The job hunting support thread

[Hellsbells]

dunno really

outright lying about qualifications is not always a good idea (if an employer wants to be really difficult about it they usually have a clause that having lied on your application is gross misconduct)

there is something to be said for having versions of your CV that sell particular bits of your skills / experience - if need be, tailor it to whatever the job advert / person spec says they are looking for

It's my qualifications and all recent employment though. Recent jobs have all been teaching. I just want some temp admin now. I've tried to stress the admin side of the teaching jobs but it still obviously looks like i'm taking a step down. It's hard when all you've got is a CV rather than a person to person discussion where I could actually explain my reasons for wanting a change.

 

[Puddy_Tat]

blargh

dunno really

i didn't get very far when i was trying to get temp admin stuff a few years back either

not quite sure what the answer is.

 

[Hellsbells]

I have years of admin experience from before I started teaching though. I was hoping that would work in my favour.
It's all very depressing.

 

[friendofdorothy]

I have years of admin experience from before I started teaching though. I was hoping that would work in my favour.
It's all very depressing.

Could you put your work history with the oldest first give and give same prominence to each job ie really abbrievate your more recent teaching jobs and write as much about simple admin jobs.

Good luck.

 

[friendofdorothy]

I'm still looking for a better paid part time local job and I've seen so few all year. Applied for one at my local hospital this week. Fingers crossed.

 

[friendofdorothy]

Applied for one at my local hospital this week. Fingers crossed.

I've got an interview! hoorah! hooray! over london living wage!

Its ages since my last interview which was also a nhs job and I didn't do as well as I should in the interview despite being ideal for the post, I made some fundermental mistakes like assuming they had read my application form and not repeating everything I'd said there, feedback I got said that I should have repeated what I'd written.

This will be my third nhs interview. Any tips for NHS interviews anyone?

 

[boohoo]

friendofdorothy I think Scutta was working in a hospital role for a while - might have a few thoughts on it.

 

[friendofdorothy]

Thank boohoo. I think ShiftyBagLady mentioned some nhs stuff too. Any tips anyone?

 

[ShiftyBagLady]

Well done FoD.
Look at the trusts website, Google their staff booklets and rehearse corporate shite. I had to repeat stuff in my CV a little but I also tried to show how that stuff prepared me for the new role.
They will want you to demonstrate awareness of data protection/confidentiality/patient focused care and all that. Which you know already; you'll be grand
Is it a patient facing role? I know you were looking for one of those

 

[Puddy_Tat]

friendofdorothy

not sure i've done an nhs interview, but do they go in for the 'competency based' interview style? a lot of larger organisations now do.

broadly this means the interview questions will be more like "tell me about a time you did X" rather than the traditional "what would you do if X happened?" sort of thing

'STAR' (Situation - Task - Actions - Result) is how to answer this sort of question, as is emphasising what you as an individual did. And the action / result bit is the most important.

May be worth a bit of research - there's a fair bit on the interwebs.

And if they are feeling really awkward, there will be an additional "what would you do differently / better if you had the same situation again?" bit to the question.

At best, this sort of interview mean talking about work you've done in the past. At worst, it can be some HR individual who knows bugger all about the job asking silly bloody questions like "give me an example of a time you provided excellence in customer service" and if you don't have one polished answer which includes all the buzzwords they are looking for, forget it.

In theory, all the capabilities they ask questions about should be things they have asked for in the job advert and / or the 'person spec' or whatever they call it. It's worth thinking of a suitable example before you go for the interview rather than - and it's "one example" so it's hard to demonstrate a depth of experience over time...

With local authorities, the application form stage is deciding who to call for interview, then the interview stage is a new 'competition' - in theory, they don't form a preference before the interview then use the interview to confirm (or otherwise) so don't be afraid to repeat stuff that's in the application (although if you have already given examples of doing X and can come up with another example that's equally good, then go for it as it demonstrates depth of experience.)

Hope it goes well

 

[friendofdorothy]

Well done FoD.
Look at the trusts website, Google their staff booklets and rehearse corporate shite. I had to repeat stuff in my CV a little but I also tried to show how that stuff prepared me for the new role.
They will want you to demonstrate awareness of data protection/confidentiality/patient focused care and all that. Which you know already; you'll be grand
Is it a patient facing role? I know you were looking for one of those

will do. Bizarrely the job spec didn't emphasise patient confidentiality, but I did in my application statement.
Its for a reception admin role in a clinic. Thanks for the encouragement.

 

[chilango]

Contemplating rejoining this thread Reluctantly as my last experience of job hunting (well documented on here iirc) was soul destroying, but y'know, shit happens.

Wrong time of year right now, so a gentle start. Nothing to even think of applying for today

Well one application = one interview.

Had applied pretty speculatively for a position above my comfort zone partly as a bit of dry run, partly as one those "there's nothing else around" applications.

"Career" wise it'd be a very good move. But I guess I'll have to see whether they actually want me, and whether I actually want them.

Can't help but feel it's a bit too much of a step up, but we'll see.

Bit of a confidence boost to get invited to interview tbh.

 

[Hellsbells]

I've never applied for so many jobs in my life as I have in the last 2 weeks. I'm not really getting any response from any of them though It's all very depressing. My life is just job applications.

 

[RubyToogood]

I've never applied for so many jobs in my life as I have in the last 2 weeks. I'm not really getting any response from any of them though It's all very depressing. My life is just job applications.

