Tomorrow signals another interview. A surprise interview at that for a position where I was lacking several skills and of course experience. Given the ability recently of organisations to find me and not wanting to make a bad impression I won't write their name, instead just saying they are a major U.K I.T distributor. The biggest company I have interviewed for yet. They even have had in the past a graduate program. This, I admit has me a little worried. I have been turned down by tiny companies for a lack of experience, it seems unlikely that a major one would want to take a risk. I also suspect the competition will be high. All in all tomorrow is likely to be a wasted trip. Its the opposite effect of having your hopes high, when they are low you go in knowing you have nothing to lose. It is harder however, to motivate yourself to prepare properly as in your mind you have already failed to get the job. I just hope to be given a fair chance. I once went to a company in Basingstoke for all of a 20 minute interview. It was clear the guy was not impressed and I was in and out after just a few mundane questions. This admittedly was when I was a little bit less experienced with interviews, but still the thought hangs, I don't want to have spent £15+ just to make up numbers for a firm who have no intention of employing me.
As for the preperation process it is a case of rinse and repeat. Printing off maps, planning the journey, researching the company. It's a tedious necessity which is also time consuming.
Thursday, 25 February 2010
Wednesday, 24 February 2010
The never ending internships
A couple of weeks ago I admit I was actually excited when the first of the internships appeared. Designed specifically for out of work graduates and therefore a place where experience is less likely to be a differentiator they were perfect for me. I was told to submit a covering letter and a C.V which I did.
Two weeks later and I have now applied for six different marketing internships all in different guises. Some have attached research, administration, design and P.R. Some are three months long, some are twelve. Some involve working in Southampton, others are as far north as Hook. The thing they all have in common. They are produced by GJS based in the same office in Southampton Solent University.
Can anyone spot a potential issue yet?
Writing a covering letter is time consuming. Most jobs require covering letters to accompany C.Vs so if you have any sense you have templates. After all if you are after jobs in the same industry what you want to say is likely to be very similar. One of the particulars for the internship is what you think it will do for you. Regardless of which internship I end up on, I hope it will do the same thing. The result is I have now attached six virtually identical covering letters and the office that receive them are probably sick of me. The thing is I don't see what else I could have done. An intelligent approach would have been to have one letter explaining why any internship would benefit you and what skills you hope to gain.
I still have not heard from any of the positions yet but if more keep appearing which will provide me with useful skills and carry the coveted "marketing" in the title I will keep applying until the GJS have a small pile of my applications. Yes I prefer some over others but any of them would make a massive difference to me and my chances of forging a career in marketing and therefore I will keep applying.
May the internships never end. Although it would be nice to hear from one or all of them soon.
Two weeks later and I have now applied for six different marketing internships all in different guises. Some have attached research, administration, design and P.R. Some are three months long, some are twelve. Some involve working in Southampton, others are as far north as Hook. The thing they all have in common. They are produced by GJS based in the same office in Southampton Solent University.
Can anyone spot a potential issue yet?
Writing a covering letter is time consuming. Most jobs require covering letters to accompany C.Vs so if you have any sense you have templates. After all if you are after jobs in the same industry what you want to say is likely to be very similar. One of the particulars for the internship is what you think it will do for you. Regardless of which internship I end up on, I hope it will do the same thing. The result is I have now attached six virtually identical covering letters and the office that receive them are probably sick of me. The thing is I don't see what else I could have done. An intelligent approach would have been to have one letter explaining why any internship would benefit you and what skills you hope to gain.
I still have not heard from any of the positions yet but if more keep appearing which will provide me with useful skills and carry the coveted "marketing" in the title I will keep applying until the GJS have a small pile of my applications. Yes I prefer some over others but any of them would make a massive difference to me and my chances of forging a career in marketing and therefore I will keep applying.
May the internships never end. Although it would be nice to hear from one or all of them soon.
Friday, 19 February 2010
Peer Reviews don't work at University
A slight departure today to a topic which is more relevant to current students. I am in a sense using this post as a warm up for my (potentially) paid writing and it is an issue I have seen effect friends recently.
