How many applications/interviews have you had so far?

[bee169]

I am returning to work after an 18 month break to look after the kids. I have been applying for jobs, even applying for jobs which have a lower salary than my previous role and have not received a single interview this year so far. Not even a call back from recruitment agents :(

Is anyone in the same boat?? I have more sucess in Nov/Dec.

I have applied for well over 50 jobs in the past 14/6 months.

I have had 1 interview.

I am still unemployed.

I do not have a degree or anything and no proper qualifications but have huge past experience in customer services, PA works and office and clerical, banking and insurance.

Have had my college tutors (3 different people) look at my CV and applications and adapted it accordingly as advised as well as 2 Careers advisers and a good friend who works in recruitment.

I am beginning to think I will never work again.

Even the what I would call "crapper" jobs I dont want but have applied for because I feel the need to do something/anything - I dont get anywhere, Since I went to college to refresh my low level qualifications and gain new skills I am now apparently over qualified to be a cleaning lady/waitress/shelf stacker.

Thoroughly fed up and depressed and hate anyone asking me "what do you do?" Feel I am surplus to societies needs - a total waster tbh.

I've applied to hundreds of jobs. Been to 1 interview. Still unemployed

Left current post in Dec, have been applying for stuff since Jun. So far have applied for about 400 jobs, had six interviews and no job offers. It is shit out there
Getting fed up with employers asking for qualifications I don't have for work I've been doing well for four years. I can type 95 wpm but don't have a bit of paper to prove this. Experience counts for nothing nowadays.

Glad I'm not the only one- the competition seems really tough. I was really hopeful for January but am gutted I haven't even got a phone call.

I'll keep hanging in there for February!!

I want to start a mutual moral support thread for those of us job hunting, anyone interested?

I started hunting 6 months ago but have only been trying hard for last month. I got one call from a recruiter (woohoo!) but quiet since.

I updated my CV last night to show voluntary work, including duties that tie into the types of jobs I've been applying for. I am going to phone a local charity to see if I could volunteer for them on my terms, I have an idea it's a way to get some more relevant experience.

lljkk, i like that idea!! I'm in ;)

Bee help me out with how to pitch it? Do you think I should just title it as "Job Seekers support thread", open to all? I think that's best, although must confess my special parochial interest is in long time SAHPs like me trying to find a way back in. Don't know if a narrow or widely open approach is best.

lljkk I would like to join. Perhaps make it a returning to work after sah thread but without specifiying time. The difference is probably that some return to same/similar job, but after some time, you are starting from scratch a bit. Those who do not want to go back to same job will be facing same challenges, regardless of time at home?

I have made about 6 applications and had 3 interviews so not a bad hit rate so far but the (new to me) field I am trying to get into, not very many jobs come up.

Interestingly bee my outright nos have been for jobs that are more junior and the interviews have been for more senior roles, which are closer in responsibility to what I did before kids (been at home for 4 years) so perhaps you are selling yourself short?

When I have been for interviews they have had huge numbers of applications and a lot of people (8 people on my assessment day today!) so it is very hard to get a job in this market.

Count me in lljkk I'm the only one in rl in my circle of friends who's out of work right now and I don't think they realize how bad it is out there. Would love to whinge to and sympathize with those in the same boat. Job Seekers Support Thread sounds just right

Count me on! Been looking for six months since my freelance work dried up. Lost count of how many I have applied for, one interview, no job.

lljkk when you wrote 'mutual moral support' it put a smile on my face as this whole process can be very disheartening. Knowing others are in the same boat gives me that little boost and helps me keep my chin up.

Job seekers moral support thread would be great :)

Depends on what industry you are in / what education you have. I have recruitment agents contacting me several times each week for the past few months (they are brazen enough to contact reception at work and get put through to me!!!), but I'm not even looking for anything new right now, as I'm happy where I am.

My suggestion is: do not spread out your CV here, there and everywhere. Look at the jobs you're interested at, and MATCH your CV individually to them.

Hint:

• Look at "requirements". Do you have them?
• Look at "responsibilities". Have you done such things in previous jobs?
• Match the words - even if you are literally paraphrasing the lines from the job ad on your CV.

Only apply for jobs you can see yourself doing and getting. For most jobs I have applied for ever since I left uni, I got to interview level most of the time. About 75% of the time, I would get to the top 2 candidates. But if you look at the number of jobs I've applied for... not that many, really. For my current job, I applied to ONE position only, and got it.

Remember - more success, and less rejection boosts your confidence, which is VERY important at interview level.

I'm a recruiter (I know, the devil!) but in a very niche area so much of my advice as a recruiter wouldn't be sensible.

If you're looking at jobs in professional/financial services, marketing, PR, or similar (i.e. office jobs) I'd suggest making the most of LinkedIn. And not just putting down your role, but also the things you're interested in i.e. if you're into social media, or marketing etc pimp out your profile using those things, as they'll come up in keywords and make your profile look 'fatter' as it were. Also, browse hiring managers/recruiters LinkedIn pages - they will see you're looking at them, and look back, so will view your 'cv' automatically. LinkedIn works well for me, and a lot of others - just done a final round with a company that found me via LinkedIn.

For what it's worth - I agree with Tasmania in that you should only apply to jobs that are a reasonable fit for your skills set - that doesn't necessarily mean exactly the same job function you have done/currently do - it's ok to think outside the box a little bit and make use of your transferable skills that aren't necessarily sector/function dependant. With every job, if you can, try to upskill a little, or find something you can learn from in the job description - the reason many companies reject overqualified applicants is: what do you DO with them in terms of progression, payment, succession? It usually ends badly when someone overqualified is put in a more junior role, in my experience.

mmm... my cynicism about LinkedIn is that I tend to think that anyone who relies on that to find an employee is probably not offering the sort of employment I want, or is the sort of employer who cares not about substance but just about presentation (I realise I may be forced to change my hopes that substance matters more than image). My cousin is a recruiter, that is a social networking job, I'm not applying for jobs that use recruiters, anyway.

Some interesting reviews of Linkedin:

Probably not worth paying for advanced features.

Need to be focused to get something out of it.

Somewhere else (lost the link) I read it's Good for recruiters.

Good for job seekers ONLY IF you put the work into it (so craft your profile like a corporate website, turn yourself into a salesperson even if the job you want has nothing to do with sales & you are lousy at sales like me)

May Not be worth paying for.

You still need a CV.

Many people are suspicious of LinkedIn. However, you'll find that 90% of companies are now using it to find employees. I've just accepted a great offer from an international TV production company, who approached me via LinkedIn - so there are definitely good jobs there. I'm also sourcing my replacement, 90% of the people I interview will be from LinkedIn; and most other recruiters I know do the same.

A LinkedIn page should be a truncated version of your CV - and CV's are in my experience about presentation rather than substance anyway. Yes, LinkedIn is better for recruiters and job seekers need not have an advanced account. All job seekers need do is make sure their profile is complete, and they have made sure they're tagged under the right sector/job functions.

Social recruitment is the future - we recently hired someone we found on Twitter - never thought that would bloody happen.

Ah, I haven't worked for a company in about 22 years. I would feel a bit if I found out NHS, prestigious charities or schools were recruiting via Linked in.

I will probably get my CV on there, anyway. Am not desperate to set it up like a corporate website, yet.