I worry when I hear this that the person is going for quantity over quality, being too scattergun ie applying for things that are not really quite right, and then not really getting to the bottom of what the organisation are looking for in their application. I think there's also a danger when you're feeling discouraged of going "well I'll just fire my cv over and see" and then your application doesn't really say "I am perfect for this job and here's why".

Feel free to tell me to piss off though.

My main problem is finding stuff I want to apply for. Where do they hide all the good jobs?

 

[Hellsbells]

I worry when I hear this that the person is going for quantity over quality, being too scattergun ie applying for things that are not really quite right, and then not really getting to the bottom of what the organisation are looking for in their application. I think there's also a danger when you're feeling discouraged of going "well I'll just fire my cv over and see" and then your application doesn't really say "I am perfect for this job and here's why".

Feel free to tell me to piss off though.

My main problem is finding stuff I want to apply for. Where do they hide all the good jobs?

I get what you're saying, but I'm applying for mostly the same kind of stuff. I just think there's too much competition. And I also know my recent experience probably doesn't quite fit the roles I'm applying for, despite the fact all the skills are totally transferable. I don't know whether I should more blatently be pointing this out - it seems obvious to me...

 

[RubyToogood]

I get what you're saying, but I'm applying for mostly the same kind of stuff. I just think there's too much competition. And I also know my recent experience probably doesn't quite fit the roles I'm applying for, despite the fact all the skills are totally transferable. I don't know whether I should more blatently be pointing this out - it seems obvious to me...

Hm... I think there's a bit of an art in hunting out the jobs that hardly anyone else is going to apply for/be a plausible candidate for. The ones that you and only you are perfect for. I've had a couple of those.

 

[chilango]

Anybody any experience of "in-tray exercises"?

From what I can gather, I ought to be okay at these, would seem to suit what I hope are my strengths ,but I've never actually done one....

 

[friendofdorothy]

Anybody any experience of "in-tray exercises"?

From what I can gather, I ought to be okay at these, would seem to suit what I hope are my strengths ,but I've never actually done one....

On no I've never even heard of them, what does that mean?

goes away to search....

 

[RubyToogood]

Anybody any experience of "in-tray exercises"?

From what I can gather, I ought to be okay at these, would seem to suit what I hope are my strengths ,but I've never actually done one....

Is that the thing where they tell you a list of things you come in in the morning to find need doing, and get you to prioritise them? I have done, and passed one of those (got the job). It's just common sense really. If one of those is "there's no milk and everyone's desperate for a cuppa", put "going to the shop" somewhere pretty near the bottom. If the roof has blown off, that's fairly high priority, although unless it's pissing with rain, it can probably wait until you've finished dealing with the client who's phoned up in tears... that sort of thing.

And obviously it's not what you would ACTUALLY do but what you think the manager interviewing you would like you to do.

 

[Puddy_Tat]

Anybody any experience of "in-tray exercises"?

srsly, it's broadly what RubyToogood says.

the snag with them is

And obviously it's not what you would ACTUALLY do but what you think the manager interviewing you would like you to do.

without knowing how they would prioritise stuff based on their policies, priorities and procedures (depends what if any briefing you get) there's an element of guesswork. i've done one or two, and with one of my previous employers, i'd have done A before B, with another i'd have done B before A.

another important thing is go through the whole list before you start doing what seems to be the top priority (if it's that sort of thing) - there may be something further down the in-tray that changes the situation.

 

[RubyToogood]

In fact the examples I gave are pretty much ones I've been given in interview.

 

[Puddy_Tat]

In fact the examples I gave are pretty much ones I've been given in interview.

if i was interviewing, i would not offer the job to anyone who regarded tea as a low priority

 

[friendofdorothy]

if i was interviewing, i would not offer the job to anyone who regarded tea as a low priority

If only more employers would think that way, we could all be happier.

 

[friendofdorothy]

I've got an interview! hoorah! hooray! over london living wage!

Its ages since my last interview which was also a nhs job and I didn't do as well as I should in the interview despite being ideal for the post, I made some fundermental mistakes like assuming they had read my application form and not repeating everything I'd said there, feedback I got said that I should have repeated what I'd written.

This will be my third nhs interview. Any tips for NHS interviews anyone?

Interview went well. But I heard today that I didn't get the job . . .

 

[Puddy_Tat]

Interview went well. But I heard today that I didn't get the job . . .

 

[chilango]

Well one application = one interview.

Had applied pretty speculatively for a position above my comfort zone partly as a bit of dry run, partly as one those "there's nothing else around" applications.

"Career" wise it'd be a very good move. But I guess I'll have to see whether they actually want me, and whether I actually want them.

Can't help but feel it's a bit too much of a step up, but we'll see.

Bit of a confidence boost to get invited to interview tbh.

Didn't get it.

It was pretty gruelling.

But aside from the disappointment of not being successful in something and realising that my interview technique needs some work I'm not too upset.

It became quite clear, quite quickly, that it wasnt the job for me. Didn't suit my skills or experience. Couldn't visualise myself doing that kind of job in that kind of place. Which is useful to know, as I can now rule future roles like this one out of my job search.

 

[friendofdorothy]

quite.

 

[friendofdorothy]

Didn't get it.

It was pretty gruelling.

But aside from the disappointment of not being successful in something and realising that my interview technique needs some work I'm not too upset.

It became quite clear, quite quickly, that it wasnt the job for me. Didn't suit my skills or experience. Couldn't visualise myself doing that kind of job in that kind of place. Which is useful to know, as I can now rule future roles like this one out of my job search.

sorry.

 

[Puddy_Tat]

Didn't get it.

 

[boohoo]

for those not getting jobs.... onwards and upwards. xxx