A peer review by nature suggests bias. Your peer is likely to have an opinion and they gain/lose nothing by their decision. Peer reviews in the form of recommendations are common on linkedin. I can recommend so and so as he did an excellent job with me. I always think this loses some of its strength if the same person then reviews him back. Yes, he may have done a good job, but in giving him a dazzling review you are increasing the liklihood you will get one back.
At University the idea that any piece of work, that even 1% of it is marked by peer review is prepostorous. I can only assume that it is meant to be a demonstration of maturity, impartiality and supposedly a chance for you have to have your say. In reality it is simply nothing of the sort. It turns academic work into a popularity contest and I am flabbergasted that any lecturer still views it as a good idea.
After all there will always be people who vote highly for their friends, regardless of what there friends have actually done. Therefore the more friends you have the better you will do. People with grudges against each other are likely to mark harshly and even the person trying to be the fairest and most impartial will struggle when marking their boyfriend/girlfriend/best friend. There will also be bargaining, questioning,
"what did you give me?"
"if you give me an 8 I will give you an 8"
I remember all this from school when nothing was at stake. At university when the outcome of your degree and possibly your livelihood is in focus, to expect everyone to mark fairly is quite simply naive.
As someone who never strode the lines of popularity, any chance for peer review was something I dreaded. I knew I wasnt being marked on my actual performance on a task, but on a hundred other factors which were utterly unrelated. Even if someone tries to be impartial they arent going to be cruel to their friends and they certainly won't fail them.
Ultimately if noone votes fairly and the actual content of the work becomes irrelevant then all peer reviewing actually is, is an exercise in futility.
A peer review by nature suggests bias. Your peer is likely to have an opinion and they gain/lose nothing by their decision. Peer reviews in the form of recommendations are common on linkedin. I can recommend so and so as he did an excellent job with me. I always think this loses some of its strength if the same person then reviews him back. Yes, he may have done a good job, but in giving him a dazzling review you are increasing the liklihood you will get one back.
At University the idea that any piece of work, that even 1% of it is marked by peer review is prepostorous. I can only assume that it is meant to be a demonstration of maturity, impartiality and supposedly a chance for you have to have your say. In reality it is simply nothing of the sort. It turns academic work into a popularity contest and I am flabbergasted that any lecturer still views it as a good idea.
After all there will always be people who vote highly for their friends, regardless of what there friends have actually done. Therefore the more friends you have the better you will do. People with grudges against each other are likely to mark harshly and even the person trying to be the fairest and most impartial will struggle when marking their boyfriend/girlfriend/best friend. There will also be bargaining, questioning,
"what did you give me?"
"if you give me an 8 I will give you an 8"
I remember all this from school when nothing was at stake. At university when the outcome of your degree and possibly your livelihood is in focus, to expect everyone to mark fairly is quite simply naive.
As someone who never strode the lines of popularity, any chance for peer review was something I dreaded. I knew I wasnt being marked on my actual performance on a task, but on a hundred other factors which were utterly unrelated. Even if someone tries to be impartial they arent going to be cruel to their friends and they certainly won't fail them.
Ultimately if noone votes fairly and the actual content of the work becomes irrelevant then all peer reviewing actually is, is an exercise in futility.
Thursday, 18 February 2010
Changing the mind set.
One of the hardest things I have found to this week is change my mindset. In a sense being unemployed you get used to a ridiculous amount of flexibility. You can try to regulate what you do by routine but ultimately you can do what you like, when you like so long as you keep searching for jobs. After several months it seems hard to revert to anything else.
Its like the summer break. You have months of nothing and then have to gear yourself back up for the start of term, only when your unemployed this is amplified.
I now have things I could be doing. I could if I wished to wake up early and get straight to work, either on drafting blog posts or continuing the marketing strategy. I now have two areas I can focus a lot of time on but motivating myself to do so is a challenge. Its not that I struggle for self motivation, its just that I have become complacent and used to having more free time than it is healthy to have. Another issue is that I am stopping myself from actively pursuing hobbies when I know I could, and possibly should be working. But instead of working I am just killing time by checking random websites, watching iplayer and generally doing very little.
