Question for anyone

I was speaking with my husband over dinner tonight and I think I have come to the conclusion that I am driving myself nuts looking for a job every waking moment of each day to no avail. He agreed with me that I should set up certain days of the week and focus on nothing else those days and the other remaining days, keep my mind away from the job hunt. I think that is the idea!

I think that's a great idea. On the other side I think you should set up 'work days'. When I was looking for work I worked from 9-5 looking for a job. It's really hard to do, I know but I kept the mantra that until I found a job that paid, my job was finding that job. It helped me.

Certainly not at the level they post in their standard terms. £10k-£12k for swamping the market on the off chance of a possible taker and then leaving it to the employer and prospective candidate to arrange intervies seems to me to be totally unrealistic.

But I do have a serious point for anyone seeking employment.
Just think about how employment agencies work. Mostly, in my experience, they are doing just what an individual COULD do. They approach potential employers who they THINK might require a candidate with specific skills.

Now couldn't someone looking for employment do this themselves, expecially with the access to information we now have, of and wouldn't they have a better understanding of the employer's business and requirements than a member of an agency staff who is a layman in the particular field ?

In short, what can the agency do that the individual couldn't, and with much better focus ?

Sorry, I don't entirely agree... an agency can open doors to companies who simply don't advertise for one.  I've worked for some fabulous companies that I never would have if I had gone through the paper.  Many companies don't trust Joe Blow off the street, and don't want to take the time to check references, etc.
Let's not give them all a bad name.
Some are cheeky, some are not.
Just like in the U.S.

It is also worth mentioning that registering with an agency is the ONLY way to find work in some areas.  Both of the GREAT jobs I got from agencies ONLY hire from agencies: they need new staff, they call and request x number of resumes/cvs then call in two or three people to interview.

We just did a round of interviews that way, and it works well.  It is cheaper than advertising and sifting through 100s of people before you get to a handfull of viable candidates.  So, while agencies DO make calls and try to find work, often, the employers are calling the agencies for workers, too.

Sorry, I don't entirely agree... an agency can open doors to companies who simply don't advertise for one.  I've worked for some fabulous companies that I never would have if I had gone through the paper.  Many companies don't trust Joe Blow off the street, and don't want to take the time to check references, etc.
Let's not give them all a bad name.
Some are cheeky, some are not.
Just like in the U.S.

I'm not suggesting just going through the paper. I am suggesting that the individual does just what the agency does - approaches companies where his/her skills would be appropriate.
And the individual will know that better than an unqualified member of agency staff.

CVs from entirely unsuitable applicants can just as well be vetted by a clerical member of the company staff.

References ? I don't have a great deal of faith in them. Nobody is going to write a bad reference.

References ? I don't have a great deal of faith in them. Nobody is going to write a bad reference.

I beg to differ. I was put into a job through an agency and I wasnt' qualified for it. It was only a temp job (luckily). I made the mistake of putting the woman I worked for as a reference as she was recent and she gave me a horrific reference. I had a contract with the company and they pulled it because of this reference.  I couldn't explain that it was because I was put in a job that I was totally not qualified for. They didn't care.

I beg to differ. I was put into a job through an agency and I wasnt' qualified for it. It was only a temp job (luckily). I made the mistake of putting the woman I worked for as a reference as she was recent and she gave me a horrific reference. I had a contract with the company and they pulled it because of this reference.  I couldn't explain that it was because I was put in a job that I was totally not qualified for. They didn't care.

There are serious pitfalls in giving a bad reference unless it is supported by facts that can be substianted. (Maybe you would have had a case against her employer if she gave you a bad reference which included any negative comment couldn't be proved. Did you have sight of the "horrific" reference ?)

For that reason responsible and informed employers generally don't give bad references.
It is just too risky.

For a bad employee the usual thing in a reference would not to be making negative comments, but the avoidance of positive comment. (Or no reference at all, there generally being no obligation to provive one). The clued in prospective employer will understand the significance.

I've read through most of the replies here, and what great advice everyone has offered! Cascode, this is one of the rare occasions I disagree with you. You should NEVER "dumb down" your resume. Your resume is supposed to show you at your very best, and if a prospective employer sees your experience as a possible future threat to his or her job, you don't want to work there anyway, because the suspiciousness will spill over into your boss-employee relations. You should always EMPHASIZE your strong points in your resume. Anyone worth working for will want the most-qualified person possible, and won't feel threatened by a resume that highlights just how much the applicant has accomplished over the years.

LisaE made a good point about being clear on university qualifications. The education process is so different here from that in the States, and since most employers primarily deal with British applicants, they don't understand that Americans use the terms college and university interchangeably; that it doesn't mean someone's slow or unambitious to take four years to get a bachelor's degree, as that is standard in the States; etc.

In the past, I've temped a lot in between writing and editing projects. For the most part, I've worked for editorial temp agencies (specialized to my field), but I've also worked for secretarial/administrative temp agencies. I've received countless permanent job offers from temping, one of which I accepted. Ironically enough, I got my last permanent editorial job after temping at a police organization as a fill-in administrative assistant--editing had nothing to do with that assignment--it was a PA deal for the executive director (yawn). The communications director, however, asked me about my background and realized it was cheaper to have me look over manuscripts during my slow times than to send them out to editorial agencies. She ultimately wanted me to stay on and fill her place while she was on maternity leave (which also consisted on dealing with the press, etc.), and when she got back, wanted me to continue working there permanently. I think they paid my temp agency 10 percent of my salary--not the 30 percent a recruitment agency would charge--to let me go. Anyway, that job was sufficient enough to launch a freelance career three years later.

