Just made 9 phone calls and got 3 job interviews, "no work out there" my bum there isnt

reply to post by Gazrok


I could'nt agree more, thats what makes the patronising OP so hard to swallow.
Funny thing is in all of the jobs i've had the only money handling I have ever done is set up direct debit or card payments for the customers (same as you would if you worked in a supermarket). We have to make a point of telling the customer that we are not financial advisors and therefore cannot advise in any way, only the financial services authority in their infinate wisdom decided that if you can get into debt yourself then you are no longer worthy.
Never mind the reason you got into debt.
Anyway just wanted to say that I appreciated your comment.

Originally posted by VforVendettea
reply to post by IkNOwSTuff

 

Would they pay your moving expenses? I wager not. Plus I have accepted positions which required relocating and when I arrived I was informed tha the salary had been changed (-25%)

This very same thing hapenned to my best friend. He agreed to relocate, found somewhere to live using all the money he had left.
When he got there to start the job, they said the person who agreed the wage no longer worked there and he would have to take a considerable cut.
Because the accomodation had been paid for in advance my friend took the job and actually ended up making a loss.

reply to post by IkNOwSTuff


All great advice! S&F for the common sense approach.

All to often I see people who feel as if the company they are applying for (or working at) owes them something. They really don't, other than a paycheck.

After I dumbed down my resume, I found employment within the week.

I love my job as I look at it as a great workout that I get paid for and the people I work with are cool as well. It can be backbreaking but I tend to look at that as a challenge.

I'm now fiscally better off and can fit into clothes that I haven't worn since 2007.

reply to post by Gazrok


I was totally unaware of this practice

Thank you for informing me

In Oz and the UK at least I dont believe this is common practice, I also imagine this would only be used by larger companies but again I could be wrong. None of the 40 odd companies Ive recruited or headhunted for used this method for candidate screening and it included several large multinationals like Goldman Sachs and Ipsos.

This only reinforces what I was talking about in my OP, You are better off speaking to someone face to face and dealing with someone high up as opposed to electronically sending a CV or dealing with HR.

reply to post by daydoesez


I agreed with suspira also, interviews arent the same as jobs but considering they werent actively recruiting the fact they were willing to meet is a good sign.

My flatmate is English and he also works in your field, are you familiar with De Veers? not the most reputable company in your field perhaps but they dont do credit checks and are always looking for people in the UK.

England is a small place even if they dont have an office in your area it shouldnt be hard to wrangle an independant position from them and perhaps travel to your closest office once in awhile.
Have you considered working for yourself as a financial advisor? with the way things are in the UK and with your ridiculous inheritance tax and pension laws etc etc I imagine if you can convey to people better options they would be interested.

Once again I know this may all seem condescending but my intentions in posting this thread were good

reply to post by VforVendettea


Valid points

Not sure how much above minimum wage it was but when I asked he laughed and said yes it was so I got the impression it was significant.

All the places I called I told them I lived in the area so there was no mention of moving expenses, and as for my accent its not what you would call typically Aussie, I actually get accused of being English quite a bit lol.

Id like to think it was my approach as opposed to my voice but Ive heard you guys love the sound of anyone foreign so I could be wrong

Not that anyone here cares... since I have not been able to get a job, I am moving forward with a product idea I've had for a while that I believe will sell like flapjacks since it looks like either Obama or fake Republican Romney are going to get elected. I've brought in an engineer so far, and another person will be brought on board as well. Hopefully in 6 months the product will be available for purchase on line. I might actually advertise it on ATS because many members are my target customer.

So all the unemployed are just lazy huh?

For long-unemployed, hiring bias rears its head

10 Reasons Why It Has Become So Soul-Crushingly Difficult To Find A Job In America Today

Why Don't Homeless People Just Get Jobs?



7 Applicants Per Job Opening

reply to post by AwakeinNM


I was going to say, getting the interview and getting the job are two different things.

reply to post by Gazrok


Yes, that is how they sort applications for fed jobs in the US.

It is so complicated that they offer week long courses, just to apply for fed jobs.

reply to post by AwakeinNM


Thats awesme dude

Im intrigued, Any hints on what type of product?

reply to post by IkNOwSTuff


Oh I'm not doubting that your intentions were good and you are right there are a lot of people taking the money who have no inclination to look for let alone start work.
However, its the assumtions made about anyone claiming that are so annoying.
To answer your questions though... Yes I am familiar with De Veers but not round here. I do not own a car.
In order to become an independant IFA you would still be regulated by the Financial services authority and as the job of an IFA is to directly advise people on the best course of action..... Your back to the same problem.
Honestly, I'm sure it was meant well but if either of your suggestions were possible don't you think i'd have thought of that by now.
I'm unemployed, not stupid.

reply to post by daydoesez


I never implied you were stupid and I apologise if I came across that way.

Just spoke to my friend who works for De Veer and they have people who work under their name (I think he used the term brokerage license) who have never seen the inside of a De Veer office, Basically just working from home instead of the office.
My mate who works for them here doesnt have a car and when he goes to meet potential clients he usually takes public transport.

