Feedback

Every Post that I apply for I make sure that my submission is tailored to the role. I also tailor my covering letter as well. The submissions are always acknowledged but lately the acknowledgement also includes words to the effect that if you aren’t successful in being shortlisted don’t expect to hear from us again.

This is really a lazy way out, I understand that Employers are busy and HR Teams have never been busier however what has happened to the politeness of advising candidates why they were not deemed suitable or how the role has now been filled.

I am trying to remain positive and upbeat as I have a structure to my searches, see earlier post, yet some days even this is a tough call although I refuse to give up and become one of the many who are doing as little as possible to gain employment. I am still just as determined to find something that my skill set can be applied to although I have now widened my search areas for roles considerably.

Frustration

You spend all day searching and checking websites for something to apply for.

You apply for roles and get an acknowledgement by email and then don’t hear anything until the Agency rings to want to discuss your CV. It becomes clear that some of the advertised roles are there to get you to sign up to the Agency. They promise to do their best by you, yet in some cases you seem to spend your time chasing for updates.

You begin to doubt your ability especially when they ask what you have done in the last 3-4 months since your last role. You explain you took 2 months off and are continuing with your Volunteer Roles in the Community to keep you abreast of current Politics and Community Related Issues.

You and the Agency are still waiting Feedback on an Interview you had almost 4 weeks ago.

The Fourth Visit

Once again I was early, on arrival I was advised that in future I needed to be there 10 minutes before my appointment. Given I have been early every time, hopefully this won’t be an issue. It would be even better if by then I didn’t need to attend at all.

Today I was advised that I was putting too much in the booklet and that they only want to see the 6 searches or efforts I have made each week. I was a little dumbstruck by this as most days I do at least 6 things to find a new job. If I only did 6 things a week I wouldn’t think that I was doing nearly enough to find myself a job personally.

Again I was reminded I have 13 weeks to find a job within my career and again I explained that I understood that and knew the options open to me at the end of the period.

I was provided with two job possibilities, one I discounted on reading up on its detail as not only was it not within my field but it also was a manual labour job, something with my management experience would be career suicide. I have made a note to be able to feed back constructively as I also don’t meet the essential criteria.

The other I have applied for. I am not sure that I have the skills they are looking for, however its an interesting and demanding role that I could grasp and challenge. I was already registered with the agency in question but this particular job had not come up in their search alerts.

I was also advised that if it was easier I could print off my efforts if I was using Excel to demonstrate rather than using the booklet. Whilst my writing is bad, why would I want to use my ink and paper, surely that needs to be kept for applications? Also the suggestion was a good one.

Todays meeting was constructive and useful. I was listened to and given encouragement although I had to explain my situation again as it was not documented on the record, something I think I am happier about really.

Redundancy The Reality

You work for over 20 years surrounded by People. Not a day goes by that you don’t have some sort of active real-time conversation with at least 5 people.

You get made redundant. Former Co-Workers respond to your leaving message and all wish you the best for the future. They also promise to keep in touch, although you accept that some won’t.

The weeks turn into months and without Professional Networks such as LinkedIn or other sites where you initiate contact your former co-workers stop contacting you and you find that you are down to less than a handful of regular and reliable contacts whom you worked with for years.

You accept that they are worried for their own Careers and also have busy lives to get on with, also that you know longer have the standing that you did as are no longer part of that culture.

You do wonder though that after over 20 years how it could come to this, where people literally seem to have forgotten that you existed. You don’t know whether your name is even mentioned anymore and have to look forward quietly closing the door on that chapter in your life as it has definitely ended.

The future should be bright , like a new day with your ever sparkling positive mental attitude to finding a new job. The search goes from weeks into its second month and you begin to doubt your abilities.

 You don’t have many to discuss this with as your network has gone, it went with the last job , so you have to do your best and start every day with a smile and that positive mental attitude, thinking that no matter how hard that it gets you know there are those that are far worse off than you out there. 

You keep going, you cherish the great memories and try to remember your achievements from your career so you can use them in interviews and selections, with the hope that one day you will be back at the top of your game and in full employment again.

The Search Record Book

A discussion on Twitter today enlightened me as to the different approaches to filling the booklet in.

I have rigorously made every effort to record everything I have done, every contact I have made to find work. I am now on my 3rd book in 3 visits. Others have only a page between visits or have squeezed their efforts into a couple of boxes.

In thinking about it, I was given no advice on completing it. I understand from others that you are expected to write a minimum of 3 items a week in it, which seems silly when that would equate to searching for less than 30 mins a week. Perhaps for consistency more of an explanation should be given as to what is expected.

I shall continue with what I have started, at least I can demonstrate what I have done when challenged and also can look back at my efforts knowing I am doing everything that I can to find a new job.

Routine

I never have had any problems getting up early or in time for work and don’t see why this needs to change whilst I search for new employment. I believe it is important to keep in training and keep a routine going.

That is why I aim to be at my desk by 9am every day, some days its earlier depending on other matters which are going on around me. I start by reviewing my email alerts. I have several job search email alerts set up which allow me to check what has been posted each day.

I also check the hash tags on twitter several times a day and also check a general search to see if there is anything that I have missed.

Once that has been done, I generally go for a walk to get a paper. Fresh air is good, depending on the weather I may go for a long or short walk or perhaps take a trip out a bit further to get some new photos along the way.

The rest of my day remains semi structured, in that I am at the desk until at least 4pm and whilst editing photos for Flickr continue to carry out searches and monitor both email and twitter. The photo editing keeps it interesting and alive and helps with the motivation behind the search.

Of course, I also fill out my little booklet every day , detailing all efforts made within the day to gain future employment. I refuse to get unmotivated by the fact that there are very few jobs in my field of expertise generally advertised and have registered with several specialist agencies for their assistance too.