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Job searching: An exercise in utter futility

think_bunker
Tue, 25 Dec 2018 07:59:15 GMT

In the last 6 months there was only one job on seek I could apply for that fully matched my experience and qualifications. Despite this each month I apply for the twenty jobs and each time I just get more and more depressed. Just by reading the job ads I can see that I am unsuitable, because they always ask for things I don't have. Car, drivers licence, 3 years experience, 3 ex managers from this industry to be references, qualifications above entry level. All the job ads ask for some or all combinations of these to even reach zero value in the recruiters eyes, and then you have to try and convince them your value is higher. I don't have any of this stuff, and for 13 years job service agencies have decided the only solution is to change nothing and keep on applying as if I am employable, knowing full well that I am absolutely not, at least from an employers perspective. I recently asked my job centre to help pay for courses, only for them to try and turf me into smart and skilled and to pay for it all myself, as if I can afford a course on centerlink. They told m e if I choose a course outside smart and skilled they aren't likely to pay for it cause they are already paying for me to see a psychologist on site every couple of weeks. I changed the request to funding me to get a drivers lessons so I could do my L's and they said its quite expensive so they would only fund a couple of lessons. I'm not able to fund such a thing myself obviously, and they know it. I even tried to come up with a decent solution like splitting the costs of a course between myself and the job centre. I was told "this isn't a negotiation, we pay for all of it or none of it" They also told me they would pay for for 1 course only, for the time I was with them, as if one single course would make up for having nothing else an employer wants. The argument was why would we pay for a course of it won't lead to a job. I could literally do 500 courses and I would still be unemployable because not having enough qualifications is only 1 out of 7 of my major barriers to employment. Just to get out of the minus numbers, just to even touch zero value I would need resolve them all. But the job centre isn't interested in that at all. They would prefer I keep failing perpetually while the act of applying for jobs I know I can never get damages my mental health more and more, while the job centres are more interested in using me as if I am a human pinata full of cash.

The Jobs Game (4corners)
Wed, 26 Dec 2018 19:17:47 GMT

You sound like a much younger version of me. Your right about seek! I don't often find jobs that match my background and experience to have apply for jobs that I will be culled for. I usually only find between 4 and 7 jobs that fit my background. Read my post about recruitment agency's. Stop playing the Jobs Game! Break the rules and make a new Game! Not to make you more depressed but here is why its difficult to find a job on seek. 1. When a employer advertises on seek they have clear expectations about what they want. Any body that does not meet these expectations i.e. Work experience is automatically culled. 2. Seek makes it convenient to apply for jobs! Plus Seek advertisements are found on other job search engines. Think about it! Just how many people see one position advertised on seek. Typically 1 job vacancy will get between 100 and 300 job applications for the 1 job vacancy. Granted a lot of these people have issues with their resumes etc. So these are already culled. The rest of the applications are sorted, sometimes by a computer that lo oks for key words. This is why some bloggs say you need be be creative on your resume. Use key words that will get you interviewed. Like I said most jobs attract 100 job applicants or more this means you will have 1/ 100 chances of getting interviewed. This is why you should 1. Use your network, try to find about jobs that are not advertised 2.Approach employers directly! Even if they don't have a job vacancy ring them back every week until they get sick of you I hope some of this helps Jasper ....