If your prepared to source your own clients you could give them a call and see what they say.

As you said your not stupid so Im sure youll be fine
Best of luck

reply to post by IkNOwSTuff


OK cool, thanks.
Glad your friends doing well but like I said, the FSA don't have much clout over in Malaysia/Oz?
They do here.
Whatever..... appreciate the good will. Take care mate.

reply to post by IkNOwSTuff


As a now older person of nearly 50 years with over 30 years of work experience - until my job evaporated and in the past nearly five years of unemployment having only secured two bloody job interviews - I think your attitude is pretty unfair and wholly subjective. That's YOUR situation and YOUR experience.

I live in northern Europe now, as I have for the past quarter century. But I'm still a foreigner. I'm now middle-aged. That means I'm unwelcome in the workforce. But I don't and won't take unemployment. To do that would mean that I'd have to apply for jobs working in a kitchen. I am now a former pastry chef. Former, because I have celiac disease. What shall I do when they send me to apply for jobs as a baker somewhere? Die for it?

You need some compassion and a whole lot more understanding of the whims of Fate and Nature. I expect them to make a call on you shortly. Good luck to you then.

reply to post by CosmicEgg


Dude Im full of compassion but Im also full of intolerance.

For people who are genuinely out of work I do sympathise and for those people who follow the advice Ive given they will significantly increase their chances of finding work, this subjective opinion is based on MY experience working in recruitment so Id say its valid.

You say you have celiac disease, while Im unsure of what that is it seems you can no loger work in your field. In a perfect world since you had contributed to society it should be societies turn to support you and provide training so you can learn something else. Im not sure where you are and if these sorts of programs are available to you but I know for fact they are in Australia and I assume they would be in northern Europe.

I do voluntary work for a program called reach out here in Malaysia, It helps homeless people get their life back on track. The program over the last 4 years has helped 378 people go from living on the streets and either begging or stealing to being gainfully employed and self sufficient. 27 I have helped personally.

For people who feel they have no hope and have no chance of getting government support I have compassion and have given many hours of my time helping them and in a few cases even spending my own money to buy them new clothes for interviews and subsequently work.
I have a complete lack of compassion or empathy for people who are content to sit back and take government hand outs because the job centre isnt helping or because theres nothing they wanna do advertised in the paper.

Since your not lazy and are not working for a valid reason and also not taking hand outs I dont see why you took offence to anything I said

reply to post by IkNOwSTuff


For my last eight years of employment, I worked as PA to a defence attache at an embassy. Security cleared by four countries. Prior to that was the pro kitchen stuff. When I asked about help from any employment agencies, I get kitchen gig referrals. I was in a very specific situation in the embassy so working in a Finnish office is not possible - my Finnish skills are not of that quality and never will be. So it's always kitchen. But celiac disease kills the intestines. If I even inhale some wheat flour, I get a sinus infection. I am also unable to digest soy, citrus, eggs, or peanuts. Think about working in a kitchen and being unable to handle those things. It is impossible.

But even that's not the point. I've applied for all sorts of jobs. And hundreds of them. No calls. You know why? Because I'm not young. I'm not schooled in Finland. I'm not Finnish. I have too much experience (that they have to pay for). Why would an employer take someone who likely knows more than they do to work for them when they can hire someone who knows nothing but has papers that say they do? In Finland, they hire bits of paper, not people.

I will not just do any pathetic job for some idiot that has a power trip though. And the fact of the matter is that there wasn't a single job I've applied for over the past four years that I would actually have been interested in doing. These jobs are for zombies. I'm far too awake and far too aware to do that sort of thing.

There are lots of businesses I could start here with very little start-up costs. But they are so regulated that the services are virtually nonexistent at present. The businesses that do exist have to charge absurd prices to pay for the hoops they have to jump through for insurances and taxes. It's madness! And meanwhile those taxes go nowhere. This society is diseased, deeply and irretrievably. Nothing short of its death will cure what ails it.

In this country, you have to be exactly the person the employer is looking for before you will even get an interview. My son just applied for a summer job. There were 700 applicants. This was just a summer job at a grocery store chain. Even my last job at the embassy had over 150 applicants. Jobs are few and far between here. You will see the same job ad for even years here, because they can't find that "one special person". Seriously? Isn't that a little weird? It's not like you have to be a damn wizard to do a job. But somehow things have gotten more than a little out of hand with employment. And once you're unemployed, you will probably stay that way. Once you're unemployed in middle age, you *will* stay that way.

There is no work for a lot of us. Your experience is irrelevant to us. It's great that you can get a job just like that, but that's you. And in fact, getting an interview is not getting a job. If you're talking about getting a job picking pineapples or working at a convenience store, that's not just doable for quite a good part of the population. Not all jobs fit all people. You damage your soul a lot when you do the wrong work. That embassy job was a killer, though the pay was decent and had a lot of other perks. But it was killing my soul. I will never "prostitute" myself for a job ever again.