The job hunting support thread

[AnnO'Neemus]

I haven't heard back from the job that I applied for recently (that resulted in me missing Cloo's trip oop north and hanging out with urbanites). It was advertised as urgent, and I thought that being available immediately and having lots of relevant skills and experience would at least get me an interview. I've just checked, the job ad's been taken down. I wonder if I had too much experience and was perceived to be 'overqualified' because they had described it as more of an entry level role, although it's a sector I worked in years ago, with some more relevant recent experience, so would've happily taken a step down.

Oh well.

I applied for another job on Friday, for which I have some relevant skills and experience.

Out of the different types of tasks listed in the job description, I've got recent experience with 12 out of 18, and out of the remaining six, for three I've done maybe half of that kind of task because the other half was a colleague's remit, iyswim, and a couple of them I have transferrable skills for.

Out of the seven criteria listed in the person specification, I tick all seven, well, I suppose six and a half, because I don't have that much experience relating to one of them.

The application deadline was Friday just gone, and interviews are scheduled to be held next week. I think it was only advertised on LinkedIn (although of course there might be internal candidates), but LinkedIn said that around 100 people applied. Of course, that's just people who clicked through, not everyone actually submits an application.

And now I'm compulsively checking my emails to see if I get invited to interview.

 

[Sue]

The application deadline was Friday just gone, and interviews are scheduled to be held next week. I think it was only advertised on LinkedIn (although of course there might be internal candidates), but LinkedIn said that around 100 people applied. Of course, that's just people who clicked through, not everyone actually submits an application.

Good luck with it all!

Something else to keep in mind is that loads of people apply without the relevant skills/in the wrong geographical location. We recently advertised a job and had something like 300 applications from the company website/LinkedIn.

At least half were from people who needed sponsorship (mainly from India) which we can't do.

Of those left, probably two-thirds didn't have any relevant experience at all, despite it being a senior role and us asking for x years of experience of specific stuff.

There are maybe 20 people we'd actually get back to and I reckon maybe five to eight who'd actually be worth talking to.

So tl:dr loads of people apply for random stuff that they're never going to get for various reasons.

 

[Puddy_Tat]

And now I'm compulsively checking my emails to see if I get invited to interview.

just a thought - is your e-mail provider the sort who moves some things in to a 'spam' folder, and if so do you check it regularly? BT changed the way it worked some years back (I'd previously set it no to do that and used an e-mail preview program) and missed an interview invite as a result. in this case it was something fairly unexciting and part time while i wasn't in regular work, but...

So tl:dr loads of people apply for random stuff that they're never going to get for various reasons.

yes - and people who are on JSA who are being poked with sticks by the job centres to waste everyone's time by spending X amount of time a week applying for jobs, or to apply for Y number of jobs each week.

 

[newme]

Got an interview for the council job I applied for. I am too fat for my suit. Can I get away with ordinary office trousers, shirt and tie?

Interview will be early October. I don’t ever wear suits so would rather not buy one for an interview and this was a speculative application for a local job, not looking to move jobs otherwise

Been for about 7 of council jobs and got 5. Chinos, shirt and smart trainers for the last 2 successful ones. Suit was unsuccessful for one and successful for
one. Don't think the suit helped much.

 

[AnnO'Neemus]

Good luck with it all!

Something else to keep in mind is that loads of people apply without the relevant skills/in the wrong geographical location. We recently advertised a job and had something like 300 applications from the company website/LinkedIn...

So tl:dr loads of people apply for random stuff that they're never going to get for various reasons.

Thank you.

Hmmm... Actually, the 'urgent' job was in London, but hybrid, can't remember if it was two or three days in the office, so maybe on reflection I should've said in my covering letter that I was 'willing and able to relocate'? Maybe they saw my most recent jobs mostly in Manchester and thought I'd try to swing mostly or entirely wfh?

