Anyone else out there struggling to get a job?

I am. Got made redundant from forensic science in May and am still no closer to getting work. Had some interviews for technical specialist etc but didnt get them as I was told employers are spoiled for choice at the mo.

Ive been trying to get positions within the NHS as lab assistant etc, the posts go up and ive seen some get taken off in 1 day because they have enough applicants. I dont hang around when applying now!!

I ideally want to stay in science but with an equine science degree there is only so much i can do but im keen to stay in molecular biology. Agree there are jobs in Cambridge area but west midlands is a bit of a black spot. Im looking into doing a second degree in radiography at the mo aswell as it looks like a great job and the think there will be a shortfall in the future.

With regards to sending your cv speculatively we had workshops at my old work with specialists to help find jobs and they said 60-70% of jobs are 'hidden' as in not advertised so well worth it!! Also agencies can be pretty usefull.

With regards to contacting compaines to see why you werent shortlisted im not sure you would get much back. If they have had hundreds of applicants I dont think they would sift through them all to tell you why you didnt get an interview. You are well within your rights to call up to get feedback off an unsuccessful interview though.

I second the whole unemployable support group thing!! I was really confident at first, my cv looks pretty good but im starting to get a bit down hearted with it all :(
 
Best thing you guys can do is try to diversify.. a lot of businesses are having to put their fingers into other lines of business to keep afloat it's the only way to survive, a job is a job, what ever the income:(
I can imagine how hard things are for you, everyone is struggling to hold down a good job..
 
Thanks Bonbon1076 - I know I am lucky, in that we are just about solvent, hubby has a good, secure job. I just feel sad for the girls - disposable income is what is useful for summer hols - no 'away' holiday and precious little spare for a really fun day out, but we just have to be more inventive! Thankfully they both ride, and have got plenty of ponies to exercise which is free!!

I am going to look into the use of agencies more. Especially if not sorted with any sort of teaching post come Sept. Then the girls will be back at school and childcare costs will be at a minimum.

China - I completed my PGCE over a year ago - I think there are too many people chasing too many lecturing/teaching jobs now, unless you have a doctorate it is a really struggle to even get an interview!

Likkibunni - I did my degree as a mature student, so deliberately chose a middle of the road science subject (biomedical science) to offer as much flexibility as possible. I've been looking at the NHS websites - and have yet to see a lab tech post in my area - must be missing them! I thought if I could get that post I could then get the medical lab mileage to continue down the biomedical science route. I think it is criminal that you have to consider getting a second degree in order to find a career - the funding alone would be enough to bring me out in a rash! Why not do a post grad qualification?

Bugbee - I'll check out 'mad for science' site - thankyou!

What about post grad qualifications - has anyon tried the OU or distance learning? Best sites for sponsored research based studentships??
 
I'm thinking of diversifying, I'm at the stage where a change is as good as a rest, and my life outside work is starting to suffer:( I could stay where I am, but thinking of re-training into another career, which if I don't do something about soon, I think i'll just go 'gaga':o
 
Do you know anyone who could get you any kind of job, even if not in your field? After I was made redundant, a friend suggested to a professional acquaintance that he could employ me as an over-educated over-qualified gofer for the three weeks required to wind up his business as he was struggling to find someone part-time for such a short period. I didn't have any specific skills in the area he was looking for but we muddled through. To cut a long story short, the sale of the business fell through, he decided not to retire and five years later I am still working for him.
On the back of this, I have got other part-time jobs in the same field. It is not the profession I trained for, not the profession I worked in for many years, but it is a job and I enjoy it.
 
I would say slightly diversify and don't give up!

You've mentioned meeting the person specification - when I was looking for work (and getting down about not getting any interviews) there was a point where it seemed I wasn't qualified for anything. My dad said to me (who has done a lot of hiring) "companies don't want someone who can tick every single box -otherwise they won't be gaining anything from the job". Just make sure you back up this 'lack' of skill with a skill you already have that can be transferred.

I had trouble getting another job. I was working for one of the main equine insurance companies as an equine claims assessor (very niche market!). For reasons I won't go into I quit and moved back in with my parents in Colchester. All insurance jobs near home or in London were for Lloyd's syndicates which I don't have any experience in. Jobs were either for insurance like motor or personal accident that needed at least 2 years experience in (so I was under-qualified) or starter level admin jobs, which potential employers saw as me being over-qualified for as I'd previously been a claims handler.

It took 3 months of many failed applications and interviews but finally one employer liked the skills I had and gave me a job. In my interview I made it clear that although the job was technically a step down in my career, I wanted to gain more experience in the market etc.

