To think this is utterly humiliating

[merricat]

So, I live in a reasonably quiet Scottish village. We moved here two years ago after my husband got a job at [neighbouring city's university].

I know I'm overqualified for normal jobs - I have a PhD - but I want and need a job. Such jobs keep becoming available at our local Co-op shop. I would be fine and good at it, reliable etc. I have no commitments and could work any hours they wanted (which they said was a plus the first time I applied). I have now applied three times for a part time job on the tills. It is getting embarrassing. I will not apply again, but this evening I went in and noticed signs up saying they were recruiting. Every time I go in, the manager makes a point of ignoring me - he has my application on file and I've spoken to him about it previously, but can't keep doing so. I'm here, local, willing, and able. I cannot seem to get this shop job, despite the fact that they've been advertising consistently since I moved here, and despite having my application on file.

What is wrong with me? Why won't they even interview me? What can I do? How can I manage to get a job in a shop?

It's really started to depress me. Whenever I go in there, the manage very concertedly avoids eye contact. It's humiliating!

OP I think some of the comments on here are really rude and there's clearly some sort of inverse snobbery going on here about your qualifications. Please be proud of what you have achieved.

I have 2 degrees and was also turned down for Asda, I failed their psychometric testing and was unofficially told that I didn't come across as a person that would say 'yes to everything asked'. A week later Argos employed me and a wrote a letter to me asking me to come back the next year.

I think you should write to Co-Op Head Office and ask for some feedback but with a view to putting your mind at rest. The bloke in the shop obviously doesn't want to employ you and do you really want to work for someone like that?

I also was treated really badly by a few managers and some customers when I transferred from a London branch of a high street shop up to Glasgow when I was at uni. It was a horrible experience. They were very resentful that I had taken a Scot's job. Elsewhere I found the people of Glasgow lovely in general but there are always a few odd people out there wherever you go.

None of us know what the problem is. Maybe he had a sex dream about you and is embarrassed. Maybe you look a bit like his ex wife. There are a million reasons he might not want to hire you.

For what it's worth I'm also very over qualified for my current job but needs must. I hope something turns up for you.

but all of these reasons it might be that people are illegal! lol. why is that being ignored? it doesn't matter actually which particular form of discrimination is being applied - you are not allowed to discriminate in such ways in employment.

if someone fulfills the criteria and the position has not been filled or over-applied to then they should be interviewed. the guy is leaving himself open to action against him because he can't give a legitimate reason as to why she hasn't even been interviewed despite applying several times and them not filling the role.

what legal reason does anyone think he could give for not interviewing this candidate when the role hasn't been filled? how can he, if pulled up on it by HR, justify his actions?

OP even without experience you might be able to find work in a university. I was in your exact position, struggling to get even low level jobs after my phd (we were living in a small village in Scotland for DH's academic job and I am English) but then on a whim I applied for a fairly good admin position in a nearby university and was successful. I had no office experience whatsoever but still managed it, and there are in fact a number of people with PhDs in the department I'm in. Good luck!

I live in the village I was born in and grew up in. I am not considered local because neither of my parents were born in the village. I have now married an English man and we had to tolerate death threats during the referendum.

As to the OP I completely understand how you feel but suspect you may have had a lucky escape. You want a job where you are treated well. Research into where is commutable from home and widen your search geographically and type of job, have confidence in yourself and apply for jobs that you may not have considered before. Don't rule out uni admin, if a job comes up apply but keep looking at other jobs too. Don't be tempted to lie about GC SEs my last interview I had to.provide my school certificates and marriage certificate to account for the change of name since I left school. If you feel you have to.miss off your PhD for some jobs don't leave a gap, present it as working on a research project at x uni. Don't lie on your CV just alter which bit you emphasise.

honey they may be illegal but would cost a fortune to fight and complaining about a local could get you black balled.

OP it is a shame you have had to experience anti-Englishness. As I said in my previous post there is a real undercurrent of anti Englishness in Scotland. It has always been there (at least in my 50 odd years of living here) but I think has had a bit of a resurgence recently. I suppose it's only to be expected when the most popular political party in Scotland is one that blames all of society's ills on England (in the guise of Westminster).

I don't live in the far North now, but when my scottish family moved there from the central belt many years ago we were called sassenachs and English by lots of locals.

Sadly too many Scots have a tendency to be xenophobic and parochial.

Honey is right - but the first step is to request feedback, which applicants are entitled to do anyway.
Afair, solicitors specialising in employment law have a no win no fee policy. some basic stuff from CAB here.

Agreeing with annie - honey if you were talking about a big company etc it would be different
But even if OP managed to go through the process and it was found to be discrimination and she got the job...What do you it would be like working in that small local shop? Most of the staff and customers would probably feel loyalty to the manager ...I would imagine it would be uncomfortable at best - more likely to be hellish .

Never mind working.just living in the village could be hellish.

We live in a small village in North East Scotland. It has a Co-op which repeatedly advertises. We are local. My DD repeatedly applied to work there from the moment she turned 16 until she left for Uni two years later and nothing.

The impression we got is that the manager simultaneously puts up the adverts and asks his staff if they know anyone interested. And it's the staff suggestions which are followed up, not the written application forms. The teenagers recommend a friend, and that friend recommends a friend, and so on. None of DDs friendship group ever worked there, so she had no chance.

DD got a Saturday shop job in the nearest town, and so by the time she put in her final application, she even had experience working a till, but still, not even an acknowledgement.

