Can't even get an interview.

justsaynokids

Hello , First time poster here , I just thought I would post here to see if I can get advice.
I was laid off from my job in December which was a bit inconvenient to say the least as I had only been there six months. I have been sending out my cv everyday to various business's and I cant even get as far as an interview. A bit of background I am a 26 year old male living in Laois with a safe pass , manual handling ,and my own transport. I mostly have retail experience but I am trying to break into the building industry just as general labor really. Can anyone give me some tips on what I should be doing. Thanks in advance

dashcamdanny

justsaynokids wrote: »

Hello , First time poster here , I just thought I would post here to see if I can get advice.
I was laid off from my job in December which was a bit inconvenient to say the least as I had only been there six months. I have been sending out my cv everyday to various business's and I cant even get as far as an interview. A bit of background I am a 26 year old male living in Laois with a safe pass , manual handling ,and my own transport. I mostly have retail experience but I am trying to break into the building industry just as general labor really. Can anyone give me some tips on what I should be doing. Thanks in advance

Unless the industry has changed in the last 8 years since I was in it, a CV is useless. Your best bet is to get on your boots and ask on sites.
These sort of jobs are not the type you interview for. Get your name out by getting in with people in the trade. The pub on Friday is a great place to start.

justsaynokids

dashcamdanny wrote:

Unless the industry has changed in the last 8 years since I was in it, a CV is useless. Your best bet is to get on your boots and ask on sites. These sort of jobs are not the type you interview for. Get your name out by getting in with people in the trade. The pub on Friday is a great place to start.

I have applied for the jobs that I have seen advertised they are plentiful I just can't seem to get them , I don't drink so never been to a pub and I will try sites thanks

dashcamdanny

justsaynokids wrote: »

I have applied for the jobs that I have seen advertised they are plentiful I just can't seem to get them , I don't drink so never been to a pub and I will try sites thanks

Another way would be to start calling builders from the yellow pages. They might just need an extra pair of hands that week.. Work hard , be on time and stay as helpful as possible and you will surly get steady employment.
Youu will be sore at the end of most days.

listermint

Could try getting on to home renovators on Facebook there are loads of small firms popped up last 3 years always busy.

justsaynokids

dashcamdanny wrote:

Another way would be to start calling builders from the yellow pages. They might just need an extra pair of hands that week.. Work hard , be on time and stay as helpful as possible and you will surly get steady employment. Youu will be sore at the end of most days.

I'm not scared of a bit of hard work , I will do that thanks.

syntheticjunk

According to Construction industry Ireland report, builders will be in demand for another 3 years:
http://dkm.ie/en/news/report_on_the_construction_industry_in_ireland

ongarboy

dashcamdanny wrote: »

Unless the industry has changed in the last 8 years since I was in it, a CV is useless. Your best bet is to get on your boots and ask on sites.
These sort of jobs are not the type you interview for. Get your name out by getting in with people in the trade. The pub on Friday is a great place to start.

Agreed. My brother in law came back to Ireland after 10 years away in Oz with no real contacts here and just walked around to building sites and asked to speak to the on duty foremen there and explained his skills (shuttering etc), established a face to face rapport with whomever was in charge and got jobs that way. He has been in continuous employment across a number of projects for over a year now. Lower to mid range skilled construction roles don't really use Linkedin or modern online recruitment methods and rely on the more old fashioned knock on doors approach as you don't have your potential employers sitting in offices sifting through CVs if their outside wearing hard hats!

OP - I would get out there to the various sites and ask to speak to the site foreman. Your initiative will be appreciated. There is always someone leaving creating a vacancy. The industry is healthier again and they are hiring.

justsaynokids

Hi everyone , I got an interview for tomorrow , it's for a traffic management company , any tips on how to prepare ? I know alot about traffic management as it was my previous job so I'm all good on that front

Del2005

justsaynokids wrote: »

Hi everyone , I got an interview for tomorrow , it's for a traffic management company , any tips on how to prepare ? I know alot about traffic management as it was my previous job so I'm all good on that front

See if you can find a company website and review that. Check if the regulations you know have changed.

Good luck.

listermint

Arrive suited and booted. Be enthusiastic but not to the extent of being a mad man and don't be afraid to be confident in your experience sell that experience.

Try to think of projects youve worked on in those previous roles and how they shaped your experience.i.e experience gained from acting on solved problems.

Don't be cocky .

Hollister11

Most people my dad's company hired are from other companies they meet on site, friends getting the managers number of ex employees and employees helping out friends.

hurler97

Having a safe pass and manual handling isn't much. Although costly, why not try and get a ticket for Slinger Signaller, 360 Excavator or Teleporter.

justsaynokids

Del2005 wrote:

See if you can find a company website and review that. Check if the regulations you know have changed.

Del2005 wrote:

Good luck.

I was looking at section eight today and it's all the same I only finished my last job in December

justsaynokids

hurler97 wrote:

Having a safe pass and manual handling isn't much. Although costly, why not try and get a ticket for Slinger Signaller, 360 Excavator or Teleporter.

I will look into that , Do you have any idea of a price for any of those courses ? I can't seem to get one online

justsaynokids

So I got the job , I start tomorrow , thanks everyone that contributed to my thread

kammallow1984

a bit late reply, i hope you no longer need it!

December is probably the worst time to look for a job in any industry and construction is even worse.
All the companies have eaten up their budgets and even if there are job offers, it's more about gathering a portfolio of resumes rather than acting on them.
Add to it also the fact that there are loads of Xmas parties, people don't really think about doing their job, rather about the presents and surviving another hangover at work.

And of course there would be less demand for construction workers during winter times - the weather is too unpredictable, even in Ireland.

Another factor to take into consideration is that the process of recruitment is quite long these days. It can take weeks. Everything becomes a project, needs to have few approvals, signoffs etc....

Have patience if you haven't found a job yet. The construction industry is on the rise again, I'm sure you will find a job soon!

Good luck!

justsaynokids

So , after starting the job and expressly telling them in the interview that I could not work the 17& 18 (yesterday and today) due to the fact that my five year old had to get a minor operation I was told that that would be fine until yesterday when I was shouted at down the phone for not showing up to work when I was rostered in and that it's not his problem that my daughter isn't well , I won't go into what I said to him but long story long I am now back on the job market , you win some you lose some.