Yeah, I'm in a couple of neurodivergent groups on Facebook and people often post that they've applied for hundreds of jobs with no joy and I get the impression that that many job applicants adopt a scattergun approach, just apply for hundreds of jobs by clicking and submitting their CV via LinkedIn or Indeed or those kinds of job ads.

I figure if someone's applying for 10-20 jobs a day or whatever, a recruiter can tell that they haven't really bothered to properly read the job description and person specification, let alone checked out the company website and done some basic research, and they haven't tailored their CV/application so the recruiter can tell that they're not really interested, they're just applying for the sake of applying.

 

[AnnO'Neemus]

just a thought - is your e-mail provider the sort who moves some things in to a 'spam' folder, and if so do you check it regularly? BT changed the way it worked some years back (I'd previously set it no to do that and used an e-mail preview program) and missed an interview invite as a result. in this case it was something fairly unexciting and part time while i wasn't in regular work, but...



yes - and people who are on JSA who are being poked with sticks by the job centres to waste everyone's time by spending X amount of time a week applying for jobs, or to apply for Y number of jobs each week.

Yeah, I've been compulsively checking junk mail folder too!

At least they've stated when interviews will take place, ie next week. So I'll know either way soon. Some jobs, if there's no timescale given, two or three weeks after the closing date I'm wondering if I might be invited to interview, because some bigger companies take longer.

One of the reasons I'm keen to hear is because if I have an interview lined up next week, I'll need to make a hairdressers appointment to get my roots done, otherwise I can probably wait another 2-4 weeks for a balayage colour treatment.

 

[AnnO'Neemus]

Puddy_Tat Ah, yes, you're quite right. Lots of people will be applying for jobs they don't have relevant skills or experience for just to fill job application quotas to satisfy the DWP so they don't get their benefits cut.

Wastes everyone's time. Someone might be better off spending ages researching a company and sector, writing a covering letter and tailoring their CV, or spending a couple of days doing a painfully and fiddly formatted application form and answering lots of questions, writing a statement in support and doing online psychometric tests to jump through hoops to try and land a job they're qualified/have experience and skills for, rather than submitting lots of applications for jobs they don't even want and don't have a hope of getting.

It's so disheartening that people are made to do something so soul and confidence destroying and ultimately counterproductive.

And it wastes the company's time too.

 

[Puddy_Tat]

Hmmm... Actually, the 'urgent' job was in London, but hybrid, can't remember if it was two or three days in the office, so maybe on reflection I should've said in my covering letter that I was 'willing and able to relocate'? Maybe they saw my most recent jobs mostly in Manchester and thought I'd try to swing mostly or entirely wfh?

possible.

from their perspective, especially if it's urgent, they may be reluctant to take on someone who will need to relocate and (from their perspective) run the risk of the move falling through either if person gets a more local offer, or if they can't find accommodation quick enough.

when i worked in Reading, it happened a few times that someone got offered a job, accepted it, then after going in to house / rent prices in more detail, decided against it. Wouldn't be surprised if that happens a fair bit with people taking jobs in that london (although it's easier than it used to be to research house / rent prices from a distance now everything's online.)

One of the reasons I'm keen to hear is because if I have an interview lined up next week, I'll need to make a hairdressers appointment to get my roots done, otherwise I can probably wait another 2-4 weeks for a balayage colour treatment.

i must admit that's an aspect of the job hunting process that's never occurred to me

 

[frogwoman]

Applying for a job and it asks "To what do you attribute past successes"

I have absolutely no idea how to answer this

 

[ElizabethofYork]

Applying for a job and it asks "To what do you attribute past successes"

I have absolutely no idea how to answer this

Being very determined
Being super organised
Being a great project manager
Being a team player

blah blah

 

[Poot]

I'm a little bewildered at the moment. During a frustrating amount of fuckery, I'm pretty sure my company is about to make me redundant after 18 years, they just haven't told me yet (yes, I know right?)

I've applied for one job, which by complete coincidence was the same job I do now but for a different place. But I haven't heard anything so I'm not getting my hopes up.

