AIBU to fuckin hate job application forms and hate the Job Centre's ideas of what's reasonable?

[fuckingpissedofftoday]

When I was signing on last year, the adviser said I should be applying for about 30 or 40 jobs a week. Not in that same position now but still fresh in my mind.

Found a job today with a closing date at 5pm. Downloaded the application form and it's the biggest fucking pile of bollocks! Loads of questions and two that to me seem very similar, one is why would you be good at this job and then directly after is write a supporting statement of why you should get this job. They want the personal statement to be 1,000 words. A THOUSAND WORDS. This is in addition to all their other questions. This is for a part time job that pays just over £10 per hour for 2 days a week. So less than £150 a week.

It's fucking bullshit and how on earth would you be able to apply for even 20 of those a week if you were signing on? Surely all you can do to meet those targets would be chuck in generic CVs to agencies and the like - you wouldn't have time to do properly tailored applications for each. That said, I think examples like the particular job I have discussed are taking the piss with their form.

I won't make the closing date now and in a foul temper. No way can I fill it all in properly in an hour. Trying to see it as having dodged a bullet in that I'd hate to work in a place that makes up such meaningless shite to be filled in for no good reason.

[wasonthelist]

Yanbu.

[wasonthelist]

Job centre's purpose = reduce number of claimants, not "get people a job".

[Mistigri]

How can anyone find 35-40 jobs a week to apply for let alone make serious applications for them? That's one an hour, based on a 35-40 hour working week. I'm sure that scatter-gun type approach actually reduces your chance of getting a job (but increases the likelihood of you being sanctioned, which I guess is the point).

If someone asked me to write 1000 words for a joke job, I'd be tempted to send them a joke invoice for my time ...

[IamtheZombie]

How long had the job advertisement been online before you saw it?

[fuckingpissedofftoday]

Not sure how long it had been up. For some reason I think it was posted up last week.

[ItsAllGoingToBeFine]

Job centre's purpose = reduce number of claimants, not "get people a job"

This^ YANBU

[MsMims]

YANBU.

30- 40 applications would surely just mean chucking a CV at as many places as you could find.

Much better to do a tailor made application with at least a personalised covering letter.

[LaurieFairyCake]

Yanbu

It should be cv's. It's completely unreasonable to expect tailored job applications that take 5-10 hours to do.

It's hard enough doing it when you're out of work but it's completely dispiriting when you're in work

I started a job application last week, was busy at work and never finished it. That's 3 hours of my life I won't get back.

My poor dh (teacher) is applying for jobs at the moment but is currently working 60 hours a week. He gave up one weekend to tailor his application and they didn't even email him to say thanks, but no thanks - and it's at the level he's currently at so not even a promotion.

All the applications I'm doing are asking for evidence that you've done something - you can't just say "I've been doing this ten years in this school" - you have to write out every single competence and evidence it. When it's completely obvious from your current job that you do it every day.

[ivykaty44]

I have been applying for jobs, one I applied for liked my CV but then wanted a video and then tests, all for a role paying just above minimum wage....

The tests I understand but the video??

[CooPie10]

Yanbu I don't think even most professional jobs require 1000 word essays. That's not how to motivate and encourage people.

[fakenamefornow]

Tip. Copy and paste all the questions and your answers then you have a base to work from. Copy each of your personal statements from each application as well. I know from bitter experience this saves a lot of time. You probably do this already anyway.

[wol1968]

YANBU. I hate these too with a passion. 30-40 a week is completely unrealistic unless you're sending out proformas (and what recruiter wants to read those?)

I'm trying to fill one in at the moment - watch this space.

[gooseberryroolz]

30-40 applications per week is madness

[fuckingpissedofftoday]

Glad its not only me who would find this annoying.

Yes I do the copy and pasting thing when I can and then adjust it of course. But still, inevitably requires rewriting parts of it. In this case what really infuriates me is the two questions that were so alike I'd have been struggling to make up shite for the second because all key info would be best placed in the first.

The video is another example of this rubbish!

I wish it was Cvs generally.

[startingmylifeagain]

Yanbu
Been there done that got the t shirt. It's crap signing on and applying for jobs. When I was reporting to the JC they said I had to actively apply for at least 6 jobs per week and this was in 2011, so it seems a massive jump to 30-40 in 5 years??!

