AIBU I’ve made myself unemployable?

[Jobdramallama]

Hi all, I’m posting here for traffic and looking for some insight.

I’m currently unemployed and applying for everything and anything. Retail, office, whatever. But absolutely no one is even replying let alone actually turning me down. My employment history is sketchy. I trained to a level 2 working in education and EY but most jobs require level 3 which id need a job to be able to train for. So those jobs don’t want me.
Anything else can see I’ve worked in education so I think turn me down on the basis of it being so different to office/retail/hospitality.
My brief hospitality experience is currently pointless.
I have huge gaps in my history for bouts of MH issues where I just fucked about because I couldn’t get my head together.
I’m in my mid 20s.

I’m so poor, DP is putting (understandably) big pressure on me to get something soon as he’s currently furloughed and his safety net of savings is getting low supporting both of us and multiple pets. I’m so desperate yet no one will take me on.

I’m in the bottom 1%, this is almost a year of unemployment now (since lockdown 1.0). UC are saying if I don’t get something soon they’ll make me work voluntary hours (30 a week, for 290 a month). I feel so worthless and desperate and I don’t know what to do.

The hit-rate for applying for jobs online is very low, the easier it is to apply the more people will do it and the less likely your application will be to even be viewed especially if your CV and cover letter isn't 100%. Jobs online advertised directly with the employer are better and the best are the ones with a direct contact listed on the advert, if there's a number to call for more information you have to do it, it will put you at the top of the pile.

Do you have access to a car? DH (with no real healthcare experience) managed to get a job with the mobile covid testing units with an immediate start and reasonable money which took the pressure off of finding a more permanent job. They have a huge turnover of staff because people are getting taken off furlough or finding better jobs.

Don’t be snobby about voluntary work.

It will look good on your cv and will give you more relevant experience. Employers would rather employ people who have been active, then not.

Having Volunteering on your cv will look better than nothing for recent employment history.

In many cases I'd disagree with voluntary work for UC. In yours, you've got a spotty job history and you lack experience. Some recent work in a voluntary role would do wonders for your CV and your employability.

Don't just give up and resign yourself to a life on benefits, if you do "know your worth", you know you can do better. A temporary period of volunteering would set you apart and demonstrate a really good attitude to work and to your future.

Yes, there's a covid risk, but your future is more important, and you can't keep on like this forever.

I'd take a volunteer role.

I think the UC volunteering is exploitative, BUT, actually, unfortunately for you it might be the best way to gain some recent and relevent experience. The job market is tough at the moment, and aside from some jobs, most entry levels are inundated with applications, including those massively overqualified and with a tonne of experience due to redundancies; lots of people don't stand a chance. Having something on your CV will make a world of difference, you say you 'know your worth' which is great, but it's about the long game rather than just here and now, and it will open doors for you.

I can’t work and I would be so stressed at the thought of forced volunteering. What do you do if you can’t work but dont get PIP ? Do they accept medical reasons if you aren’t in receipt of pip
Currently we are still on ctc system but if I’m going to be forced to volunteer or work then I won’t be going onto UC

Surely it depends on the medical reason? I don't know if just "being stressed" qualifies as a medical exemption to working? That would wipe out most of the UK workforce.

Census 2021 are recruiting
www.censusjobs.co.uk/search-for-a-job/

@MissBaskinIfYoureNasty

Surely it depends on the medical reason? I don't know if just "being stressed" qualifies as a medical exemption to working? That would wipe out most of the UK workforce.

ASD and I get hemiegic migraines after meltdowns and selective mutism (sounds like a choice with the mutism but it’s actually not hit selective makes it seem that way)

*hemiplegic

But no PIP so a lot of the time can’t access anything as that seems to be the qualifying criteria for anything as well as being believed it seems

My ds is 19 (yesterday!) and has just started an agency home help job. He has no experience and no previous job, and is takin* a year out before applying to art school.

It's zero hours but he's got 17 hours this week, and 18 hours next week. Much, much better than UC and he's liking making a wee difference each day for the old folk he's working with. The pay isliving wage. Look at Allied Healthcare - they asked him if he knew anyone else looking for a job? Plus he got his COVID jag this morning!

In principle I absolutely agree with archbishopofbanterbury and yognog and think that if you're doing a day's work you should be paid at least min wage for it, especially when it's private companies benefitting from the cheap labour.

However, in your case yes, the voluntary work will be constructive. It's great to 'know your worth' but unfortunately everyone's worth (as an employee, not a person) has changed as the jobs market has massively changed. I've had recently redundant directors and senior managers applying for entry level jobs to presumably keep the bills paid. You have to be responsive to the situation and do what you can to get a break.

Can you do a level 3 childcare apprenticeship?

Volunteering can be a great way to gain experience - long ago, with hopes of becoming a journalist, I volunteered to do the matchday programme for my local non-league football team. Learned a lot, got a job off the back of it, used the experience to get onto a professional training course and in normal times I now get paid to fly around the world reporting from international tournaments.

But that's a world away from being ordered to attend somewhere that I may or may not be interested in under threat of losing benefits. I'd strongly advise looking for a volunteer role that offers something to you as a volunteer, rather than waiting until you're assigned something that may be completely irrelevant.

In terms of previous experience and skills, it's about the presentation. I remember writing job applications with my wife when we moved back to the UK. Her experience was in teaching, but she was applying for a museum role. So we talked up public-facing skills, ability to communicate information and answer questions, ability to convey instructions clearly when required. Her educational background demonstrated that she could learn about the museum collection and share that information, and she had foreign language skills which could help when dealing with overseas visitors. She got the job (then got furloughed and eventually made redundant, but that's another story) because we were able to apply a skillset from one job and show how it might be relevant to the advertised post.