What I do is so niche that I'll never get anything similar and I'm definitely going to have to take a paycut. I've been the old git who knows stuff and helps the young 'uns for so long that I've forgotten who I am and what I like to do. I'm finding the whole process quite distressing tbh.

Sorry, that wasn't really much of a post but I have no idea what I'm doing.

 

[Puddy_Tat]

I'm a little bewildered at the moment. During a frustrating amount of fuckery, I'm pretty sure my company is about to make me redundant after 18 years, they just haven't told me yet (yes, I know right?)

at the risk of stating the obvious, citizens advice have a section on rights round redundancy here.

the consultation requirements round redundancy vary depending on how many posts are going to be made redundant.

a few thoughts -

if you've been there 18 years, then redundancy pay might be worth hanging on for rather than jumping too soon, although that's a balance against the security of a new job if one comes along sooner (especially if you're in a niche.)

some places try and do voluntary redundancies first - there's no legal obligation to do so, or to accept everyone who volunteers, or to offer enhanced redundancy pay for voluntary redundancy - your contract might have terms that offer more than the statutory legal minimum but can't undercut it.

i think that opting for voluntary rather than compulsory redundancy doesn't affect your right to claim the dole (like resigning does) - but you may want to check this if it becomes an option, as it's a few years since i had to think about this. also if you've got any private income / mortgage protection insurance, then it is more likely to exclude voluntary redundancy but again you'd have to read the small print.

even if and when you are under notice of redundancy, you may risk losing the redundancy pay if you leave too soon - one place i worked (i was only a temp so it didn't affect me) the whole place was winding down to eventual closure, and there was a date X weeks before closure (i can't remember what X was) where people could leave after that date without it affecting their redundancy pay. i think this was something employer had agreed (it was unionised and big enough for formal consultations) rather than something that was a legal requirement, but not entirely sure.

 

[Poot]

at the risk of stating the obvious, citizens advice have a section on rights round redundancy here.

the consultation requirements round redundancy vary depending on how many posts are going to be made redundant.

a few thoughts -

if you've been there 18 years, then redundancy pay might be worth hanging on for rather than jumping too soon, although that's a balance against the security of a new job if one comes along sooner (especially if you're in a niche.)

some places try and do voluntary redundancies first - there's no legal obligation to do so, or to accept everyone who volunteers, or to offer enhanced redundancy pay for voluntary redundancy - your contract might have terms that offer more than the statutory legal minimum but can't undercut it.

i think that opting for voluntary rather than compulsory redundancy doesn't affect your right to claim the dole (like resigning does) - but you may want to check this if it becomes an option, as it's a few years since i had to think about this. also if you've got any private income / mortgage protection insurance, then it is more likely to exclude voluntary redundancy but again you'd have to read the small print.

even if and when you are under notice of redundancy, you may risk losing the redundancy pay if you leave too soon - one place i worked (i was only a temp so it didn't affect me) the whole place was winding down to eventual closure, and there was a date X weeks before closure (i can't remember what X was) where people could leave after that date without it affecting their redundancy pay. i think this was something employer had agreed (it was unionised and big enough for formal consultations) rather than something that was a legal requirement, but not entirely sure.

This is incredibly useful, thank you. The whole thing is a shambles so far, so it's good to have those thoughts organised into some kind of order.

I'm assuming there's a consultant making all the decisions because at the moment we're relying on rumours, hearsay and all the senior managers have magically disappeared in a puff of smoke. I think that's a sure sign that something big is afoot, and I do mean big. Newsworthy big. I won't be resigning until I know more, given what you've just said.

 

[AnnO'Neemus]

My job interview earlier today went okay, I think. They're interviewing more people tomorrow, but I should hear from them next week.

 

[AnnO'Neemus]

If you had a job interview last Thursday and they said they'd let you know this week, how often would you be checking your emails? Asking for a friend. I mean me, asking for me.

Although the longer it takes, the more I feel like they've offered the role to someone else and are waiting for acceptance before letting all the unsuccessful candidates know.