Everyone is friendly though, no awkwardness when we go in.

I don't think OP is suggesting she should get a job based on the fact she has a PhD and therefore is qualified to do any job.
I understand your frustrations, I moved to a new area and struggled to find work in retail. I have experience in retail, admittedly not recent, but relevant.
The most annoying thing is that the positions I applied for were filled by teens who have little to no experience and half of the time doubt seem to want to be there.

"For what it's worth I'm also very over qualified for my current job but needs must"

I spent about 7 years doing jobs I was overqualified for. Fortunately now I've found a job that does use my PhD, although it doesn't require it. It's been a bit of a sidewise move but I love the job, and it enables me to live in an amazing part of the country. I'm also doing much more innovative things than were allowed in academia, where I would be mostly worrying about the REF. Funny how life works out sometimes.

Thanks all. Honey you especially, I hadn't actually considered the legal aspect before (I won't do anything about it, because it doesn't seem worth it - but you are right and thanks for the sympathy).

Stripey thanks for the support, but I cannot agree with your interpretation. When you say things like Sadly too many Scots have a tendency to be xenophobic and parochial, it makes me think you may be a bit xenophobic yourself. I appreciate that may be your experience, but other than this crappy Co-op situation, it isn't mine. People here are lovely to me. And I voted Yes in the referendum - not everyone with an English accent is against Scottish independence or the SNP. My village voted Yes, but most of the No vote came from local (Scottish) teens and OAPs. It's not really something you can make assumptions about. (And I don't go around talking about politics btw, in case anyone suggests that's why I didn't get the job!)

I'm hearing a lot of advice from you all to perhaps email Head Office. After making one last ditch application. A lot of what has been advised I have done - including presenting my qualifications in terms of transferable skills, and emphasising my commitment to the job and my reasons for that commitment. As Honey said, they employ teenagers - I don't think they expect them to stay in these jobs longer than a year or two.

The thought of reapplying a fourth time doesn't seem great, tbh, just because I have a very clear indication now that the manager has taken a dislike to me. There's a job going at another nearby Co-op - I could apply for that and see what happens, I suppose. Another rejection wouldn't be a surprise, but I think at that stage I could email Head Office.

And Tittybiscuit, yes. I don't think my PhD entitles me to any random job. It's a bit annoying when people who haven't read the thread keep suggesting that, but that's life I guess.

merri I also agreed that some Scots are xenophobic. I'm really glad your experience has been different from mine and others but that does not make our experiences any less valid. I also don't see how I'm being xenophobic.

I had 12 years experience in retail and it took me ages to get another job. Then I only got 8 hours. I assume its because I have children though

If your other nearby Co-op is our Co-op, I doubt you'll get that either! All the jobs are going to teens, with friends who already work there. We are commuter belt for the same city, and not everyone who works in our Co-op is born-and-bred local.

you're welcome. i wasn't by the way suggesting that you forced them to give you a job as someone seemed to take me to be saying. i was just pointing out that this is discrimination and everyone was acting like ahh, well that's the way it is, sure. also that if no one ever refers things to head office/hr etc then these types continue to feel like untouchable gods in their own minute universes.

Merri, maybe challenged was the wrong word. But you have said that you've been in and spoken to both the manager and the assistant manager about your application and from previously working in retail I know this is quite frowned upon. I think a lot of people telling you to follow it up and ring or ask him probably don't have a lot of experience in what recruiting for low grade jobs is like. There are huge numbers of applications and it is very, very unusual for follow up to be given for applicants who did not reach interview. In my experience asking for feedback at that point is actively discouraged because it could overwhelm the business if encouraged.

And yes, going into the shop to discuss an application is a huge black mark, because it gives the impression the person doing it hasen't really got a clue about the nature of the job and how it is appropriate to communicate who are working on a shop floor about things which do not relate to the businesses immediate needs. That is: if someone is working on a shop floor and you don't want to talk to them about shop floor related business do it in a more appropriate way so you are not distracting them from customers eg email, leave a phone message etc.

As for 'anti-English'. We have no idea why he doesn't want to employ the OP. He might find her too timid, unfriendly, too brusque, impatient, not well presented or even rude. We just don't know. It may well not be any of those things, but we can't say for certain it's anti-Englishness either.

Nice to hear, merri. Too many people jump to the xenophobic conclusion. Most of the time it is not bigoted attitudes but a feeling of being snubbed. My relatives in Scotland are big SNP voters but one of the family's closest friends is English and they go on holidays together all the time. But he loves Scotland, is married to a local woman and is as much a part of the community as anyone so people welcome him as a local because of that.

Good luck on your job search and I hope it works out for you.

Aunniesaunt I wasn't accusing you, I was just pulling up that one sentence from another poster that was generalising about behaviour based on geography / background ('Too many Scots are... etc'). I do appreciate the power of xenophobia, I just don't think it's a makoy player in this scenario (though if it is, of course I'll never know). Where I was mostly brought up, in rural Northamptonshire, many people were openly racist, classist, homophobic, and definitely wouldn't have emplyed a Scot. I'm glad I'm out of that claustrophobic environment; the village I live in now is nothing like that (apart from this one manager, perhaps).

Merri, I struggle to see why you think I am xenophobic because I recounted my Scottish families experience of moving to NE Scotland. It's good that you have not experienced anti Englishness, perhaps things have changed for then better in the last 30 years.

Anyway, good luck to you in finding a job.