situation getting me down

LegacyUser

I'm finished college in may and have been on the dole/getting the odd few hours in my part-time job.

Pretty much every day I look on the various sites for vancancies, apply for anything I'm even vaguely suitable for. 98% of the time I get no response, the other 2% I get rejection emails(which I don't mind,at least it's a response).

Even stuff that I'm grossly over-qualified for and have tons of experience in, I get nadda from.

Now, I know I'm lucky to have a roof over my head(living with parents) and to have any money at all. But it's not the money, it's the mind-numbing boredom. Most of my mates are either working or in college. I've very little structure to my day, and end up surfing the net or bumming around my local shopping centre....

I just needed to rant, the frustration is starting to really get to me.

LegacyUser

Hey!!

I just wanted to say a few things hope you dont mind!!

I was unemployed from January until May and it was HELL, I know exactly what you are going through. I just wanted to offer you some advice because I went for so many interviews in that space of time and learned a couple of things..

1. there is absolutely no point in applying for jobs below your experience every interview I went to told me a little story about the amount of C.V's they had received from people with far too much experience for the role and how they would never even ask these people to attend for interview because if the country was not in recession these people would not be applying for these jobs so it was obvious that they would not stick around if something better came along.

Antother thing is that on average I was sending 10-15 cvs per day and weekly receiving maybe one phone call or email if i was lucky to tell me my CV had been received. I felt like i was sending my cvs off into a black hole.

I dont know if I am allowed say this but I found that the Fas website was the only site I ever had any real Feedback from. www.fas.ie I actually ended up getting my job from that site. and any interview I was called for was from jobs listed there, I think half the jobs listed on recruitement sites were fake or something because they kept being repeated and no matter how many people I called or emailed I never heard any feedback at all.

Best of luck to you in your search just keep lashing them out!!

Overheal

Change your approach. CV spray and pray is not as useful as you think. Pick a few Positions and really snipe at them. Make little alterations to your resume that dont lie but highlight the most important aspects of the position, versus some other skill you might have - Keep your computer skills up the top for a desk job, and your interpersonal skills up the top if its a sales position.

More importantly write a personalized cover letter that adresses that particular business; why you want to work with them; and why they should hire you. Employers get CVs All. Day. Long. They need something that stands out. I sit here at the desk and have to shred most of the applications that randomly fly through the door, mainly because a) we're not hiring, and b) the application was generic garbage that showed the potential hiree was interested in Getting Paid, not a Meaningful Job.

"But it's not the money, it's the mind-numbing boredom."

Right. Focus on that. You take pride in your work, where most people take pride in their paycheque. Thats the attitude you need to project in your applications. Thats what will help get you hired.

LegacyUser

Op i am in the exact same situation as you....and its sucks big time. I have a part time job which i work 4-8hours a week cause they have had cut backs and im not entitled to the dole seeing as i technically have a job., so im trying to live on about 50 quid a week which is nothing. I have applied to every kind of job since May and have only gotten one interview which was last week, and i have been called for another next week which is more in my degree area so im praying i get it.

I understand the boredom aswell- i sit around applying for jobs Monday-Friday while all of my friends are in college/work and then when the weekend comes i go into work while evryone goes out boozing.. its just a viscous cycle of depression and boredom!

But anyways the previous poster is right about the fas website..both of my interviews have come from applying through fas, and i do think most of the other job websites are useless- most of the time the job specs completly false. For example, i thought i was applying for a job in Vodafone and it turned out to be door to door sales. So stay away from those websites..The only other thing i can say to you is that you're not alone- i know it feels that way but there are so many people without jobs its depressing.

Best of luck.

Leah-G1

I was unemployed also from June through to Septmeber,its fine for a week or two until the panic and boredom set in! Dont worry though,something will come along

Have you read and re read your CV? make sure there are no typos or spelling mistakes,it may sound silly but it happens and will be a sure way of getting zero responses. Do not make your CV personal i.e " I was in charge of doing XYZ and ABC and DEF" Instead put in " Responsible for XYZ" they dont want to read an essay,bullet points are easier to scan through.

Also leave out Leaving Cert results and just say you have your leaving cert. Your experience and college qualification are what they want to see.