It had sounded quite promising. The hiring manager seemed to be impressed by my skills and experience. They did query whether I'd be okay with the salary - which was quite low, but it was a junior role, and I understood that when I applied, because the salary was stated - but I said I hoped that the salary would be reviewed in the light of the budget announcing the increase in minimum wage (because it would mean the job would be minimum wage-ish, rather than a bit above minimum wage). They said that they'd have a word with management about salary, especially given my skills and experience.

I'd rather have a job with a low salary than no job, and to be honest, it's working in a sector I last worked in a long time ago, so it's not like I could step back into a senior role without recent experience, and it's a sector I liked working in and got a lot of job satisfaction out of, so I'll be gutted if I lose out because they would rather employ someone (likely younger), because they're less experienced and more importantly cheaper.

 

[LeytonCatLady]

Got some admin work starting on Friday! It's for a food manufacturer in Willesden and the agency expects it to last for about 12 weeks.

 

[Puddy_Tat]

If you had a job interview last Thursday and they said they'd let you know this week, how often would you be checking your emails? Asking for a friend. I mean me, asking for me.

dunno really.

i take it you've checked it's not going in to your spam / junk e-mail folder?

from experience, they almost always take longer than they say they will to contact you

(although in one case, i've been waiting about 5 years so it's probably safe to assume i didn't get the job...)

 

[Puddy_Tat]

If you had a job interview last Thursday and they said they'd let you know this week, how often would you be checking your emails? Asking for a friend. I mean me, asking for me.

have you heard yet?

in news here, current job security is still uncertain, although possibly slightly better than it was last month.

happened to see something this evening that i might be able to do, closing date today.

mixed feelings whether i want to, but decided to make an attempt an application (could probably do much of it as copy-paste from something previous)

set up basic details on website, some of application form doesn't work.

log out and try another browser.

needs user name and password to get in. giving e-mail address and setting up password was part of previous process, nothing about user name. Tried e-mail address and that doesn't work.

set up again with a different e-mail address. Definitely no mention of user name at this stage.

website application form still doesn't work.

bollocks to it.

 

[AnnO'Neemus]

have you heard yet?

in news here, current job security is still uncertain, although possibly slightly better than it was last month.

happened to see something this evening that i might be able to do, closing date today.

mixed feelings whether i want to, but decided to make an attempt an application (could probably do much of it as copy-paste from something previous)

set up basic details on website, some of application form doesn't work.

log out and try another browser.

needs user name and password to get in. giving e-mail address and setting up password was part of previous process, nothing about user name. Tried e-mail address and that doesn't work.

set up again with a different e-mail address. Definitely no mention of user name at this stage.

website application form still doesn't work.

bollocks to it.

Yeah, didn't get it. I was told that recruitment was on hold due to internal issues and they might be filling the role internally.

What was a bit frustrating was that they seemingly assumed a few things in a negative way before rejecting me, which I could've clarified if they'd called or emailed before making the decision.

Eg they assumed salary would be too low for me. I mean, yeah, it was low, but they put the salary band in the job and, so I knew before I applied. What they didn't know was that I don't have any mortgage or rent to pay, just about £80 a month service charges for my flat, so I'm very lucky to be in a position to accept a lower salary than someone who has higher housing costs.

I think they also assumed that I would want to be reimbursed for commuting costs for the one day a week in the office, because they mentioned something about the costs. But that didn't occur to me, because, again, it was advertised as hybrid working and as far as I'm aware commuting to the office is covered by staff. Tbh, commuting long-distance once a week would probably cost about the same as me commuting five days a week closer to home, so I figured my commuting costs wouldn't really go up much, might've been a bit less or a bit more depending on me getting cheap advance tickets.

And also I can relocate, because I don't have any ties.

Although all that's moot given the recruitment being put on hold and internal hire.

I was offered some casual work though, nothing specific, just an opportunity to do some work in a freelance capacity. I've replied expressing an interest and asking for more information.