I think I need to accept its the start of term and that from next week I have to stop from just going through the motions and really begin the actual work.
Its like the summer break. You have months of nothing and then have to gear yourself back up for the start of term, only when your unemployed this is amplified.
I now have things I could be doing. I could if I wished to wake up early and get straight to work, either on drafting blog posts or continuing the marketing strategy. I now have two areas I can focus a lot of time on but motivating myself to do so is a challenge. Its not that I struggle for self motivation, its just that I have become complacent and used to having more free time than it is healthy to have. Another issue is that I am stopping myself from actively pursuing hobbies when I know I could, and possibly should be working. But instead of working I am just killing time by checking random websites, watching iplayer and generally doing very little.
I think I need to accept its the start of term and that from next week I have to stop from just going through the motions and really begin the actual work.
Wednesday, 17 February 2010
Another visit to the job centre
I am really beginning to familiarise myself with the place.
Yesterday I was given a choice, arrive 20 minutes before appointment and kill time, or arrive 2 minutes late. I picked the latter, pancakes is just not something you can easily pass on. In reality the bus was 10 minutes late meaning when I dashed into the job centre I was pushing the 15 minute mark.
I rushed upstairs, handed over my form and waited... for 45 minutes. Whether it is something the job centre does intentionally I do not know but I was seriously unimpressed. I have been late once in 15 weeks and yet this made me susceptible to being stuck at the back.
Whilst passing the time I took to watching others. I understand that life can be hard for some people who are unemployed and that are used to a different culture and upbringing, but that still does not excuse them from having a little respect.
Two guys waiting for their appointment were talking loudly about fighting, they both wore hats and were obviously after the gangster look. At four different points, their phones rang, ringtones on full volume. At another they fell around on the floor laughing. They were a general annoyance to all around them, and also the job centre staff trying to get through appointments. Yet no staff said anything to them.
If it was up to me I would kick them out. Tell them to come back when they are willing to treat the Job Centre with a little respect. And yet here I was being forced to wait 45 minutes because I had been late.
When I finally got to the desk to be seen it was embarrasing. The guy handed me the sign on sheet virtually straight away. Since I had questions I asked if he had read my job record sheet to which he stated not yet. He then answered all the questions with the help of the forms by his side, including a leaflet on volunteering. It seems that you can volunteer for as many hours of volunteering as you like... wait for it...so long as the number of hours you do doesnt effect your entitlement to benefit.
Possibly the most pointless sentence I have seen in a long time. It gets better, "for more information contact job centre plus. You can also ask about a leaflet on volunteering"
Wonderful advice there for the volunteering leaflet from Job Centre Plus
* SIGH *
Not their finest week in my eyes.
Yesterday I was given a choice, arrive 20 minutes before appointment and kill time, or arrive 2 minutes late. I picked the latter, pancakes is just not something you can easily pass on. In reality the bus was 10 minutes late meaning when I dashed into the job centre I was pushing the 15 minute mark.
I rushed upstairs, handed over my form and waited... for 45 minutes. Whether it is something the job centre does intentionally I do not know but I was seriously unimpressed. I have been late once in 15 weeks and yet this made me susceptible to being stuck at the back.
Whilst passing the time I took to watching others. I understand that life can be hard for some people who are unemployed and that are used to a different culture and upbringing, but that still does not excuse them from having a little respect.
Two guys waiting for their appointment were talking loudly about fighting, they both wore hats and were obviously after the gangster look. At four different points, their phones rang, ringtones on full volume. At another they fell around on the floor laughing. They were a general annoyance to all around them, and also the job centre staff trying to get through appointments. Yet no staff said anything to them.
If it was up to me I would kick them out. Tell them to come back when they are willing to treat the Job Centre with a little respect. And yet here I was being forced to wait 45 minutes because I had been late.
When I finally got to the desk to be seen it was embarrasing. The guy handed me the sign on sheet virtually straight away. Since I had questions I asked if he had read my job record sheet to which he stated not yet. He then answered all the questions with the help of the forms by his side, including a leaflet on volunteering. It seems that you can volunteer for as many hours of volunteering as you like... wait for it...so long as the number of hours you do doesnt effect your entitlement to benefit.