I don't know if there are any field-specific temp agencies in NI. In D.C., there are specialized temp agencies for accountants, lawyers, editors, etc. I suspect you don't have as many options in NI, but do consider temping. And whatever you do, DON'T dumb down your resume. You might get a job, but it will be one you're overqualified for, and that guarantees misery. You need the income, so be open to temp work. But don't take any permanent job that you won't enjoy and find a challenge. Also, always be open to a career change. These days, it happens quite a lot. Just my two cents' worth.

Suzanne

And erm, Cascode, now that the others have mentioned it, why do you have a vacancy listed with an agency if you aren't prepared to pay the agency the fee it  has earned for finding you someone to fill the vacancy?

There was no vacancy listed with any agent. As I said, it was a cold call, totally on spec.
In fact there was actually no vacancy so it wasn't listed anywhere, but the candidate proposed was one for whom I was prepared to create a vacancy.

The long and the short, I have negotiated with the recruitment agency, got a very substantial reduction on their fee, and he has now had a job offer which he will probably accept.

Thanks everyone again for the help with my quandry.  I do see some light at the end of the tunnel.  There are two positions open in the public sector.  Salary is ok, I can live with it.  Benefits are fab, working hours superb.  What is a 37 hour work week anyway and 32 days of Holiday/vacation time?  For someone who is used to a 50+ hour work week, being on call 24 hours a day, no holiday/peak time off, I am in heaven.  I literally will not know how to act.

Now, for my  grievance, they have asked on the application form/book how many times I have been married.  This is only my second marriage and my last for that matter.  But, how could that possibly have any bearing on my ability to do the job with how many times I have been married?   Has anyone else experienced this question?  Sorry, but I am just a little put off by how intrusive some of these application forms/books are in their line of questioning.  Rant over for now.   

Rose

It would be illegal to ask that of a prospective employee in the States (fact). I know the law isn't as strict about inquiries into your personal life here, but that doesn't mean there are ways around avoiding answering questions that aren't pertinent to your ability to do the job. I would calmly ask, "Do you think the answer to this question affects my competence for handling the job? If not, I have nothing to hide, but DO consider the question an invasion of privacy. You're hiring ME, not my romantic life." Then, if the employer pursued the issue, you could throw him off with a bit of humor. "Okay, I've been married 87 times. I'm not proud of that. Are you satisfied now?!" You should never feel obligated to provide a would-be employer with information other than info showcasing your skills, or that may possibly affect your job performance. Being on a second marriage doesn't qualify. I'm on my first but would refuse to answer that question if I were asked, simply because it's off the mark and unacceptable prying. I doubt men get grilled (or judged) about how many marriages they've had. Or whether they have (or plan to have) children.

Now, for my  grievance, they have asked on the application form/book how many times I have been married.  But, how could that possibly have any bearing on my ability to do the job with how many times I have been married? 
Rose

I don't know if they have the right to ask that question, and I have never seen it on an application form. As a matter of interest I checked out ACAS (http://www.acas.co.uk/index.html application forms and none asked that question.

That said, would it cause you a problem to answer the question rather than make it an issue ?
Would answering it help or harm your prospects of getting the job ?

Cascode,

If someone feels comfortable answering the question, that's one thing. But Rose doesn't, and that's the type of question that OBVIOUSLY doesn't apply to whether you're competent for a job or not. (And to answer your question, I WOULD take issue with it, and wouldn't want to work for someone who asked such a question.) It's along the lines of asking, "Are you gay?" NOT RELEVANT.

Would, for example, a man be comfortable with a female employer asking him whether he was divorced and--let's take it a step further, if any question is game--if he WERE divorced, why? Infidelity, impotence, etc.? Obviously, that's an exaggeration of interview questions, but the point IS: Employers shouldn't ask questions that have nothing to do with the interviewee's qualifications. Number of marriages doesn't count. Nor does status as far as children goes. Nor does age, unless, say, you're past legal retirement age. You'll note that most of the nosy and irrelevant questions asked are directed at women.

I've heard unbelievably sexist comments from men at work, been asked to do secretarial-level tasks when I was in a management position, etc. It's not acceptable, no matter how much men may portray a woman as being uptight for pointing that out. Rose, don't answer ANY questions that are none of anyone's business. And BEWARE of any employer who asks such questions. If an employer has the audacity to ask personal questions before you're hired, it will ONLY get worse once you accept a job.

Suzanne

P.S. Asking, "Just out of curiousity, would you ask a man this question?" is a good way of stopping such questions dead in their track.

Cascode and Suzanne:

Thanks for the words of wisdom on this topic.  It really is over and donewith as I have thrown the application away, refusing to submit to this sort of intrusion.  These questions were only on the application, so I can imagine the line of questioning during the interview process had I gotten that far.   May I just add that these questions were for a public sector job, as my husband feels that in the public sector they deem it necessary for this line of questioning. 

To add insult to injury, when I posted this, I had not gotten all the way through the application as I was so p&^$ed off at that point.   It's norm here in NI to ask whether  you are a member of the Protestant or Roman Catholic community or whether you belong to neither side.  Now, they have taken it a step further and included whether I have a religious belief and if so, which church do I belong to.    Call me stupid, call me naive, but why would this make any difference in my ability to fulfill the needs of this position.  I understand about fair monitoring and the need for it, so be it, this is NI.  It isn't going to change and there is nothing I can do about it, except hope that it is not as intrusive in the private sector, which is where I will be focusing my job search.