I'm BORED with being unemployed

He looked rather incongruous in that job.

(Suzy sez temping is wank but I say sod off to her and her Edgy Style Rags).

DG, if you can manage 17 years without killing FatNick (yet) I'm sure it's a doddle for at least six months, unless you get one of those pernickety supervisors or have to work with a bunch of gormless idiots who are paid to shuffle index cards while sitting on a fattening backside all day.

The tolerably-paid permanent job I ended up getting was a direct result of a badly-paid temp job, too.

So I say yes, temping is a bit smelly, and you sometimes just get the jobs no-one else will touch. But it can be very helpful from time to time.

I applied for jobs a while ago, it was quite funny- the local supermarkets, the fast food chains and the cleaning people did not want me. Not even the Warehouse would hire me despite my wonderful education. No-one in their right mind would allow me near heavy vehicles either. I have come to the conclusion that I am unemployable.

How degraded are you prepared to be for your job? A friend of mine from wellington had to walk all over the main street dressed in a skin tight leopard print costume handing out perfume samples. That was comparatively quick though painful. decent money assuaged some of the pain.

Why be Giles from buffy when you could join a gang and be a character from Snatch?

I'm not actually bored of unemployment in and of itself but the byproducts of having no money and therefore no reason to leave the house all day are certainly getting me down a smidge.

i don't know if i'm looking for the right jobs or looking in the right places. ilx is probably not the right place, right?

no harm in asking on here tho - depends where you are and what you're looking for of course.

I suppose "unemployed" is not strictly accurate. "not yet employed" is closer to the truth since I've only just finished my degree...

i'm in brighton and looking mainly for jobs in london vaguely related to media/marketing/research (stupidly competitive fields I know) but am prepared to do pretty much anything at this point.

what jobs do other people here do?

as someone who just took 6 months off from regular work of any sort (including "school work," heh), the key is to just start applying for everything interesting and some well-paying if dull jobs, and doing what you want the rest of the time. STAY "BUSY." i just started writing and listening to music a lot more, and it kept me happy while simultaneously keeping me engaged in the world around me.

staying in the house doing "nothing" all day cannot be an option for too long. otherwise depression kicks in.

uptoeleven what's ur email? i shall pass you on something a friend mentioned.

duh wait i'll just click your name and send u mail

wow, that's really good of you. i really just came to find solace from my languishing but certainly any leads anyone can offer are mightily appreciated.

a thousand thank you's.

I'm bored with my job.

Can I trade with someone who is unemployed, please?

My former schoolfriend has been unemployed since 2000, and never gets hassle from the dole office - despite holidays including Canada and (shortly) Nicaragua.

How is this possible? Do they just give up on trying to encourage you back into work after a while?

Also the idle sod has a good degree in psychology and, like me, is the product of a well respected London grammar school.

Kate - you knew the risks when you tok out that mortgage: 25 years of solid work with no sabbaticals and no loafing.

Ideally, upto11, you should aim for a part-time job in a library or something. Take a look around, there's no need to hurry into a career!

What kind of research do you want to do? Mostly, it seems research jobs are science based.

http://www.jobs.ac.uk/ might be a good place to start looking!

The dole sounds unbelievable.

they make you come and sign for the money tho - fascists.

You don't have to sign if you're on incapacity benefit or you're on income support. You also don't get hassled back to work.

uptoeleven, use your unemployed-time constructively to do something that'll set you apart from the millions of graduates wanting to work at the shitty end of media/research/marketing. I was completely inert when I left university, couldn't get a decent job, so threw myself wholeheartedly into volunteering - I organised charity events for Oxfam, I'm pretty sure you'd find something.

A quick google for volunteer Brighton gives http://www.mybrightonandhove.org.uk/page_id__8285_path__0p1364p1542p1543p.aspx which might be interesting?

Here they don't let you sign in anymore, if I'm not mistaken. Which is easy if you're doing something (ahum) on the side. That said, they do hassle you if you have been unemployed for a longer period and request an interview. If you are "unwilling" to work then they can cut off your dole pay.

Aye, sorry, I just meant the Income Support / Incapacity Benefit people don't get hassled back. JobSeekers Allowance = mega hassle for rest of all time, with benefit sanctions imposed for non-compliance. However, it is piss-easy to look like you're trying to get a job and not actually get one.

Pissing yourself during job interviews usually does the trick.

As does turning up pissed to an interview.

xpost My dad was an expert at getting rejected.

Uptoeleven: Just take any old thing, the post uni pic n' mix job variety fun decade is a noble rite of passage without which I would not know how to tile a roof/make a gnome/build a wall/cook for lots of people. Far more entertaining than sitting in an office all day (and now I am responsible homeowner and businessman so it all works out okay in the end).