Possibly the most pointless sentence I have seen in a long time. It gets better, "for more information contact job centre plus. You can also ask about a leaflet on volunteering"
Wonderful advice there for the volunteering leaflet from Job Centre Plus
* SIGH *
Not their finest week in my eyes.
Monday, 15 February 2010
The Elusive Right Opportunity
One of the key challenges as an unemployed graduate is finding the right opportunity for you. I view it as unlike most job searches, where you merely look for something your vaguely interested and think you can do. Instead you are looking for something which supports your existing background and which may lead to a succesful career. I have said before how I am now involved in the SCU although my strategy developing as come to a halt as I have not heard anything since sending a draft to my contact there. As well as rejecting me Fubra have offered me the chance to be one of their freelance copy writers. Evidently impressed with my writing style and ability to research they think I would be an excellent addition to their freelance team. I am of course interested, good experience, money and another addition to my growing C.V are too many positives to turn down. One thing potentially stands in my way.
The Job Centre
I have not yet taken my new volunteering role or this offer to them for consideration. Their rules and guidelines state you cannot do more than 16 hours of part time work a week. Similar rules exist for volunteering positions. I am expecting a battle to convince them that whilst juggling a volunteering job and a copywriting job I am still actively searching for jobs.
But then the jobs they put in front of me on a regular basis clearly are not the right career step. This comes back to my earlier post on the job centre quandary. In my opinion, those of us who are unemployed graduates are different from other first time job seekers. I want something which is the right chance for me to show my skills, not a sideways step that merely delays me breaking into my chosen career. The SCU and copywriting positions are excellent experience for someone in my position. They should help me find that elusive right opportunity. The average admin job put in front of me each week, simply wont. I just hope tomorrow the job centre have the foresight and understanding not to limit either potentially career advancing chance.
The Job Centre
I have not yet taken my new volunteering role or this offer to them for consideration. Their rules and guidelines state you cannot do more than 16 hours of part time work a week. Similar rules exist for volunteering positions. I am expecting a battle to convince them that whilst juggling a volunteering job and a copywriting job I am still actively searching for jobs.
But then the jobs they put in front of me on a regular basis clearly are not the right career step. This comes back to my earlier post on the job centre quandary. In my opinion, those of us who are unemployed graduates are different from other first time job seekers. I want something which is the right chance for me to show my skills, not a sideways step that merely delays me breaking into my chosen career. The SCU and copywriting positions are excellent experience for someone in my position. They should help me find that elusive right opportunity. The average admin job put in front of me each week, simply wont. I just hope tomorrow the job centre have the foresight and understanding not to limit either potentially career advancing chance.
Friday, 12 February 2010
One hell of a challenge
You may have noticed a drop in the number of blog posts recently. This is because an opportunity has finally come through. On Monday this week I was confirmed as a volunteer in Marketing for the Solent Credit Union, a co-operative organisation for savings and loans mostly used by people the banks rejected, it is a sort of cross between a charity and a business.
My official title is "Marketing Officer", my actual job is somewhat vaguer. I have a Marketing "team" of four individuals, two of which I am yet to actually meet. How they work and what they actually do also seems to a mystery to me. All my interractions have been with the vice president of the organisation, a super pensioner, who seems to be vice president, marketer, leading a take over, volunteer co-ordinator, general helper and full time employee. Like me he is a volunteer, but it seems to me at least he is "The Solent Credit Union." That is not to say I am suggesting the many other volunteers do not do anything, Phil just seems to have an impressive remit.
Phil believes the SCU need a marketing officer as their current marketing is a mess. From what I have seen so far this is not far from the truth. The promotion, website and customer interractions all need improvement if the Credit Union is to actually maintain consistent growth and continue to be a force for good in the community.
