Just had a weird and rage-inducing experience..

[Jobseekernightmare]

I am half fuming, half incredulous!.

I just went to sign on for JSA and was invited to take on tailored and specific worm experience with the DWP. I signed all the forms, met the coordinator and was asked to shadow immediately, which I did for a presentation, then was asked to come in tomorrow morning and then next Monday morning for a few hours. I asked a few questions too as a jobseeker, and also passed on some info about the railcard available to jobseekers.

Afterwards I said it was interesting and that I would like to help, and I explained some of my skills, and explained that I was funding it difficult as often when I explain my skills, employers often see me as overqualified, so I can't get basic experience, or often a job to keep me going, which is why I thought work experience would-be useful and it would anchor the week and help with motivation.

So as soon as I explained this...she only went and did the same bloody thing to me!!! She started making the old false objections...ie 'you might be better spending the time looking for work' I explained I would do that time anyway' then 'have you seen anything in out non-dwp roles( largely doing retail jobs for nothing) to which I said I was interested in DWP roles as I felt that helping others re work would also motivate me and I can add value, so she said 'I might not be able to offer you something useful' I said 'well its useful in that I can help and it's motivating to help and I would be interested in shadowing (I was getting really disheartened here as she was clearly trying to put me off, only 20 mins after signing me up, it was weird), then she said 'actually don't come in until I've spoken to your jobcoach'. Ie now I am waiting more than two weeks, when I was looking forward to helping tomorrow, amd had booked thr time in my diary, and had gone through the bloody criteria twice!

So I have been rejected by the bloody DWP for free work, because I am overqualified after the same coach saying that employers don't reject people for being overqualified....


CRAZY!!! and very depressing.

Its like they are being trained to instill a sense of learnt failure in claimants!

[Jobseekernightmare]

Oh well.

[ExasperatedAlmostAlways]

I don't mean to offend you at all but do you think perhaps your are coming across as arrogant when you are saying that and it's put her off? She thinks, you think, you are too good for the role?

Or maybe she feels it won't challenge you enough or that you will be wasting your time as their isn't a job at the end of it and it won't teach you new skills you don't already have?

its definitely strange.

[Jobseekernightmare]

Maybe but she did only 20 mins beforehand. It was really depressing as I explained why I thought it would be good for me and them. I hate to say it, but I am starting to think that it was because I told her about a facility she didn't know about and is getting weird because of that. She also said that I could start somewhere get recognised then get promoted, which I said I had thought before, but didn't realise that when you did that the people who feel ahead if you in the queue sometimes aren't as helpful as you would like them to be because they don't want you to do better than them. I wonder if she didn't want me to be seen as a good addition to the team albeit work experience in case I did get recognised iyswim?

[Jobseekernightmare]

But of course I'm 'too good for the role' in one sense, I have 12 years of management, marketing and tutoring experience, which she knew about originally.

[southeastastra]

Worm experience

[Jobseekernightmare]

I know luckily I never put attenton to detail on my CV..

Re arrogance, if saying you have got experience is 'arrogance' and get you fired how does anyone get a job in England?

[jclm]

Omg! I hope I will never have to go into the job centre, ever... The workers there have too much power.

[Rangirl]

I signed on for 6 months after being made redundant I found the whole experience very dispiriting
I do think some of the advisers are out of their depth when dealing with professional people

I asked about help to start my own business Was told there was none
Went on line ,found out what was available Went back in
Was told I probably wouldn't get it 'because your husband is working
Kept pressing,finally got the help Set up own business Still going strong
Shudder when I walk past Job Centre
Fear of going back there is a large part of why keeps me pushing on