vacancycentral.co.uk/j/p.../3-113663868/service-desk-engineer-cisco.html
Yeah, that is one of the worst things about the Universal Jobmatch site. It doesn't let you write a cover letter. I applied for the one I linked to up there, through the UJM site too. But it just seems amiturish not to be able to introduce yourself with a letter.
weltweit
Well-Known Member
I see a massive orange Apply Now button at top right ... do you not see that?
eta: and another one at the bottom right.
Have you adjusted your browser settings or something?
Nope. I get the sharing links above the job summary and the copyright information below it.
Perhaps a screenreader thing. Blind etc... Sorry I feel like I mention that far too often. But I'm used to some sites being difficult to navigate but hwen things just literally don't appear, hard to know what's going on. If I'd thought it just an accessability thing I'd not have post about it. I'll have to ask someone to look tomorrow.
grr.
weltweit
Well-Known Member
Hope you saw the image while it was there xenon. [blast, can't delete it!]
Attachments
weltweit
Well-Known Member
Have been writing custom covering letters and sending in my standard CV for jobs to agencies.
Just had a long chat with a helpful agent who tells me they don't read the covering letters as they get literally thousands of CVs every week. And the covering letter never gets through to the employer anyhow.
Does anyone persist with covering letters when applying through agencies?
Anyhow, now I need custom CV depending on the role I am applying for.
Just had a long chat with a helpful agent who tells me they don't read the covering letters as they get literally thousands of CVs every week. And the covering letter never gets through to the employer anyhow.
Does anyone persist with covering letters when applying through agencies?
Anyhow, now I need custom CV depending on the role I am applying for.
Cloo
Banana for scale
Agencies usually asked me for covering letters, but maybe it's different with publishing employment agencies, as employers are more likely to be interested in how an applicant might express themselves in that format. Nonetheless, I had a policy of keeping them as short as possible - a taster to get them interested in the CV - and that seemed to be quite effective, and it also prevents you from hanging yourself by your own petard with repetitive or poorly expressed phrases.
toggle
wobbly
I did a short course with a grad recruitment agency. they told me to write one. gave me a format for them. examples of reasonable or bad ones.
they won't get you onto the shortlist, but a shit one will keep you off it
FridgeMagnet
Administrator
Covering letter, like "personal statement", is at best a summary of your CV as it pertains to the job. A one paragraph job at most and not something to agonise over, particularly as it may or may not get passed on at all (no agents I've ever heard from have ever said anything about cover letters, whereas they have about tailoring CVs). "I am a <wherever you are>-based <basic job description you want> with X years' experience in <your industry> including <the time when I did something similar to this job> which got <some plaudit>".
Sapphireblue
Well-Known Member
i always do a covering letter, where i basically highlight the bits of my cv most relevant to the job.
i had not actually thought about the fact that the agency might not pass it on to the employer. i might have to think about doing a bit more cv tailoring than i do currently (although tbh i am applying for jobs in a fairly limited range so my cv content doesn't need changing, but perhaps i could rearrange to put the most relevant bits at the top?) hmmm.
i had not actually thought about the fact that the agency might not pass it on to the employer. i might have to think about doing a bit more cv tailoring than i do currently (although tbh i am applying for jobs in a fairly limited range so my cv content doesn't need changing, but perhaps i could rearrange to put the most relevant bits at the top?) hmmm.
weltweit
Well-Known Member
Do you have any work experience?
Do you have any qualifications?
Do you like working with people?
Do you have salary requirements?
etc
weltweit
Well-Known Member
I have always done them, but they do take time and if no one is actually reading them I might think again. I will definately make a couple of custom CVs for the two sorts of roles I am looking at.
Miss Caphat
I want it that way
ooh I got a call-back alreadybut I don't think I want the job though. hmm. well, that was a nice surprise anyway and yes, I'll still do the interview.
looks like I'll be taking this job. It turned out to be a lot better than I thought. I still have to do an observational interview, but assuming that goes well it really seems like they want to offer me the job.
so funny...I think that was the first one I applied to BUT I am in no way gloating because not a single one of the other applications I sent out received any interest. I just got lucky I guess.
stuff_it
Too skool for cool
Well every single one of my potential clients has either fallen through or turned out to be the sort of client that families tell their children at night about to scare them into being good (and thus got dumped like a hot coal).
Also found out that someone who has been trying to give my mum work for years has given in and started offering the same services.
Also found out that someone who has been trying to give my mum work for years has given in and started offering the same services.
weltweit
Well-Known Member
If you are talking about web site customers, they can be a pain. I worked out that for many of my customers they had a lead time of a year. What I mean is I would persuade them I could do the work they needed and it would be a year until they actually raised a purchase order to actually do the work. And then there was no guarantee that two or three would not come live at the same time, each claiming their work was urgent and had to be done immediately!
stuff_it
Too skool for cool
Well one guy is pretty much out the window anyway - he keeps banging on about putting pictures in a table that doesn't look like a table, and how else do you get pictures on a website in a grid than by hard coding them into the page in ...you guessed it... a table.
He also wants to be able to much about with the site while we are developing it, and has decided that he wants to do all the pages himself despite being stuck so far in the dark ages that frames would seem like a fresh and modern invention to him.
Then he started with the insulting emails repeatedly asking the same questions about really basic stuff ('but you can put the pictures in sub albums' etc for the third or fourth time, trying to halve the initial rate (his 'deposit' as he wouldn't want to 'loose out' by paying 40% up front - could he pay just 20% until the proofs were done?). Anyway I figured we would never get the last payment out of him anyway as he's a nob so reckon he is getting boyed off.
weltweit
Well-Known Member
That is one reason why I usually hosted my client's sites for them on my own virtual server. Then if they didn't pay I could make the site dissapear from the internet.
If you aren't going to host their sites it might be wise to keep all the passwords to their hosting and domains etc to yourself until you have been paid.
weltweit
Well-Known Member
I had another where I rang to ask the status of the job and they said, people are interviewing for it right now.Another rejection today.
So yet again, too late!
I am onto application 19 now... so far since Jan.
eta: application 19 was still born, the job had already gone!
meh, didn't get the job I went for interview last week - got a standard email rejection. FFS.
... feeling quite down but 3 jobs were posted on the internet (at least in manchester!) that I've applied for - standard CV and covering letter online, although they ask for hard copies to be sent to a london address, how quaint!
... feeling quite down but 3 jobs were posted on the internet (at least in manchester!) that I've applied for - standard CV and covering letter online, although they ask for hard copies to be sent to a london address, how quaint!
Miss Caphat
I want it that way
looks like I'll be taking this job. It turned out to be a lot better than I thought. I still have to do an observational interview, but assuming that goes well it really seems like they want to offer me the job.
so funny...I think that was the first one I applied to BUT I am in no way gloating because not a single one of the other applications I sent out received any interest. I just got lucky I guess.
Can't believe that I still don't know. The observational interview went really well, and I really loved doing it, and they sad i did an excellent job.They can't officially hire me until they call my references and do a background check.
It's just crazy that this job is scheduled to start this Friday, involves me moving and quitting my other p/t job(s) and commitments and renting out my studio and my bedroom... if they had any idea of the chaos this has unleashed in my life, I don't know..it's just nuts.
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