Oh the shame of it ...

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In my real life before the kids I had a good job that I gave up to look after my 2 kids - (2 years and 20 weeks).

Anyhow, need a little bit of extra cash so decided to get weekend work around DH's Mon-Fri job.

Used to work in diy shop years ago, applied for minimum wage job, went for inerview last week, got e-mail today saying a big fat no!

Oh, the shame of it.

Don't feel too bad, I once got turned down for a job at McDonalds.
If it was minimum wage maybe they appointed someone young who will get the lower rate.

wow i have never managed to get employed in a shop in my life! no idea what the problem was there, assumed i had a big sign over my head saying WARNING: ACADEMIC. WILL TALK ABOUT THINGS OTHER THAN NEIGHBOURS AT TEA BREAKS. am currently trying to get back into work, in my chosen field, and boy is it tough... hang in there, it's all about right place right time! there'll be another one.

fwiw i have a theory about 'keywords' being imp in getting a job. using them shows you know the culture/what's expected of you/will fit in. if you don't use them - no job, despite everything else being great. could be a piece of technical terminology, could just be a bit of blurb everybody likes ('work-related learning' and 'legacy' are the big ones in my industry). sometimes you can decipher what they are from job ads/specifications - sometimes it's just something you pick up on the job. wonder if you just didn't say the magic word? ('mitre saw' maybe!)

tbh it may have been as simple as they thought you were over qualified, would get bored and leave fairly quickly.

Whatever the post, recruiters tend to want people who've done nothing but work in that industry. In this climate there were probably a lot of applicants and they could hold out for their 'ideal' candidate rather than taking a perceived risk.

Don't feel too bad. I applied for a job that was 3 grades below my current job.

Didn't even get shortlisted for interview

It's all good then - just as well really, for the 12 hours I would get £240 take home (rough calculations) which is £40 per month more than Jobseekers no? Maybe sign on and spend more time with the kids ad DH?

Should have done the maths prior to interview methinks ...

I've had similar problems.

Part-time jobs at about the same level as I had to leave when I relocated all went to internal candidates. So I took a step down and applied for lower grades and then I was over-qualified. Grrrr.

So I started my own business which I can fit round my lo, and even take him too, so no childcare costs, and i get out and about meeting new people and make money.

Where there's a will there's a way!

I'm a single mum and the maintenance I get rules out JSA (can you believe it!), but I get Child Tax and Working Tax credits as I'm self-employed.

x

PS - I'm always looking to recruit so let me know if you're interested!