On Wednesday I got to travel with Phil to the offices of the Coastal Credit Union in Bournemouth, an organisation not unlike our own, but fields ahead in terms of members, promotions, quality and growth. We met with two paid staff members to discuss marketing ideas. The CCU has done fantastically but this has been in no small part down to luck. One of the members believed so strongly in the cause that he remortgaged his house to buy the CCU a premises from which to work from. This and the fact they have 5 paid staff including a CEO can help explain why they are so far ahead of us in all terms. The meeting for me was challenging, I wanted to appear confident but not brash and overconfident, whilst at the same time I did not want to appear like I did not know what I was doing in front of people with decades more experience than me. I am currently writing a preliminary marketing plan/strategy for the organisation but realistically have no idea how good or useful it is. Something I will have to discover when I distribute it on completion. The fact is though the CCU have resources we don't and that is at the root of the problem.
We need skilled volunteers. We need young enthusiastic people who understand web design, marketing, graphics designing, promotion and lobbying. Until we have the resources its hard to really improve. I found out for instance our website has been created in microsoft publisher. We had information to add in to the news section but the person responsible couldnt get it to work.
This is ultimately frustrating. Without belittling the actions and achievements of the current volunteers, we need new blood, with new ideas and that for now is going to be my priority.
Should anyone be interested in volunteering or the areas above. Feel free to contact me for a chat and then I can direct you to the relevant person. The SCU has enormous potential, I just need help realising it.
In other news just got a rejection notice from Fubra. Apparently although they were impressed with my written and research skills, as well as with this blog, other candidates had more relevant skills.
*sigh*
The search goes on.
My official title is "Marketing Officer", my actual job is somewhat vaguer. I have a Marketing "team" of four individuals, two of which I am yet to actually meet. How they work and what they actually do also seems to a mystery to me. All my interractions have been with the vice president of the organisation, a super pensioner, who seems to be vice president, marketer, leading a take over, volunteer co-ordinator, general helper and full time employee. Like me he is a volunteer, but it seems to me at least he is "The Solent Credit Union." That is not to say I am suggesting the many other volunteers do not do anything, Phil just seems to have an impressive remit.
Phil believes the SCU need a marketing officer as their current marketing is a mess. From what I have seen so far this is not far from the truth. The promotion, website and customer interractions all need improvement if the Credit Union is to actually maintain consistent growth and continue to be a force for good in the community.
On Wednesday I got to travel with Phil to the offices of the Coastal Credit Union in Bournemouth, an organisation not unlike our own, but fields ahead in terms of members, promotions, quality and growth. We met with two paid staff members to discuss marketing ideas. The CCU has done fantastically but this has been in no small part down to luck. One of the members believed so strongly in the cause that he remortgaged his house to buy the CCU a premises from which to work from. This and the fact they have 5 paid staff including a CEO can help explain why they are so far ahead of us in all terms. The meeting for me was challenging, I wanted to appear confident but not brash and overconfident, whilst at the same time I did not want to appear like I did not know what I was doing in front of people with decades more experience than me. I am currently writing a preliminary marketing plan/strategy for the organisation but realistically have no idea how good or useful it is. Something I will have to discover when I distribute it on completion. The fact is though the CCU have resources we don't and that is at the root of the problem.
We need skilled volunteers. We need young enthusiastic people who understand web design, marketing, graphics designing, promotion and lobbying. Until we have the resources its hard to really improve. I found out for instance our website has been created in microsoft publisher. We had information to add in to the news section but the person responsible couldnt get it to work.
This is ultimately frustrating. Without belittling the actions and achievements of the current volunteers, we need new blood, with new ideas and that for now is going to be my priority.
Should anyone be interested in volunteering or the areas above. Feel free to contact me for a chat and then I can direct you to the relevant person. The SCU has enormous potential, I just need help realising it.
In other news just got a rejection notice from Fubra. Apparently although they were impressed with my written and research skills, as well as with this blog, other candidates had more relevant skills.
*sigh*
The search goes on.
Thursday, 11 February 2010
The Job Centre Quandary
A day late, as yesterday proved to be quite busy. More on that tomorrow as I try to catch up.