If you are straight out of college with no experience it may be another reason why you are getting no call backs. Its an employers market and they want qualifications AND experience and they are getting it! Look for internships for a couple of days a week or go for very basic admin/helpdesk jobs. They will get your foot in the door and let the employer know you are prepared to put in the work.Also its better than a huge gap in your CV.

From my experience most jobs advertised on jobs boards are mostly agencies and in other words USELESS. Try and look for jobs that the employer is directly recruiting for,thus cutting out the middle man.Employers would much rather recruit direct as they have to pay a huge percentage if the recruit agency finds you.

Think postive and make sure to keep yourself busy! Dont let your confidence falter. Keep changing your CV so it is more relevant to the job you are applying for. Looking for a job is a job in itself

I think its the height of rudeness that a company wont acknowledge CV's but thats just the way the market is at the moment. I hope it goes well and best of luck!

miec

Hi Op

I know how you feel because I am in the same position, jobless since May and still looking. Apart from what everyone else has said I would look at retraining options. I am not sure if you know that on the fas.ie website there are various courses, some are online and others are in training centres, doing one of these will fill the day and improve your chances for a job. Also, considering you are nearly six months signing on, you can also sign up to the WPP programme via fas, basically it is work placements for graduates, you don't get paid, but it is experience and things may improve since then. Finally I saw through another recession before, what is going on now is nothing new, unfortunately most companies don't respond back, but in the last recession I did voluntary work and not only do you gain valuable skills but you could do something you enjoy. It also looks good on your CV. It is hard being unemployed and it can suck but know that it is only temporary and some day, somewhere you will get a job.

sameSituation

sameSituation wrote: »

Op i am in the exact same situation as you....and its sucks big time. I have a part time job which i work 4-8hours a week cause they have had cut backs and im not entitled to the dole seeing as i technically have a job., so im trying to live on about 50 quid a week which is nothing.

Are you sure about that? afaik very low hours part time work like yours should be getting part supplement from dole to make up. You should drop into the relevant social people and ask if you havent' already and tell them it's 4-8 hrs a week only

Whispered

bluewolf wrote: »

Are you sure about that? afaik very low hours part time work like yours should be getting part supplement from dole to make up. You should drop into the relevant social people and ask if you havent' already and tell them it's 4-8 hrs a week only

bluewolf is right, I work 2 days a week and I get a supplement.

I'm being let go soon op, and I know it will be dfficult to get another job because of the industry I am in. I am considering doing a short course while I'm looking. It will be something to do, it will keep me out of the house and even if I don't use it for my next job, it's something I have to put on my cv.

Monkey61

Well it is obvious how to deal with the job thing - Fas, make the Cv the best you can etc, and everything that posters have already mentioned.

As for the boredom -well....I was unemployed for a few months this year, and to be honest it was brilliant. Okay it wouldn't have been if I had kids to support or a hefty mortgage to pay, but with my dole I could pay my rent and live comfortably whilst job hunting.

There are loads of things to do. I started an Open University course, read loads of books from the library, watched all the films I had wanted to catch up on, you can go out running, lift weights, get started on that novel you always had an idea for, volunteer for anything you have ever wanted to do but never had the time. I am obviously delighted to be working again - but of course now am constantly coming across voluntary things that I wish I had done when I had the time.

LilyCullen

Hey OP

I am also in virtually the exact same position, Jobs.ie is like sending c.v's to nowhere. It is really boring and depressing because it's really hard to progress in any sense. Also a former employer told me that c.v 's from jobs.ie rarely get well looked at unless the company are desperate.
Overheal has a good point though. go for 3-4 very specific jobs and tailor your c.v to fit into them ( I don't mean lie). And a cover letter is a necessity,
Good luck, and remember if it helps at all a LOT of people are int he same boat.

LC

LegacyUser

hey everyone,
first off,thank you to all the replies. i guess just knowing that there's so many others in the same boat does help!I've pretty much given up on the likes of Monster.ie and Jobs.ie, it seems the only gigs featured there are those door-to-door jobs, which I really don't want (I would be financially better off if I kept my part-time job/dole).
I always write individual cover letters for jobs, high-lighting where I think I would suit the position and all that. I'm going to spend next week over-hauling my CV (although I thought it was fairly good to begin with).
Again, thanks to everyone for the replies!