Job center woes.

Caporegime
Joined
3 Jan 2006
Posts
25,276
Location
Chadderton, Oldham
A staff member at the job center.

It was along these lines:

Her:"How are you going to travel to work"
Me: Bicycle
Her: oh....... really...., so if you lived in Manchester city center and had to travel to Tameside, you would get up looooaddddsss of hours before work to get there in time
Me: What? It's 6 miles, it'd take about 20-30 minutes.
Her: er...... no it would not, it takes me that long in the car.
Me: I could like do 50 miles in 2 hours.
Her: *ignores that*

Her: you've not done enough to warrant JSA, you don't show motivation or anything.
Me: *says nothing, thinking, well I'm tired, I'm soaked, and I'm at a job center and it's depressing, and you're trying to send me to flip burgers at McDonalds, wonder why I'm looking a bit miserable?*

The time will come when I will look for ANYTHIGN, but at the moment, I am aiming to find something that may contribute to my future.

Her: What other job category do you want me to find?
Me: SEO
Her: What is SEO!?!?! (In an tone that suggests, "ermmm... what the hell is that, sounds stupid"
Me: Search Engine Optimisation
Her: What does that do?
Me: optimises web pages for search engines
Her: Oh *confused* - says no more.

Suffice to say, it would not be acceptable for me to look for SEO jobs to them, because its not on their list of job categories.

I don't like the way they force you to get a job, I'd rather not be on JSA and be looking for ****e jobs on my own than with them pressuring me.

You go in, they treat you like you're dumb,chav and what to live off £52 a week.

I'm neither, I want a job, but the way they go about trying to get me in a job in there is certainly counter productive and I was in a very bad mood coming from the job center, suffice to say, I don't care about picking my £52 up, more just telling her to Fully star out swearing please (obviously I would not but I felt like it) and go look for jobs on my own steam.

She also said that my voluntary work I put on my CV is not work experience because it's "my hobby", I cycle as a hobby but if I am setting up stationary cycling equipment and dealing with the computers and maintenance of them as well as printing peoples reports off for no wage and up to 25 hours a week I fail to see how that is a hobby?

I thought perhaps I should have pointed out to her that a hobby can be work and work does not have to be depressing and boring? People who ride in the TdF like cycling but they're paid to do it as a job, granted it can be hard, tiring and painful.

Also she said I have to look for jobs up to 90 minutes, but I think, I might as well move home then, because Manchester to Selby is about 90 minutes, I want to live in Manchester, if I got a job 90 minutes away I'd want to live nearer that job, I would not want to have a job as a shelve stacker or at McDonalds and commute 90 minutes to it??

Am I being unreasonable to be angry at the advisor? I felt like expressing anger. They really talk down to you.
 
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Great, sounds like im in for a treat when i go for my JSA interview tomorrow.

The first one was ok, it was when I went for the second appointment with my advisor or supervisor whatever they're called and it was for 40 minutes.
 
Job center is so fun, enjoy it lads.

Your interviews only last like 5 minutes majority of the time sometimes last 10-20. Enjoy when they put you on their new agency thing had 4 interviews with them this week and a 3 hour course lulz
 
From what I've heard the Job Centre staff are just like the Careers Service staff at School/Uni, it's for people that couldn't get jobs themselves...
 
:/ How often do you have to go for the appointments?

Once a week for me because I'm a "high need" cause or something.

I know people who have lived on JSA for over a year and they're not "high need", they're not even giving me a chance to look for jobs myself in something I want to do.
 
From what I've heard the Job Centre staff are just like the Careers Service staff at School/Uni, it's for people that couldn't get jobs themselves...

I'd say they are worse because they offer no advice what so ever.


:/ How often do you have to go for the appointments?

Every 2 weeks is the norm, though some people go in every week depending on their circumstances.
 
I had a similar problem last year when on JSA, they do treat you like rubbish, even more so if you are positive and actively looking for work. Eventually I lost my rag, I could blame the depression or the other health problems I was suffering from but to be honest I was sick of going in, showing plenty of proof I had been job seeking and even phoning up companies whilst there if they suggested them. I ended up losing my temper and having a go at the advisor. I got treated a hell of a lot better after that, offered to pay my travelling costs each time I signed and they didn't seem to care if I looked for a job or not.

Overall a pretty poor experience if treating their staff like idiots does you more good than doing what they ask.
 
Her: What other job category do you want me to find?
Me: SEO
Her: What is SEO!?!?! (In an tone that suggests, "ermmm... what the hell is that, sounds stupid"
Me: Search Engine Optimisation
Her: What does that do?
Me: optimises web pages for search engines
Her: Oh *confused* - says no more.

You sound like a bit of a condescending twirp here. Like everyone should know what SEO is? Of course she was going to be confused.

I doubt there are going to be many job adverts for SEO experts. Think you will need to set up your own business with this sort of area.
 
Simple solution to not being pressurised to find a job, stop claiming the dole.

While someone else (eg the taxpayers of the UK) are funding you, then attaching rules to that is perfectly acceptable.

Please note I'm not saying that by and large the job centre is anything other than a bunch of timewasting jobsworths and parasites on the taxpayer, and indeed I support replacing the system of conditional benefits with much more practical universal entitlements, but ultimately the system is what it is at the moment.
 
You sound like a bit of a condescending twirp here. Like everyone should know what SEO is? Of course she was going to be confused.

I doubt there are going to be many job adverts for SEO experts. Think you will need to set up your own business with this sort of area.

She was been sarcy. I told her what it is and she was like huffing and saying you'll never find anything like that.
 
When I was out of work, we got to paint a multi storey car park white. Took a couple of weeks. I found it really enjoyable and didn't mind doing it at all.

If after so long people are not getting jobs they should definitely be doing community work for their Job Seeker Allowance. Gets people back to work practices.
 
When I was out of work, we got to paint a multi storey car park white. Took a couple of weeks. I found it really enjoyable and didn't mind doing it at all.

If after so long people are not getting jobs they should definitely be doing community work for their Job Seeker Allowance. Gets people back to work practices.

What job did that get you? Did you put that on your CV as painter/decorator?
 
It wasn't going to help my job prospects no. Some people have never known what work is and the formalities of it. It gets them out doing things and conversing with others simulating a work like enviroment.

Most importantly, a multi storey car park was painted white on the cheap, saving the hard workers tax money.
 
I worked at Mcdonalds for 10 years before I managed to get out. My old boss used to say to be that the Job centre was for people who were unemployed not people that were looking for work. They used to phone the store regular asking if we had active jobs that they could fill and my boss always used to say no.
 
The system undoubtedly has its flaws (it was designed by humans after all), but I think who you get on the day has a big impact on your experience.
 
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I'm going to apply at Asda in trafford, my only concern is its 20 hours, at minimum wage this is £121 and 60 pence per week, after tax/ni would I be able to afford to rent a place off of that?
 
I understand how frustrating it can be going in there. I signed up to start JSA but by the time I had my first sign on day I had an interview within the job centre that day for Watt brothers and I was offered a job that night in a bike shop. All the job centre did was register me for labouring work and something to do with ILA funding.

The 'advisor' I got couldn't even type properly, one of those index finger per letter types.

I got some looks as I had turned up in a suit too as I didn't match the tacky wearing crowd.


You should get some form of housing benefit/council tax benefit at those hours I think. I know you can get £52pw JSA and housing benefit up to certain amounts depending on how many rooms the property has and what age you are. Looks like for Manchester you can get £95pw if you are entitled to LHA which you should be if you sign on for JSA.

http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/Diol1/DoItOnline/DG_196239
 
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