On Monday I had to attend the job centre for what will become a fixture in the in between weeks which I sign on. I was not entirely sure of the point of it when I went so was not exactly sure what to expect. If you are on JSA for more than 13 weeks I am afraid it is now compulsory, a new iniative from the government.
I arrived on time and unlike when signing on was immediately ushered to a desk to talk with an advisor. He preceeded to look at jobs for me using the job centre database, incidentally something I can do myself from home. Flagging up several admin jobs we got to discussing what I was really after. This resulted in the quandry.
I am after a marketing job. I have a marketing masters which I paid a lot to get. I am currently volunteering in marketing. Its fairly clear the average admin job isnt for me. Clear to myself, clear to him and clear to the employer.
Let us say I go to an interview for an admin position. A common first question is why do you want the job. Experience, I will answer. When pressed it will soon become clear I view the job as a good way of gaining short term experience and that I have no intention of sticking around for any length of time. I could lie but its not in my nature to do so and so when I put this to the advisor he saw the problem.
This then allowed me to follow up with an honest question. What was the point of me being there. I could search jobs at home in exactly the same way, by travelling to the job centre I paid an unecessary bus fare and took a huge chunk out of my day.
The advisor was quick to admit that in my case there probably wasn't much point, but that others struggled to find jobs and they had make great breakthroughs. This led to the obvious and instrinsic flaw of the program being exposed.
The job centre has to be seen to treat everyone equally.
Everyone is clearly not equal.
In the case of the guy before me, the advisor had found him jobs he had not considered and sent him on his way, having really aided him in his job search
In my case he had wasted my time, and he knew it. The other frustrating thing is that despite the fact we both knew this we have to continue the charade for a few more weeks. Then if it continues to be pointless he will ask his boss if it can stop.
Until then we will both just have to pretend we are achieving something.
On Monday I had to attend the job centre for what will become a fixture in the in between weeks which I sign on. I was not entirely sure of the point of it when I went so was not exactly sure what to expect. If you are on JSA for more than 13 weeks I am afraid it is now compulsory, a new iniative from the government.
I arrived on time and unlike when signing on was immediately ushered to a desk to talk with an advisor. He preceeded to look at jobs for me using the job centre database, incidentally something I can do myself from home. Flagging up several admin jobs we got to discussing what I was really after. This resulted in the quandry.
I am after a marketing job. I have a marketing masters which I paid a lot to get. I am currently volunteering in marketing. Its fairly clear the average admin job isnt for me. Clear to myself, clear to him and clear to the employer.
Let us say I go to an interview for an admin position. A common first question is why do you want the job. Experience, I will answer. When pressed it will soon become clear I view the job as a good way of gaining short term experience and that I have no intention of sticking around for any length of time. I could lie but its not in my nature to do so and so when I put this to the advisor he saw the problem.
This then allowed me to follow up with an honest question. What was the point of me being there. I could search jobs at home in exactly the same way, by travelling to the job centre I paid an unecessary bus fare and took a huge chunk out of my day.
The advisor was quick to admit that in my case there probably wasn't much point, but that others struggled to find jobs and they had make great breakthroughs. This led to the obvious and instrinsic flaw of the program being exposed.
The job centre has to be seen to treat everyone equally.
Everyone is clearly not equal.
In the case of the guy before me, the advisor had found him jobs he had not considered and sent him on his way, having really aided him in his job search
In my case he had wasted my time, and he knew it. The other frustrating thing is that despite the fact we both knew this we have to continue the charade for a few more weeks. Then if it continues to be pointless he will ask his boss if it can stop.
Until then we will both just have to pretend we are achieving something.
Tuesday, 9 February 2010
Not enough hours in the day
Well that was some hiatus. It was not helped by a post getting entirely swallowed by the internet demons. So much has happened its hard to know what to blog on exactly. Fridays interview seems the best part I think.
Interview with Fubra - Friday 05/02
The further you have to travel the more that can do wrong. To be honest the day did not get off to the best start when the bus I meant to catch went missing. For more on this see this. This meant that things would be tight at the station. I would have 8 minutes to buy a ticket and get on the train to Woking, assuming of course the bus wasnt held up in traffic. Preparing myself for the worst but unable to get the bus to speed up I was quite agitated. Fortunately traffic was low and we sailed (not literally) into the station with 12 minutes to spare. The station was busier than usual, I soon found out why.
