Job hunting doesn't seem to be going particularly well and I'm leaving my current job in the next month. I graduated last year so should I fail to dupe an employer into giving me a job pretty soon, I shall soon be (temporarily, fingers crossed) unemployed for the first time.
What do I do to maximise my experience?
Sign On.
Always Sign On.
amazes me how many people don't
it's quite depressing but having your rent paid is very good.
Just spend your time doing free things like wandering around and seeing exhibitions etc. If you like the cinema get an unlimited card and just sit in there all day catching up on films.
Basically make use of having all your days free. Annoyingly most other people you know probably won't be around and you won't have any money.
After university I spent a fruitless month basically sat on a wooden chair in the middle of the lounge playing Goldeneye in an army camo jacket. People got worried about me.
^this
but I replace Goldeneye with 'Half Life 1.'
I don't like the idea of signing on
I'd have to be unemployed for a prolonged period of time for that, and I really don't want that to be the case!
No you don't
You've just got to be looking for work.
I meant personally
why would you?
just sign on straight away. It doesn't hinder you getting a job and means that even if it's only a month you will get all your rent plus 40 quid a week or whatever. It's free money!
I know, I know
Stupid sense of pride, ego etc etc
i agree in this case
however you've also got to remember that you'll be chased for NI contributions in the future if you don't sign on.
Damn it
I WANT A JOB!
I don't get it
I'm sure your sense of worth is strong enough to withstand it. I mean you will be paying taxes for the majority of your life so it is your entitlement. And if worst comes to worst and it takes you a while to find something decent, then you won't go massively into debt.
Up to you of course but I really don't think it is anything to be embarrassed about especially not at your age.
It isn't really about being embarrassed
I'm a walking embarrassment as it is. I just want a job, and moreover, a job which is actually a progressive move for me career wise. I appreciate what the dole is there for, I'd just rather I didn't have to use it.
It isn't all that rational, I know.
In the three weeks between officially not being a sixth-former
and starting uni, I signed on :)
FREE MONEY!!!!
You get your rent paid?!
Really?
no
you have to apply for housing benefit seperately.
And it takes AGES
Argh
That sounds like an arse.
I once got quite close to signing on, but it was dead confusing and I found it easier to get a job by calling in at a recruitment agency on the way home.
worth it though
it is one annoying form but it is backdated so when you have a job you then get a cheque for a few hundred quid.
Also you get council tax benefit.
It'd totally be worth it
but if I hadn't got a job I'd have been sitting around at my parents house at the time, which would have been the worst thing ever!
agreed
having your rent paid is good
Myth busters to the rescue!
it won't cover your rent
?
yes it will.
Yes it will (*2)
If you could afford the property when you first moved in (and you haven't claimed before), then Housing Benefit should cover your rent in full for the first 13 weeks of your claim (even if you live in a mansion).
After that it may be restricted, but you can find out what level you will receive in advance
http://lha-direct.therentservice.gov.uk
It shouldn't take ages to get sorted either - most Local Authorities have improved over the years, and you can insist on a 'payment on account' after 14 days if they have all the necessary info from you.
I never got around to doing this
I fail at life.
PRACTICE DOOM SPEEDRUNS
^this
*revs chainsaw.*
have you got anywhere with yours?
I need to go through all the levels first to find the best ways
of completing certain levels though. I did the first 6 on 'Ultra Violence' mode. Omg, so hard. It wasn't that fast though. I think I need to pick a middle ground, say 'hurt me plenty' mode to give myself a chance. But yeah, it's ace. I'm guessing you haven't had a chance to play Doom 3 yet?
IT STILL HASN'T COME!!!
:(
:( POOP.
Learn an instrument
Apart from school, it's the only time when you can put in the required zillion hours a day.
And practise the line
"I'll pay you back once I've got a job."
harru still not paid up?
I'm in on the instrument idea though.
I'd just make business cards with that printed on.
Saves talking power.
drink Skol, smoke too much and watch Sky
Signing on is good
And completely hassle free for the first year. Graduates sign on all the time, so they won't bat an eyelid. The money seems like fuck all but it all adds up.
Cunting bollocks
I'm going to have to be less Tory about this, aren't I?
yep
it must be hard for you
but yes :)
If you're someone who clearly does want a job then they don't even bother hassling you at all and just let you get on with it.
daytime TV reruns of
90s TV shows are you friend.
Daniel Kelly is Diagnosis Murder?!?!
Daniel Kelly She Wrote
Magnum D.K.
The Father Kelly Mysteries.
etc.
The Fresh Prince of Kel E
Big kisses to you both!
10/10
when i was unemployed, my mornings went:
9:30am - get up
10:00am - stargate sg-1, sky 1
11:00am - buffy, sky 1
12:00pm - angel, sci fi channel
1:00pm - lunch
:D
double pants?
Sorry, 9:30am - get up?
???