 

[Puddy_Tat]

What was a bit frustrating was that they seemingly assumed a few things in a negative way before rejecting me, which I could've clarified if they'd called or emailed before making the decision.

blargh.

yes, would have been better either to ask at the interview, or have some sort of discussion afterwards if they were thinking about making an offer.

and they might have been thinking you were only interested in it as an 'until something better comes along' job - although again, they could have asked.

and at relocating - again, most employers would rather have someone local rather than someone who says they will re-locate, as it's not unknown for people to say they will then pull out when finances or practicality strikes (or when they get an offer closer to home)

hmm at the freelance stuff. worth keeping options open, and at the very least it looks better on future job applications.

 

[harpo]

Got some admin work starting on Friday! It's for a food manufacturer in Willesden and the agency expects it to last for about 12 weeks.

What is the agency please?

 

[LeytonCatLady]

What is the agency please?

Team Support Staff, Stratford. They've got me quite a lot of work, hope they help you. Good luck!

 

[harpo]

Team Support Staff, Stratford. They've got me quite a lot of work, hope they help you. Good luck!

Thank you!!

 

[starfish]

I had 3 different agencies all call me about the same temp job last week. What part of, "i am looking for a permanent role" do they not understand.

Although, i may actually take a temp role if i havent got myself a perm one by early next year.

I am being picky though. I want a hybrid role, fairly close to home in a similar type of industry to what ive worked in over recent years.

 

[Puddy_Tat]

hmm.

job security is looking more dodgy. like most councils, employer is struggling with things like social care so everything that's non statutory is likely to get shredded as a result, so i may be back on this thread a bit more often.

although i'm on 3 months' notice and they haven't started any formal process yet.

they apparently prefer to 'redeploy' people rather than do redundancies (but i can't see how i'd be able to do a job anywhere near my pay grade in any other line of work, not sure whether they mean this as 'we will shove people in to jobs they don't know how to do in the hope they quit as it's cheaper than paying redundancy' - although with only 3 years' service in, it's not as if redundancy pay is worth waiting for if something reasonable comes along...)

have e-mailed organisation from yesterday's attempt to say (reasonably politely) that their website is a pile of steaming fail. which won't do me any good, but might help someone else...

 

[furluxor]

After 6 years I've decided to leave my cushy but useless job, close the company and get part-time employment somewhere that aligns with my values. I have applied to two jobs over the last week and have already received an interview invite from a local authority (in my experience, interviews come only when I reach the bottom of the despair pit but maybe that's changing). My partner thinks I'm nuts because of the pay cut but I couldn't be happier.

 

[Puddy_Tat]

After 6 years I've decided to leave my cushy but useless job, close the company and get part-time employment somewhere that aligns with my values. I have applied to two jobs over the last week and have already received an interview invite from a local authority (in my experience, interviews come only when I reach the bottom of the despair pit but maybe that's changing). My partner thinks I'm nuts because of the pay cut but I couldn't be happier.

hope it goes well

one little thing with local authority interviews that can catch people out is don't assume the people on the interview panel have read your application form (or electronic equivalent) in detail, so don't be afraid of repeating - don't keep quiet about something because it was already in your application form.

with some of them, the interview is effectively a second round that you're scored on, not a score that's added to what you got for the application.

to have got to the interview stage, i take it you're already aware of the concept of competency based - as in 'give an example of a time you did X' type questions... (and X should all be things listed in the job / person specification) done well, it's not much more than a chat about stuff you've done in the past (usually in a work concept, but don't be afraid of giving an example from studying, voluntary work or whatever if that seems a better fit.)

apologies if this is stating the bloody obvious, but aware some people don't do well with local authority applications because they don't know the style. civil service is similar only more so and i don't speak the right dialect of BS for that...