A lorry had hit a railway bridge on the line I needed causing massive delays.
Suddenly I find myself among the many business men trying to reach London. This led to the rather surreal scenario of being crowded on to a two carriage local train heading just two stops. My two change journey had just become three. The rest of the journey was uneventful, but the delays meant that far from reaching Aldershot 40 minutes to the good I arrived with just 10 minutes to find the offices. It was only at this point I gave in and rang the company to inform them I might be late.
A short walk across a field and I was there. A fantastic office set in an old manor house. For reasons unbeknown to me I forgot how to speak on a phone and stuttered my way through asking to be let in. I can not properly express how glad I was that this temporary attack of ridiculous nerves left me and I was led to a Mac where I was told to complete 4 questions, including a mock email, a 150 sales pitch for left over xmas trees and tactics for a failing cinema. It was brilliantly refreshing and the most fun I have had within an actual interview. These tasks were followed by a face to face interview in comfortable swivelly chairs. Something about the experience allowed me to relax and I was able to field all the questions, leaving the building pleased that I had given a good account of myself.
Halfway up the hill I realised something. Something was missing. Turning around I saw my interviewer running up the hill behind me holding my laptop bag.
D'oh!
Red faced I thanked her for returning it to me and headed back to the station. Special mention at this point has to go to the little cafe at the station. I was famished after my travelling and realising I had a few minutes till the next train ordered a sausage baguette. It was one of the best I have ever had. Everything about it was perfect. A good end to a challenging day.
On reaching home I was exhausted. 4+ hours of travelling. I reasoned that I would tire myself out travelling to Aldershot all the time, on the other hand hopefully lorries wont choose to crash into bridges each morning I go to work, 3 hours a day is manageable for a few months at least. Then I can move.
I will hear from Fubra later this week. Fingers crossed and hopes up. Its a great job and I cant see what I could have done better in the tasks or interview.
Tomorrow: The Job Centre Quandry!
Interview with Fubra - Friday 05/02
The further you have to travel the more that can do wrong. To be honest the day did not get off to the best start when the bus I meant to catch went missing. For more on this see this. This meant that things would be tight at the station. I would have 8 minutes to buy a ticket and get on the train to Woking, assuming of course the bus wasnt held up in traffic. Preparing myself for the worst but unable to get the bus to speed up I was quite agitated. Fortunately traffic was low and we sailed (not literally) into the station with 12 minutes to spare. The station was busier than usual, I soon found out why.
A lorry had hit a railway bridge on the line I needed causing massive delays.
Suddenly I find myself among the many business men trying to reach London. This led to the rather surreal scenario of being crowded on to a two carriage local train heading just two stops. My two change journey had just become three. The rest of the journey was uneventful, but the delays meant that far from reaching Aldershot 40 minutes to the good I arrived with just 10 minutes to find the offices. It was only at this point I gave in and rang the company to inform them I might be late.
A short walk across a field and I was there. A fantastic office set in an old manor house. For reasons unbeknown to me I forgot how to speak on a phone and stuttered my way through asking to be let in. I can not properly express how glad I was that this temporary attack of ridiculous nerves left me and I was led to a Mac where I was told to complete 4 questions, including a mock email, a 150 sales pitch for left over xmas trees and tactics for a failing cinema. It was brilliantly refreshing and the most fun I have had within an actual interview. These tasks were followed by a face to face interview in comfortable swivelly chairs. Something about the experience allowed me to relax and I was able to field all the questions, leaving the building pleased that I had given a good account of myself.
Halfway up the hill I realised something. Something was missing. Turning around I saw my interviewer running up the hill behind me holding my laptop bag.
D'oh!
Red faced I thanked her for returning it to me and headed back to the station. Special mention at this point has to go to the little cafe at the station. I was famished after my travelling and realising I had a few minutes till the next train ordered a sausage baguette. It was one of the best I have ever had. Everything about it was perfect. A good end to a challenging day.