Don't give up! Times are hard but all you can do really is keep at it.

Are you with any agencies? One tip is put your CV on Reed on a Sunday and then delete and re-add it every Sunday. Each Monday I would get new agencies calling me saying they've seen my CV
 
Will give that a go - I get a bit awe struck by recruitment agencies - never know which sections to target, other than those I'm familiar with - which kind of defeats the object of diversifying!

Fox07's advice re investigating future job market shortages as an area to target is a really good suggestion so will look up the lantra website too.

Def need to rethink my cv and update the format - I think I need to have a serious rehash of what I put in the skills bit at the start. Anyone any ideas for a good website for CV advice?

Tried one last night - spent two hours inputting all the info and was then told I needed to pay £10 to download the wretched CV. In a fit of apathy I tried to pay and it wouldn't work so lost the whole lot - gaaah!!:mad::eek:
 
For my CV I put contact details at the top, then listed my qualifications and then just put work experience listing where i've worked newest to oldest.

I was advised by one recruitment agency to never list your work experience like "i did this... i did that..." you should bullet point what you did. So for example i had:

- participating in ad-hoc projects provided by the claims manager
- producing meeting minutes and circulating via email

You kinda say what your strengths are, subtly hidden within what you do. My examples are rubbish as I can't remember what I put on my CV!
 
Have you tried Science Recruitment Group SRG? http://www.srg.co.uk/
I got my job through them (I'm a chemist by training but doing a chem eng job at the moment) they'll have a look at your cv for you, and do some practice interviews if you want them to. They'll also send your CV off to jobs they think you're suited to, and you'll only hear back if you get an interview. takes the rejection away a bit as you don't know how many jobs it's been sent to.
Good luck
 
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Don't give up, you certainly aren't the only one in this position at the moment. A good friend of mine who is very well qualified and highly experienced spent a whole year job hunting before being offered a position. By this time he was getting pretty desperate and making plans to put his house on the market. I'd apply for anything you think you could do, then make sure your application makes a good case. Remember getting past the 'first sift' is often the hardest part, so a good application is absolutely essential and deserves time. Research the employer, show that you've made the effort. If you are lucky enough to get an interview spend as much time as you can researching the company, try to assess the direction it is taking and work out arguments why it needs YOU rather than Tom, Dick or Harry. Good luck and don't lose heart. Your lack of success is down to the current financial crisis, not a reflection on your lack of employability.
 
I have been on the other side of this over the last week and have been interviewing for a junior for our office.
I am shocked at how some people behave when they are looking for work, my main put offs have been:
*Scruffy Appearance (of any description is not acceptable for office imo)
*Use of inappropriate 'street talk' during the interview
*Telling me they are actually more interested in a different career path but couldnt get a foot into those doors
* Shaking and looking at the floor (yes seriously)
* Not turning up to appointment on time
* Not having done any research on what the job will entail or what we do as a business.
*Using general cliches without any further expansion ie Im reliable, enthusiastic, team player blah blah blah - don't wish to hear that!

What I'm getting at is that as an employer it is just as frustrating! What would have nailed it for someone is if they had popped in to meet me just for a few minutes dressed smart, well spoken handed the c.v to me and explained why they are interested in said career in an educated, informed way and then arrived on time for interview in a relaxed way and been able to speak to me in a friendly & professional way. You would think that would be easy but alas not!
 
Oh just one more thing, are you on linkedin.com? Seems to be very good for networking for jobs. I got approached several times by recruitment people via that (presumably they just searched for the appropriate skills as I hadn't put anything about looking for a new job)
 
Haven't read all the replies so someone may have said this already.

Not struggling to get a job at the moment, but was certainly struggling to change jobs earlier in the year... I work in the HE sector - have done for years. But in various different roles from originally as post-doc scientist through to lecturer, working for government and now as a consultant for a well known University in an area I didn't train for in the first place (but was tenuously linked to my training).

What I would say is that the HE/FE sector doesn't have a huge amount of money in it at the moment and a number of redundancies are making competition fierce for spaces. We currently have a recruitment freeze on and when we can occassionally get a job vacancy agreed we first have to go through the redeployment process from elsewhere in the university before we can go out and publicly advertise. When we do adverise we get a huge number of applications for every vacancy whereas before we'd be lucky to get 4 or 5 as what we do is quite specialised. Even then, the university has cracked down on it's recruitment process and unless the candidates meet the criteria we don't always recruit to post. So all in all it is very competitive out there at the moment.