It used to be piss easy to stay on the dole here, you only had to hand in a form once a fortnight with TWO jobs listed, so it was dead easy to make shit up all the time. Now they make you come in for assesments and go on training programs and stuff you around with useless interviews... I never want to have to be on the dole again if I can help it.

i'm not unemployed, but i understand the stress and anxiety over finding work once you're done with uni. i think that's why i've managed to stretch my 3 year degree into a 4 year degree. i'm utterly petrified. i should be done by the end of january (if i don't fail the class i'm taking this semester while simultaneously working 2 jobs), and then i'm loosely planning on heading to melbourne (goth-clubbing, trayce!) and then maybe to japan to do the typical teaching-english gig.

but after that... who knows?

Yay Ruby! We must totally catch up and go clubbin if you come visit :)

my limited (practical) skills are in the fields of bi-pedal fit techniques and the efficient retrieval of cuisine orders combined with the efficient delivery of plated cuisine and beverages - in other words i'm a sales whore and hospo slut. so i figure the best place to get actually get paid half decently for doing this shit is melbourne. plus, i've heard melbz is the aussie equivalent of wellington, and i adore living in welly.

i'm wondering exactly where my english lit degree is going to get me.

I suspect English Lit degrees are wonderfully valuable things in themselves but, like any arts degrees, have very little scope for practical application. I also successfully stretched my degree into four years but am starting to think American Studies and International Relations was a waste of frickin time. Should have done IT instead.

Advice from all very much appreciated. Ailsa, that sounds really interesting; definitely gonna drop Mr Jack Latimer a line.

I have applied for JSA which amounts to £35/week if and when I eventually get it. In the meantime it's 9p noodles for me.

You getting housing and council tax benefit too?

xp i'm wishing i'd done something IT/computer-related as well :(

Where is this agency's website? Google give sme nothing.

PS - I'm also in the category of this thread.

Are recruitment agencies actually worthwhile?

-- Ronan, Tuesday, 24 July 2007 11:16 (Tuesday, 24 July 2007 11:16)

It really depends Ronan. In my experience (I also worked in the sector here for a while) decent temp work isn't hard to come by if you have a relevant qualification (e.g. chartered accountant etc) but I think that you're on a par with myself (basic BA, non-business relevant) which can make it a bit harder to get a decent temp job that's not just data entry or similar. If you were willing to sign on for fixed term contracts eg 6 months, you could do a bit better and get a better job. Based on my experiences both with temps here and previously, the larger the agency the more variety. I would check with Gr4ft0n, Ad3cc0 and M4np0w3r. Br1ghtw4t3r aren't much use really. The smaller ones could have a couple of good short term jobs.

Hope that helps.

I found it. here:

http://www.themusicmarket.co.uk/

And thanks ailsa, I will do. Unfortunately you're not too late to the party.

i want to be unemployed in the uk, maaaaan

ailsa, not sure if the ilx email thing works. any chance you could email me at the address posted further upthread? thanks

Sorry, been at work all day. Have emailed you now.

emsk. met with Roxie at the music market today. certainly seemed like the ideal place to find me work so fingers crossed something will come up. and being paid weekly is gonna definitely be an advantage if i'm gonna be able to move into a new house by the end of august.

where do you work and what do you do btw?

Nick - reference fine btw.

<i>emsk. met with Roxie at the music market today. certainly seemed like the ideal place to find me work </i>

yay nice one!

<i>where do you work and what do you do btw?</I>

er i will tell you in an email. anyone who knows me irl would be easily able to work it out from reading ilx but not the other way around and... i know the interweb's not that anonymous, but... hm...

oh bollocks, i think it is 1 year ago or something

i'd be interested so email me if you get a chance. the address is on here . Find in this page: uptoeleven.

and cheers mark, appreciate it enormously.

It's getting old now.

tell me about it

Things are marginally improved for me, but only in the sense that i'm going to be (just about) able to pay next month's rent.

I've been out of work since early July, and it's cripplingly frustrating.

DG, have you been unemployed for six years now?

I'd like a house boy.

no not really i just fancied being a martyr

(which isn't my job BTW)

It's getting old now.

-- the next grozart, Wednesday, 26 September 2007 12:57 (6 hours ago) Link

otm.

oh shit

;_;

time for this for me ...

http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y123/Eisbaer29/unemployed-youth.jpg

What's frustrating are the phonecalls I get from agencies where they describe a fairly exciting job and ask if I'm interested and then never ring me back.

you guys should consider getting a nintendo wii

i'm not employed or unemployed exactly but i am trying to arrange this internship in another country and suddenly due to visa issues it has to be done in under 3 weeks (it's almost been 1 already!) instead of the 2-3 months i thought i had, and waiting to hear if it will happen and not being able to make plans for flights or boats or hotels or apartments 1.5 weeks ahead and meanwhile it being improper to pester people daily SUCKS.

unemployment sucks worse but uncertainty is unpleasant.

thanks to ailsa and mark. i am now employed.