Anyway I know its hard work and I swear employers deliberately make their online application forms bloody difficult too. That and the fact that half the time they don't even bother getting back to you, means it can be an exhausting and frustrating process.

Hope you find something soon

[WicksEnd]

It's 35 hours per week of job search, not applications.
Included in the 35 hours can be, voluntary work, short courses,improving CV, registering with agencies etc

[Followyourart]

What if there aren't 30/40 jobs to apply for pissed, will they sanction you? I may be being made redundant and considering the possibility of signing on, I'm terrified
I don't know how they think that a new set of 30/40 jobs will appear just 1 week later? I just don't understand.. No wonder lots of people are trying for ESA instead..

[Followyourart]

Oh you can include voluntary work in the 35 hours..?

[ItsJustaUsername]

I claimed for 8 weeks once (that was enough!), I already had a job lined up but it didn't start for 2 months. When I told the job centre I was starting work on x date about a week before I was due to start they told me I still had to apply for 20 jobs in that week even though I already had a job .

[toffeeboffin]

Do they actually require proof of these 40 applications?

[HopelesslydevotedtoGu]

Ridiculous to potentially have hundreds of people spending hours filling in this form, when only one will get the job.

For most jobs a CV and covering letter should be the initial stage, then those shortlisted can be contacted for further info.

[GreenishMe]

pissedoff I applied (or tried to) for a job advertised on their website earlier today - but it was an employment agency advertising the vacancy. I had to join up, fill out loads of questions and tick boxes from drop down lists and be on their mailing list for suitable positions.....before I could even apply for the job advertised - which turned out to be different hours to what was stated in the original Job Centre ad!

It seemed to take all afternoon and for my trouble I'm now going to be bombarded with emails about jobs I'm not fucking interested in

YANBU

[Lurkedforever1]

Yanbu. But from the Jobcentres pov, setting sensible targets would result in them only being able to sanction the tiny minuscule minority of genuine job dodgers, and that isn't what they want. They want to sanction as many as possible. Insisting you do pointless applications/ courses/ appointments with other wankers with stupid job titles etc also gives them more material to go over in their ritual humiliation signing on appointments. Bunch of arsewipes.

[silvermantela]

I'm a bit at 30-40 jobs per week - I signed on for a brief period about 2 years ago and it was app.30-40 hours a week you were supposed to spend actively job hunting (so the same as a full time job, which I suppose was fair enough) but you only had to show evidence you'd actually applied for about 5 jobs a week, and tbh my advisor was quite lax on that. There is no way you could apply for 40 jobs a week without "working" 120 hr week, unless you are literally just uploading CVs. Most applications take at least 3 hours to complete.

Also agree there is no correlation between the level of the job and the length of the application process. I ended up getting a fairly high level job in a specialised field from one brief application form and a shortish face-to-face informal interview, but my sister had to go through a four stage interview process to get a temporary job in Outfit!

We recruited recently in my workplace, and apparently it was immediately obvious from the initial sift that a huge proportion of the applicants were only applying as a tickbox exercise to meet their jsa criteria and in no way fit the person spec, nor wanted the job at all. One bloke applied for a job that specified fluent [1 particular minority language] skills - when he got called for interview they asked him about this - apparently he spoke a few words to the blokes down the pub! It's such a waste of time, both for the person having to apply for these jobs they don't want/aren't qualified for, and the people trying to recruit.

[silvermantela]

don't even get me started about trying to contact the jsa office when you can't make your appointment. They go all in about how serious it is to miss an appointment, you can get sanctioned, you HAVE to inform them if you're going to be even a few minutes late etc...but try getting hold of them on the number they give you to contact! I tried to rearrange my appointment, ironically because I had a job interview! - tried ringing 10 times a day for three days...it just rang and rang but was never answered nor went through to voicemail or even an automated 'you are 1000th in the queue.' Just rang for about 5 mins and then cut itself off.

I asked for an email address to contact them - no you have to phone and speak in person.

Eventually I gave up and had to drive down there to tell them in person - and I was lucky to have a car. Otherwise it would have been £6.70 on the bus out of my 50 odd quid a week. God knows how someone who was stuck in traffic, or had an emergency was supposed to get through.