To think getting any job is really tough?

[Bluey124]

Even just getting through the initial process of applying. It's never just applying quickly. It's often a long application form often followed by another test such as numeracy or literacy. It's a wonder anyone gets employed at all.
Years ago it used to be much easier. I got jobs in my teens and twenties just by filling out a short paper application form, now, it's a different story....

It’s maybe the kids of jobs you’re applying for. It’s fairly simple to get a job pulling pints or shovelling shite or picking eggs etc by either handing in a cv, filling in a form or even just turning up and asking if they’ve any hours going and having a chat. But no big chain employers won’t do this

What type of jobs are you applying for? I’m struggling to fill jobs at work, and am basically at the point of offering interviews to anyone expressing interest!

What counts as a long application form?
I’m currently recruiting and form we use has 4 questions - qualifications? Job history? Relevant experience? Why you would be good for the role?
I am finding most job seekers can’t be bothered to fill it in with any real effort - which tells me a lot about whether they would treat the job in the same way

Agreed OP. It was easy(ish) back in the early 2000s. It was a 1-interview stage then you were told if you succeeded or not.

In 2010, 2 interviews became the norm. Took me a good few months to find work.

In 2022, a 3-interview process is now the norm. It has become elitist. Although this is for a different thread, I'm also finding that dates want a "2nd interview" and a "3rd interview" before finding love.

Life is too short.

I think networking is key and LinkedIn

I agree it's a massive pain. So many forms to fill in with so much detail.
Then lots of interviews and references.
It's so off putting and I would say it makes recruiting the right people any easier looking around at my colleagues!

DS has been watching very old scooby doo. In the first episode they just go to the office and get jobs to start immediately on a building site.

i watched it and thought how far away that is from how people get jobs in the 21st century.

I find that the hiring process can be hugely variable even within the same industry. Sometimes it’s a huge amount of work. Other companies seem to go much more light touch.

My last two jobs were easy to get because we are crying out for staff in my industry so they would probably take anyone.
The one before (same role) was ridiculous. It consisted of a full day interview, written test, application form, cv, telephone interview, meeting with the manager after interview for another round of questions. It was so full on. The whole day interview was conducted like I was undertaking a police interview, being moved from room to room and being placed in exam conditions at one point. By the end I was exhausted. Got the job, which was easier than the interview process honestly.
So yes op I agree.

YANBU.
The process now, even for the most basic of jobs is ridiculous.

YANBU

Getting a job is way harder than doing a job. Job descriptions are basically bullshit. It's all a game.

This was my ds getting onto a grad programme after college. Days were spent and then after 100s going through the process they choose 10 and off they go again. He wasn't fazed by it as it was all he knew and pretty soon got onto one but thinking back to my first job after college it was so different. I had a short interview..hired and could possibly have stayed there for 40 years. They would have been stuck with me. Some staff hired alongside me stayed their whole career. My ds stayed two years his choice.. and then onto the interview/ presentation/ second interview round again.

I've been in my current job for 9 years now (basic admin job) and I got that when I saw a notice in the window looking for someone and went in and they asked me if I could answer the phone and if I was computer literate and then asked when I could start. In contrast I've a friend who's just started at an estate agents. For that job she had to do a phone interview, an interview in person, an online suitability test and then a trial period of a week. I get bored at work and often think I'd like to try a different job that pays more but seeing what you have to go through, I can understand why people stay in the same job for decades.

It depends on the job, a friend got a job through an agency, a manual job and it was really easy, it was a night shift and paid quite well but the hours were awful.

My DS has just had two interviews, online tests, a background check and some sort of psychometric test but that’s for a lifelong career. They obviously whittled down the applicants at each stage. He was fortunately successful for his dream career, I was a nervous wreck by the end of it, though I hid it. I had a career dream crushed when I was young, the thought of that happening to him was far worse.

And people who don't work anymore express surprise when you can't just walk into somewhere or have a quick interview and off you go kind of thing. Gets on my nerves. The job market and process of getting a job is so much more in depth now instead of in some of the cases mentioned.

In my industry yes, definitely.

Definitely! I had to give a ten minute presentation, possess either a Degree or a Diploma - all for a £10.75 per hour job!

There are lots of jobs out there for people who want them. The retail and hospitality industry in particular is desperate for staff.

So if you want a job you can absolutely just walk into one of those.

Our local hospital recruit Housekeeping bank staff, weekend evening work, £13 per hour. Very minimum interview fuss…

I know what you mean my last application form took hours. Go through job description and explain how you meet each individual point.

There’s someone near me always looking for staff. C.v. plus handwritten covering letter plus two references to be mailed in. For a 9.50 ph retail job.

I think employers need a bit of realism especially when at lower end of the wage scale. Why get employees to lie to you. Why do you want to work here. My genuine answer is convenient location, flexible so I can pick up kids. You will pay me, I will be reliable and efficient and get my work done within the allotted time. Instead everyone has to be full of shit about how they’d love to work at wherever.

I feel your pain, I’m currently looking for a different job and you can spend 2-3 hours on the application process alone. And I agree that people who are no longer working don’t get how complicated it is, I think my in-laws see me as a lost cause as I’ve not found a new job after only a month of job hunting.

Depending on the format in which you ask those questions it can take a bloody long time to answer those 4 questions. What pisses me off is that your first 3 questions are answered by a comprehensive CV and the 4th by a well written covering letter. I have several versions of my CV tailored to different industries and can put together a covering letter in a relatively short amount of time.

HOWEVER - I recently spent a good 2 1/2 to 3 hours filling in a form for a large company who
a) did not have the facility to auto merge their application form with a CV so I had to do a combination of hand typing and cutting and pasting to complete the job history section
b) had a second section asking for examples of specific skills & experience which meant more cutting, pasting, and stupid repetition as they were literally different boxes to populate for skills that would more logically be grouped together (but I thought ‘see above’ might be a reason for auto filtering me out so I creatively reworded the previous answer)
c) had a final section for ‘why do you want this job’, which I ended up having to do later as my 3 hours parking had run out.

so let’s say realistically 4 hours to complete an application form where the same information could have been put together in less than an hour via CV and covering letter.

And yes, I would happily spend 4 hours applying for the right job but it’s exhausting when you need to apply for many to get a shot at interview and also gutting when you do get to interview and discover the person you’re face to face with has NO information about you beyond your name and the fact that you didn’t get filtered out pre interview stage.

Sorry if that sounds like a rant at you, JaceLancs, just a little frustrated with my job situation at the moment

I’m feel like I’m never going to get one, I’ve been a SAHM too long, every application gets rejected or ignored.
All the jobs also sound so complicated or everything that doesn’t need qualifications asks for so many years of experience which I don’t have!
I’m hoping to do a TA course but we can’t afford it right now :(

I also need a flexible position around term times/school hours so that’s making it even harder and limiting my options

For me it's ones who make you upload your cv and then make you manually add all the cv information. It's annoying

What do you expect?

Employers are literally, in many cases, handing over £k's when paying someone to do a job, often of their own money in the case of SMEs (vs that was shareholders in larger companies).

Assuming you can understand why they'd want to make sure the person is right for the role before committing to £1000s+? Presumably you'd also want to do the same...?