 

[furluxor]

hope it goes well

one little thing with local authority interviews that can catch people out is don't assume the people on the interview panel have read your application form (or electronic equivalent) in detail, so don't be afraid of repeating - don't keep quiet about something because it was already in your application form.

with some of them, the interview is effectively a second round that you're scored on, not a score that's added to what you got for the application.

to have got to the interview stage, i take it you're already aware of the concept of competency based - as in 'give an example of a time you did X' type questions... (and X should all be things listed in the job / person specification) done well, it's not much more than a chat about stuff you've done in the past (usually in a work concept, but don't be afraid of giving an example from studying, voluntary work or whatever if that seems a better fit.)

apologies if this is stating the bloody obvious, but aware some people don't do well with local authority applications because they don't know the style. civil service is similar only more so and i don't speak the right dialect of BS for that...

Thank you, thank you, this is incredibly useful! I've never interviewed either with LA or the civil service, so don't know the specifics, even if I'm quite good at waffling in their language (for a bit; after a while I start to lose patience). I have already given written examples for each point in person spec, so will probably just need to memorise them.

 

[AnnO'Neemus]

hope it goes well

one little thing with local authority interviews that can catch people out is don't assume the people on the interview panel have read your application form (or electronic equivalent) in detail, so don't be afraid of repeating - don't keep quiet about something because it was already in your application form.

with some of them, the interview is effectively a second round that you're scored on, not a score that's added to what you got for the application.

to have got to the interview stage, i take it you're already aware of the concept of competency based - as in 'give an example of a time you did X' type questions... (and X should all be things listed in the job / person specification) done well, it's not much more than a chat about stuff you've done in the past (usually in a work concept, but don't be afraid of giving an example from studying, voluntary work or whatever if that seems a better fit.)

apologies if this is stating the bloody obvious, but aware some people don't do well with local authority applications because they don't know the style. civil service is similar only more so and i don't speak the right dialect of BS for that...

Not just public sector, I don't think. This could apply to any large organisation with a very large number of employees and a big HR department.

It might be HR that does the shortlisting and then in order to ensure the interview is about the candidate that performs the best, the hiring manager who carries out the interview might not have seen the candidates' application forms or CVs.

I remember having had an interview for one organisation and getting the feeling that they didn't know stuff about me that was in my application.

Soon after, I had another interview for a similar role. That time, I asked the interviewer if they'd seen my application/CV and they hadn't. They had a proforma document for each candidate with questions to ask each candidate and blank spaces for them to write down my answers.

If an interview is that kind of STAR format, they possibly haven't seen your application/CV either. That way they can try to ensure the outcome of the interview is based only on questions and answers in the interview, rather than whatever the interviewer(s) remembers from the candidates' application form/CV.

So it's always best to assume interviewers know nothing about you other than your name.

 

[Puddy_Tat]

Thank you, thank you, this is incredibly useful! I've never interviewed either with LA or the civil service, so don't know the specifics, even if I'm quite good at waffling in their language (for a bit; after a while I start to lose patience). I have already given written examples for each point in person spec, so will probably just need to memorise them.

you must have done fairly well to get short-listed then - some people who haven't done it before don't go in to enough detail in the application.

opinion is divided about memorising stuff - sometimes the question might combine two things, or come with a slightly unexpected twist. sometimes it's 'and what did you learn from this?' or 'and what would you do different another time?'

but it's worth having some good examples ready (arguably this favours people who have a well rehearsed line, rather than people who've got a variety of experience, but...)

at best, that sort of interview is having a natter with someone about work you've done in the past. at worst, it's some HR nurk who knows nothing about the job who's just ticking off the buzz words on their list.

and they will be making notes while you're talking - what often happens is there's 2 or 3 people doing the interview, one will write while the other talks. multiple person interviews can be unsettling if you're not used to them.

If an interview is that kind of STAR format,

yes - research STAR (situation - task - action - result) if you've not met it.

and remember as it's about you as an individual here - the action bit should be about what you (singular) did. the what you (the team) did is more the situation or task bit. and concentrate more on the action / result bit rather than spend too long explaining the situation / task bit.