*bows*

this shit is getting old, i must admit. also:

http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y123/Eisbaer29/unemployed-youth.jpg

hello little thread. i've missed you.

im not exactly unemployed. i work freelance, but i havent worked freelance for about 5 years, and its not paying all that well so far. its hard getting a full time job. plus its tedious trawling through all the job sites again and again. i think im going to go and do some voluntary work abroad for a month before i start studying (which im not totally sure about, but should be fun, even though its setting my career plans back a bit).

been 3-4 months now. which is too long. other people i know seem to get all sorts of little jobs here and there to keep them busy. i wouldnt mind that.

i'm not unemployed, but i understand the stress and anxiety over finding work once you're done with uni. i think that's why i've managed to stretch my 3 year degree into a 4 year degree. i'm utterly petrified. i should be done by the end of january (if i don't fail the class i'm taking this semester while simultaneously working 2 jobs), and then i'm loosely planning on heading to melbourne (goth-clubbing, trayce!) and then maybe to japan to do the typical teaching-english gig.

but after that... who knows?

-- Rubyred, Thursday, 5 July 2007 20:34 (11 months ago)

HAHAHA i did graduate in jan, but i'm going to the US instead, which is infinitely more preferable to me. and i've decided i want to be a penniless letterpress printer. WOOT.

Well, my application should be with London Underground by now, so I'll have to wait ages to hear anything (I would imagine), and I'm bored with trawling Monster.co.uk etc for jobs, so I was wondering...does anyone here work for a company that urgently needs an office junior or something? I make a damn fine cup of tea!

-- DG, Tuesday, 30 October 2001 01:00 (6 years ago) Bookmark Link

I make a damn fine cup of tea!

whatever happened to that guy

hey, don't knock it dom - i got my first ever job interview thanks to using the phrase "i make the best cup of tea in the south east" in my cover letter - got the job* too!

*ok, they turned out to be arseholes, but all the same

I make a damn fine cup of tea!

^^^real talk

Okay. Day 1 of unemployment completed. Already bored to shit and no fuckin' idea how I'm gonna cope with a protracted period of joblessness.

SOMEONE EMPLOY ME PLZ

-- Just got offed, Friday, 4 July 2008 16:36 (28 minutes ago) Bookmark Link

sorry, can't help.

although I'd be happy to help you with your CV while I'm updating mine if you'd like. After last year (thanks to various Ilxors) i am an expert at this.

I'm pretty confident I know what to do to make my CV better. Get rid of half the words.

you might want to be a bit choosy about which ones.

6 months at this point (OK, not counting the contract I did in the middle.) Getting really old. Need something to get beyond the second interview stage, please? Thanks.

Being unemployed sux. People say 'well you hav eto live life to its fulest!" and it's like, yeah, did that the first month, now what?

I hear Bush signed the 3 month unemployment extension plan into law, so at least the $_$ won't run out. I'll be in school anyway, so whatever.

so.... I may not have left the house but have dispatched one pretty sparkling job application today. while there is a lot more out there for the likes o' me than there was a year ago - i.e. i am vastly more employable than I was - there is still not quite as much as I would like.

wish my travel card hadn't expired. could go places and do shit.

Are you supposed to make the same effort for a chat/interview with a recruitment agency as you would for the actual employer? Obviously I can't prepare for it by researching the company because I don't know who they are but is one obliged to suit and boot it etc etc?

yes, basically

Aye. They are your portal to a world of employment so you want them to see you as the suited and booted professional that you want them to tell employers about. You can gauge how to talk to them when you get there, but go with the intent of selling yourself in the best way possible - I've gone places where I ended up having a laugh and being brutally honest with them about why I left my job, as well as places where I was all business-speak, but the former put them in a better position to find me somewhere that would suit me (i.e. not somewhere I have to be very boring and businesslike all day, and not somewhere that will have the same effect on me as my last employer did). Depends on the agency, I guess, but err very much on the side of professional in the first instance.

^this very much on the button. Give the recruitment toerag something he can sell easily so they can earn their commission.

Thanks all. New shoes are required but I'm going to try and avoid a haircut.

A year on and I am once again receiving invaluable career and job advice from Ailsa et al :) I'll try and keep the next one I promise.

I'm in a somewhat better position than I was a year ago in that I don't have to take the first thing that comes along in order to simply pay the bills.

I did not have to go so far as a haircut last time I was unemployed so there is hope for you yet.

dare you