You got up at 9.30am
Even though you didn't have a job?
he had to get up to watch Stargate
if you live with a parent
it's an easy way of placating them and making them think you're vaguely trying.
:D
It's really easy.
Sign on, it's really okay to do it, just find out the name of a nice local job centre and go there to avoid the tracksuited and drunks. I think it's about £90 a fortnight, bonza. Find a student bar with a beer garden, get the papers every day and go to the pub for inspiration, then call in at friends houses when you suspect they'll be plating up tea. You needn't really spend money on anything other than booze.
^ dispelling stereotypes about Northerners since 1997!
but what about rent and phone bills?
I'm unemployed and slightly homeless as of friday but still have bills! What to do? can't get a penny out of the bank..
Can you get sneaky money anywhere?
HOUSING BENEFIT
Phonebills are a luxuary, really, aren't they?
I think they'd pay his rent, or at least the majority of it. I've only received housing benefit once, and that was a while ago, so i'm not sure.
focus groups.....
medical trails
ebay your crap
sneaky money is abound.
this. I like this.
I have nothing to sell, but they can have a kidney.
paraexel clinical trails
8days stay, £1,350.
Robert is in fact, your mothers brother.
cheers ears!
Parexel managed the trial....
That left six with multiple organ failure in London a while back, so watch yourself.
focus groups eh?
I'm tempted to do some medical trials for some extra cash.
let me know
so i can refer you and get £90 from it too :)
i'm still on their mailing list from when i thought my $A were running out after i first arrived - thankfully i never had to do it, but it would have been like £3,000 for 2 weeks or something!
meet some like minded people
who have the same goals as you, these goals should include.
A) being in the pub by 11am at least 3 or 4 days a week
B) develop a massive weed habit
C) Drinkning port a lot.
I did this for 6 months, it was ace, I enjoyed it massively, it did help that I was working for cash occasionally and it was a nice summmer so spent loads of time on the beach. Everyone should be unemployed at one time in there life.
i wonder if i can sign on
i'm 18 and i have left school and i don't have a job. yeah?
yeah you can but why would you?
get a job
yeah i'm too honest
i would only do it if i was genuinly trying but failing at finding a job.
bollocks to that,
get what you can out of the government before real life starts and you spend the rest of it paying taxes, NI etc..
exactly
I don't understand any sort of moral objection if you are genuinely trying to get something. It is better than ruining yourself financially.
that's not what i said
i said i would claim JSA if i was job seeking. i scrounge off my parents anyway.
and it's not the government's money.
i know i'm totally gay.
This thread
made me man up and apply for jobseekers allowance.
Mainly because the 8 weeks back-pay i might blag would pay for an extended lie-in until dour festival.
:D
I can't be unemployed for 8 weeks!
I'll go insane!
thats why you need to be in the pub by 11am every day.
But surely you have
a list a million of miles long of things you would rather be doing than working for someone else? you can't tell me that you'd rather shuffle paper than be self-productive? Shirley..
I have absolutely no money
hmm. yes, this is a problem.
but should be no wall. hobbies? day trips? do you own a bicycle? Learn to knit? cook loads? write music? learn a new instrument? go camping? Walk round your county and bribe people to give you food.
Oh, and you could always WWOOF? Its free and they feed you and you get to go on holiday!!!
What is WWOOF?
Money is required for most of those things.
I quite like the idea of a few weeks off though. Plus, I am hoping to get a job I enjoy!
working on organic farms
you just go help them cook, and pick fruit or manage woods or help grow food or something (theres thousands of different types all over the world) and in return they give you accommodation and food. You get about half the day off depending on where you are.. www.wwoof.org
Buy a PS3
while you still can!!!
it'll be a lifesaver.
Can you get jsa...
If you quit your last job? About half a year ago? Do they make you take any job straight away, or do they leave that a while?
Why is life complicated? I hate it.
they penalise you for quitting a job
but this is only for a certain period. As for taking a job straight away, it depends on you. If they think you have a valid reason to look for something specific then they give you a certain period to go for "ideal jobs" before becoming a cleaner or whatever. This is pretty negotiable though in my experience.
It's not complicated
you're just a tool
join a temp agency
pack yourself a bag of essentials
and a little bit of money and go travelling for a while.
its well easy you just dont get a job thats how you do it
good luck finding somat I'm strugeling at the moment to find owt.
have you ever becoming a househusband?
You need to shop at
Lidl/Aldi/Netto
I hate every single fucker in this thread.
And to everyone that keeps referring to the dole as 'free money': fuck you.
actually read the thread then
whats wrong with a bit of scrounging?
And what is your line of work, Mr.Jobsworth Guevara?
Does it really warrant a rallying cry against the masses who can't fund themselves?
What's wrong with a bit of scrounging?!
It's quite obvious isn't it?
My line of work is irrelevant to this thread. I have a job and pay tax.
And yes, it does warrant a rallying cry. It is, however, thankfully, not against the masses, as the masses aren't unemployed. It's aimed at those who think I owe them something.