Unemployment Benes

[Sundae]

Originally Posted by freshnesschronic

I am a 2010 college graduate and I am SO discouraged with my job search, it almost hits me in my core.

I was supposed to hear a final answer back today from an interview I had Monday (they were looking to fill spot very soon) but it's well past business hours and have not heard anything.

I'm not expert on government, on anything really...I just hope those guys in the big offices create jobs for the college graduates who still have to live at home at work at the mall now...

I've been applying for any number of low-grade jobs since I got mine (Teaching Assistant). I've had one interview. For those who don't know, I have a job, but can't start until my enhanced Criminal Records Bureau check comes through; I have a normal CRB, but this is not adequate for staff, only volunteers.

So every week I go to the Job Centre, sign on, and prove I am actively seeking work. Some weeks I bother, and apply right left and centre. Some weeks I scramble around on Monday morning applying for anything available at the last minute before my appointment. It doesn't seem to make any difference. I've been passed over for retail work, bar work, waitressing etc. I think the only way I'd be successful is if I was still applying for work with children - but for obvious reasons it's the one field I'm avoiding. FTR - if I applied for a position similar to the one I've already been offered in another school I'd still have to wait for the same paperwork.

The whole thing is a waste of the Government's money, but it's a Government check I am waiting for.

But I guess I'm lucky to still be receiving benefits.
The hour or so I spend looking for work and attending the job centre is hardly worth the money I receive. But honestly, I'd rather apply for all the part-time work I see advertised and make my own way. It's just it's not worth it, knowing my "real" job will come through any day now, and I'll waste the time of anyone who employs me. And pretty much everyone offering part-time hours are small businesses. Still, who's to say I'd even get those jobs when I've been passed over for so many others!

Honestly, there's not a lot out there. And when people come on the radio (the bathroom radio is tuned into a talk station) and say "I'd do anything to work if I was unemployed!" I don't think they realise that their perceived sacrifice might not even be available. And if it is, it's only available for such limited hours a week that the main family breadwinner cannot possibly survive on it.

The right wing tabloids love to bleat on about scroungers and dolescum and benefits-Britain, but it's not all council house tenants with 13 children and immigrants in five bedroom houses. From my experience I assume there are many people genuinely looking for work that isn't there. People who were previously happy in office or factory work and are now at their wit's end.

[Lamplighter]

Originally Posted by Sundae Girl

I've been applying for any number of low-grade jobs since I got mine (Teaching Assistant).
I've had one interview. For those who don't know, I have a job,
but can't start until my enhanced Criminal Records Bureau check comes through;
I have a normal CRB, but this is not adequate for staff, only volunteers.

So every week I go to the Job Centre, sign on, and prove I am actively seeking work.
Some weeks I bother, and apply right left and centre. <snip>

The TV heads were just talking about US job prospects in 2011,
and how so many people (84%) who are currently employed
are planning to look for different job in 2011.
The heads also said that employers will be looking more favorably on (these) people who
will be seen as "trading jobs", as opposed to those who have been unemployed for a long time.

I know this does not apply to you, SG, but it did remind me of your postings last month
about still waiting for your "enhanced CRB".
I started wondering about the British political system, as compared to the US.

That is, if I were in your position (hired, but not yet working the job) and still drawing benefits,
I would seriously consider a letter and phone call to my own State
Senator and/or Representative.
Usually, this is just the sort of thing our politicians love to say about they how they helped
their constituents get through the red tape, blah, blah, blah.

A long preamble, but does the British political system allow for that sort of short cut
thru the bureaucracy to get you into the job you want and have been offered. ?

[Lamplighter]

Originally Posted by Lamplighter

The TV heads were just talking about US job prospects in 2011,
and how so many people (84%) who are currently employed
are planning to look for different job in 2011.
The heads also said that employers will be looking more favorably on (these) people who
will be seen as "trading jobs", as opposed to those who have been unemployed for a long time.
<snip>

The posting above was on 1/1/11 ... and it has come true ... all too true.

The Plum Line
Ryan Cooper
December 17, 2013
Elizabeth Warren sheds light on Washington’s failure

Today, Elizabeth Warren is introducing
a bill to ban the use of credit scores during the hiring process.
While this is a fairly small-bore reform, it is probably still worth doing.

Credit reports were developed to help lenders assess the risks associated with making a loan.
Over the last few years, they have been aggressively marketed to employers as a means
to gauge an applicant’s character or likelihood to commit theft or fraud.
Yet there is no proven link between personal credit reports and
criminal behavior or performance of a specific job.

A spokesperson for TransUnion, one of the major credit reporting companies, admitted in 2010:
“We don’t have any research to show any statistical correlation between
what’s in somebody’s credit report and their job performance or their likelihood to commit fraud.”

And this reform won’t even touch the problem of long-term unemployment,
against whom there is massive discrimination already.
As Matt Yglesias says, those people are doomed:

We could keep paying UI checks. But we’re not going to do that.
And we’re not going to do relocation assistance.
And we’re not going to do direct hiring and public works.
We’re going to do nothing.

We’re going to tell people to go out and look for work,
even though employers looking to hire can still afford to be very choosy
and generally refuse to even consider the long-term unemployed as job applicants.

The country failed these people first by letting the labor market stay
so slack for so long that they became unhirable, and now we’re going to fail them again.
<snip>

...your employer goes out of business
...your unemployment insurance kicks in for a while
...your "extended" unemployment benefits come to an end
...your house payments end and the bank forecloses
...your credit rating goes into the toilet
...your prospective employer asks for a credit score.

Lot's of luck

[xoxoxoBruce]

The country failed these people first by letting the labor market stay
so slack for so long that they became unhirable, and now we’re going to fail them again.

The people failed themselves by shopping at walmart.

[tw]

Originally Posted by xoxoxoBruce

The people failed themselves by shopping at walmart.

Well that was really enlightening. Did you come up with that on your own or consult a genius?

[xoxoxoBruce]

Fuck you, tw.

[Lamplighter]

The people failed themselves by shopping at walmart.

Now that's funny !

Right up there with buying rape insurance
... like a man or woman paying $ to insure that they were going to get raped.

.

[tw]

Originally Posted by xoxoxoBruce

Fuck you, tw.

You get angry when someone mocks statements unsupported by facts. Surprise us. Fill us with knowledge that justified that accusation ... if you can. Good luck.