It's often difficult to do that yourself, though. I tend to think of myself as a journalist, and don't always recognise how I could repackage those skills. But if I talk to someone else about what I actually do at work, we can start to take that process and apply it to other jobs. Do you have someone who could help you focus on what you did rather than what your job was, IYSWIM?

What do you want to do OP? You’re so young still, you really have time to train in something. Lots of people drift a bit in their early 20s, you are certainly by no means alone in that.

I know it’s shit, but volunteering could a really be a great way to pick up some useful skills and grow your confidence a bit.

In terms of applications and CVs, I would suggest focusing only on the bits of your history that are relevant for each job. Employers don’t need to hear everything you’ve ever done if it’s not all relevant.

Feel free to drop me a message and I’ll be happy to have a look at your cv and cover letter for you.

For the last three jobs I've had, I found one on Linkedin, one via total jobs, and one via a specialist recruiter who found my cv on cv library and called me. I also have had far more success with agencies and recruiters than with sites like Indeed. I got one job because I was the only applicant who answered specific questions requested for the cover letter. It proved I'd read the whole advert.

Do you have a linkedin profile OP? what does your social media look like in general? and have you googled yourself recently? Networking and how you appear online can make a big difference in whether or not you progress in a vacancy process. Also tailoring your application to the role, highlighting how your skills match the job, what makes you an asset to the company, and why you want to work for them. Demonstrate in your cover letter that you've learned a bit about the company too, and be specific, "I believe I would be a great fit for company x, because company x hoghtlights that it values recycling on it's values list, and in a previous role I implemented a new recycling scheme within my team because I felt it was important", that sort of thing.

I think perhaps you need some help, someone to help you overhaul your applications, make the most of your skills and experiences, present your employment gaps in a sensible way, and really show you in the best possible light.

@Jobdramallama

I haven’t put anything for the gaps.

I have applied to care jobs, I even get notifications from indeed to say my application was viewed but I get no replies. I always try to add a cover letter.

I really don’t want to do voluntary work as I know my worth and refuse to work for 2.40 an hour through UC. I’m also bubble with a vulnerable adult so I don’t want to do voluntary work I’m not even being paid for to risk their health..

If everyone had this attitude to voluntary work, a huge part of society wouldn't function. Many people do voluntary work on top of a normal job or training and having a family, but right now what are you doing with your time?

Totally apart from future career or UC, volunteer work could help structure your day and give satisfaction from helping others. You're also going to be a lot better off if you sort it yourself rather than end up on something allocated.

It seems like you want to believe you are unemployable, as it takes pressure off you having to do more about it. It's not true. You say you 'know your worth', so why not demonstrate it, instead of sitting around at home?

OverTheRubicon I think it’s one thing devoting part of your week to a good cause voluntarily, it probably feels quite different when your subsistence depends on a 30-hour week with no substantial remuneration.

While I agree it could be helpful in terms of routine, structure, etc., I totally understand why the OP isn’t particularly thrilled about it. It’s an anonymous forum on the internet, she doesn’t need to pretend to be stoked about it.

I really don’t want to do voluntary work as I know my worth and refuse to work for 2.40 an hour through UC why aren't you already volunteering? Your attitude seems bad and you're not exactly helping yourself. I'd be annoyed if my partner wasn't doing everything they could to get a job.

Please don't go into care work unless it is something you really want to do. People always suggest it as though care homes will take anyone. Care work isn't for people who fail to get literally any other job. I can tell very quickly if someone I'm interviewing wants to work in care or they are just here for a job as they think we'll take anyone. We won't, we want good carers. Residents deserve genuinely caring people who will treat them well and provide good quality care.

@mootymoo sadly many also do not. My Mum has 'volunteered' for a few bigger companies since moving onto UC and has actually been given a few seasonal jobs through it too - although they claim to take staff on, they can easily find an excuse and move onto the next free worker.

"Its thirty hours a week for 290 a month plus you still need to job search on top personally im against this I could understand a day or two to gain experience but giving employers free workers stops them employing a person and paying them"

I think it's disgusting, forcing people to work for peanuts. If you work, you get a wage, full stop. (OK, exceptions for proper apprenticeships and youngsters on work experience).

"I can tell very quickly if someone I'm interviewing wants to work in care or they are just here for a job as they think we'll take anyone. We won't, we want good carers."

Maybe you should pay more then?

@Jobdramallama

I haven’t put anything for the gaps.

I have applied to care jobs, I even get notifications from indeed to say my application was viewed but I get no replies. I always try to add a cover letter.

I really don’t want to do voluntary work as I know my worth and refuse to work for 2.40 an hour through UC. I’m also bubble with a vulnerable adult so I don’t want to do voluntary work I’m not even being paid for to risk their health..

I'm sorry but you should be doing voluntary work to gain experience and show you are reliable. I wouldn't employ someone who 'knows their worth' ie doesn't want to gain experience and would rather sit around hoping they find a job soon.

On another note the testing sites and vaccine centres are crying out for staff. Advertising all the time. Maybe try those.

Volunteering can be used not only to increase your worth but to demonstrate it. As somebody who is mid twenties with a chequered work history, you could do worse than consider it because, as you've demonstrated for yourself, you're not very employable right now.

That said, not all volunteer work is equal. Best to get something related to the work you're hoping to do.

I'm fairly at the idea that you can't possibly jobhunt if you're volunteering 30 hours a week. I work that, study and volunteer as well, and also have DC.

I agree that OP should go and find her own volunteer opportunity right now before UC forces it. That way it will be meaningful and much more likely to be helpful.