What I would say is:

- don't be frightened to apply for things that are aligned, but don't fit exactly, with your experience. Emphasise in your applications and interviews where you have picked up new skills and learnt new things. Employers usually recognise most people need a settling in period and are willing to invest that time in the right individual.

- try getting your CV out to recruitment consultants and on websites which employers will trawl.

- make sure you're signed up for things like monster, reed, jobs.ac.uk, guardian jobs, H&H etc so you get email alerts on all jobs which may be relevant however tenuous.

- consider whether or not you would be willing to take a paycut in the short term and start looking at jobs which will offer you the right sorts of experience and potential to earn more rather than the same wage at this point in time.

- keep trying, phone for feedback on any unsuccessful applications and see what they were looking for (perhaps you just didn't emphasise elements of your experience enough) and phone up before you submit an application to get information on what they are looking for, what the job is etc so you have an idea on how to tailor your submission. (it also helps as it looks like you're a proactive person and they remember your name when your application comes in!).

- get some support with interview techniques and so on - careers consultants would help with this.

- don't be put off by industry - it's not that different to what you've done already.

- most of all - believe you can do it. In the job hunting game confidence is half the battle.

Good luck

ETA - if you have a post-16 PGCE look at training companies and other types of lecturers post. A good biomedical degree can be worth it's weight in gold. And - don't be afraid to send in your CV speculatively to some of your local uni's. They may have teaching opportunities available on a paid-by-the-hour basis, which you could do to get some experience. This was my bread and butter money during my PhD years at about £15 per hour (not including prep time) about 10 years ago and I know there were a number of 'non' students teaching too - such as housewifes who needed a bit of extra cash, retired lecturers etc. Think creatively a PGCE is a good 'post-grad' qualification to have whatever the restrictions... and my suggestion would be that it sounds like you're first prioritiy ought to be looking at expanding your experience base for a year or so, salary second.
 
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Cheers anuvb - some sound advice. I have got a fair bit of teaching mileage - but only two years as an FE/HE lecturer. Comments about the recruitment freeze are what I had suspected myself.

Starting to put a new CV together - more of a skills based one than my current version and am in the process of registering on various agency websites which posters have very kindly suggested.

I think some of the problem is that I am not very good at selling myself - I know I am good at what I do, and am a very capable individual, but am not very good at waving the big "hey look at me, aren't I great" flag. So think I need to give myself a kick up the backside. I certainly am happy to take a step back in terms of salary if it means a good job!

I'll be more confident about approaching potential employers having read and taken on board comments above. Will definitely ring up and have a chat about positions prior to applying. I know I come across well verbally and face to face, so providing I have done my homework then it certainly can't do any harm. Will also do some research and target local ventures with a visit and speculative CV's - will keep me out of trouble if nothing else.

I do get frustrated though, as I have two landbased colleges nearby, and I know for a fact that costs are upmost in one of the establishments recruitment considerations and therefore it is not necessarily the best candidates that get appointed - but those that it can employ cheapest. But then, as a result the teaching is suffering (which I know for a fact as a good friend of mine is external examiner for one of their validating universities) so I suppose I should be relieved not to have to work in an environment like that!
 
My top tips as someone who has recently been going through CVs would be:

- Tailor your CV to the role, because we can tell when you haven't
- Spellcheck it. And the covering letter or email. And proof-read it twice! The number of typos is unbelievable!
- Learn how to use apostrophes, it does not look good if you can't do this
- Edit your CV - 2 pages is optimum, 3 pages is ok-ish, 4 pages is pushing your luck, any longer and we've all fallen asleep
- Same goes for the covering letter - a nice, polite, formal letter with a little supplementary information is appreciated, but not a 2 page missive please
- Do not get creative with the fonts or the layout. It makes my eyes bleed!
- Do have a nice professional email address - the humourous one you may have for mates needs to stay for mates. Especially if they're a little bit rude...:o
 
No worries :)

TBH people are looking for bright articulate candidates regardless of their age, confidence and the willingness to get out there and talk to people is such a big attraction to a potential employer.

As someone who has interviewed numerous candidates over the years I want one who can show me they're interested enough in the job (through their initial call, CV and covering letter), talk knowledgeably in an interview about things that interest me and are relevant to the job, and listen (you'd be amazed how many candidates just babble without thinking about whether or not they're answering the question). The other thing that always makes me sit up and notice is if the candidate has done something interesting, like voluntary work, working abroad, the london marathon etc so don't hide your 'out of work' activities either. When you've interviewed 5 or 6 people in a day it's those sorts of things that stand out in the de-brief decision making session afterwards.

Thinking about the other college near you, don't be prepared to settle for second best, but also if by going for second best in the short term you improve your employment prospects in the long term don't rule it out either. 18 months there might open up other opportunities further down the line.
 
I just want to add my good wishes for you and don't give up or lose confidence.
We are a small business with employees. Last year we added a new person and from this side of the fence I would say it is so difficult to find the right people.

Nothing puts me off more than a CV written as a string of cliches which really are meaningless. What we really wanted to know was 'can this person be trained to do this job' and ' will they fit in with everyone else?'

Our applicants came from all walks of life with qualifications ranging from a handful of school passes to second degrees. We could not possibly interview all the suitable applicants so whittled it down by various means. An interest in and some knowledge of horse care was essential. Office skills were also essential. The lab work could be taught.

Certainly try speculative CVs as posts sometimes become available and having a good candidate to hand when you need one is very useful.

I love being able to employ people and only wish I could take on more as I hate to disappoint so many good people.

Good luck with your job search.
 
Thank you again! :D

It is great to have an employer's perspective and I know from a few pm's that I'm not the only one in this situation. I should imagine there are some major CV overhauls underway as I type. :D
 
I'd just apply for anything that takes your fancy to be honest with you, even if you don't quite meet the criterea maybe try to find a specialized recruitment agency?

I was looking at going into the Science Industry but not sure I'll bother if there's no jobs out there was going to do a degree in Animal Behaviour and Welfare think I might just go for the Physiotherapy Route...
 
As you have experience of lecturing, have you considered teaching in a school- primary or secondary? I'm a teacher in primary, and also in charge of trainees. We take trainees on the Graduate Teacher Programme which takes a year but you get paid (not a huge amount- £15,000 ish) to do it.

Oh, and CVs printed on good quality cream paper are always looked upon favourably at our school when we appoint new teachers.

Good Luck :)
 
Why not become a full time housewife? I find it to be the best job I've ever done. Rewarding,spreading happniess to others,occasionally frustrating. Your times much your own and you can discover and nurture skills you never knew you had.
 
Im another one with a cv at SRG. Hoping to hear soon if ill get an interview at another forensics provider. Can also highly recommend Kinetica they do scientific, engineering and medical positions and ive had most of my interviews through them. I regularily search on Reed, New scientist, totaljobs, jobs.ac.uk and also check on the local universities websites.

With regards to doing a second degree another big factor is that radiography is NHS funded so no fees!! Would love to do a post grad in some scientific equine research but i got a useless grade in my equine science degree and they usually require a decent 2:1 at least!!
 
likkibunni said:
Im another one with a cv at SRG. Hoping to hear soon if ill get an interview at another forensics provider. Can also highly recommend Kinetica they do scientific, engineering and medical positions and ive had most of my interviews through them. I regularily search on Reed, New scientist, totaljobs, jobs.ac.uk and also check on the local universities websites.

With regards to doing a second degree another big factor is that radiography is NHS funded so no fees!! Would love to do a post grad in some scientific equine research but i got a useless grade in my equine science degree and they usually require a decent 2:1 at least!!
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Aha - funded - yes, that puts a completely different spin on the finances! Go for it!!!

Horsesforever1 - that is my current job, and whilst I love my girls, and enjoy baking etc - the mundanity of it all is driving me round the bend!!!

Magichorse - had ruled out secondary school as an option (worked as a tech in one for two years, a fairly good one at that, and the daily abuse that the teachers endured has put me off for life! I'd never really thought about primary school - what are the prospects if you go down this route - are there plenty of jobs around?
 
Bertthefrog said:
Magichorse - had ruled out secondary school as an option (worked as a tech in one for two years, a fairly good one at that, and the daily abuse that the teachers endured has put me off for life! I'd never really thought about primary school - what are the prospects if you go down this route - are there plenty of jobs around?
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We have had Graduate teachers for the past 5 years or so who have all been employed by our school when they qualified. The GTP (Graduate Teacher Programme) route is the best in our area for getting a job at the end, as you're employed by the school as an unqualified teacher so more chance to 'prove yourself' and get noticed than the PGCE with only 2x 6 week placements. The programme itself is more difficult to get onto than a PG as there are less places.

I can vouch for primary teaching as great for fitting in with horses- 6 weeks off in the summer is a godsend and more than compensates for the late night report writing that comes with the job!

Feel free to PM me if you'd like more info on the GTP (I work in Stoke) :)
 
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