On reaching home I was exhausted. 4+ hours of travelling. I reasoned that I would tire myself out travelling to Aldershot all the time, on the other hand hopefully lorries wont choose to crash into bridges each morning I go to work, 3 hours a day is manageable for a few months at least. Then I can move.
I will hear from Fubra later this week. Fingers crossed and hopes up. Its a great job and I cant see what I could have done better in the tasks or interview.
Tomorrow: The Job Centre Quandry!
Tuesday, 2 February 2010
Preparing for an Interview
It has been a productive quiet morning. I have spent most of it reading a book on search marketing strategies in preperation for my interview on Friday. SEO is certainly an interesting and unusual aspect of marketing, one where I certainly have a lot to/I can learn.
Another aspect of prep is the travel arrangements. Often these can be fairly simple but occasionally they require a bit more planning. Uusually I like to leave room for error at each stage, unfortunately this is not possible for Friday as I effectively make three changes, one of which is entirely out of my control. Its always useful when planning to figure out how much it will cost to attend the interview. In this case its going to wipe out a weeks worth of job seeker allowance and then some. Travel costs can be frustrating, particularly if things go badly. For one job I went for a few months back I had to travel to Basingstoke for an interview. It only cost £10 return, but the interview lasted just 20 minutes before I was standing back on the platform heading back to Southampton. It was clear I wouldnt get the job, £10 wasted.
But ultimately if you are interested in the job the cost is worth it. The time also. Because should you actually get the job then that cost will be repaid after just your first few hours working for that firm, along with all the other costs to get to interviews you may have paid. Unless you are in serious financial trouble (in which case you can get help from the job centre) its always worth just grinning and bearing it. Of course some companies do pay expenses, I am just yet to find one outside of the big 4 accountancy firms.
Another aspect of prep is the travel arrangements. Often these can be fairly simple but occasionally they require a bit more planning. Uusually I like to leave room for error at each stage, unfortunately this is not possible for Friday as I effectively make three changes, one of which is entirely out of my control. Its always useful when planning to figure out how much it will cost to attend the interview. In this case its going to wipe out a weeks worth of job seeker allowance and then some. Travel costs can be frustrating, particularly if things go badly. For one job I went for a few months back I had to travel to Basingstoke for an interview. It only cost £10 return, but the interview lasted just 20 minutes before I was standing back on the platform heading back to Southampton. It was clear I wouldnt get the job, £10 wasted.
But ultimately if you are interested in the job the cost is worth it. The time also. Because should you actually get the job then that cost will be repaid after just your first few hours working for that firm, along with all the other costs to get to interviews you may have paid. Unless you are in serious financial trouble (in which case you can get help from the job centre) its always worth just grinning and bearing it. Of course some companies do pay expenses, I am just yet to find one outside of the big 4 accountancy firms.
Monday, 1 February 2010
Some more (short) reviews
As a job hunter it is very difficult to avoid any resource which may help you get a job. Today I am therefore giving brief reviews of a number of sites I check each time I carry out a job search, just in case they might provide a useful opportunity and I may get lucky. Some are certainly better than others, but should you be on the graduate job trail these reviews may help, though it is important to remember, they are just my views and you may in fact totally disagree.
Hot Recruit - 1/5
Hot Recruit is a job site I was put on to by someone else, I almost wish I had never found it. Quite probably my least favourite job site it has a number of spectacular issues and random oddities.
Pros:
- Simple Job search feature, simple to use at any rate
- Ability to set up email alerts, see applied jobs etc. Most sites have this as well I just felt one pro would have been overly harsh
Cons:
- Home to 90% of the fake marketing - really door to door sales jobs. Finding a real job in amongst the options is a needle in a haystack
- Utterly bemusing search criteria. If you search for Southampton it gives you a number of options including Southampton Common. How many jobs, realistically will there be on Southampton Common. This is more an oddity than a major con, but really, what!?
- Yet to find anything remotely suitable for myself. Given the number of jobs on other sites I have found, this either means the jobs don't use it, or its search just fails.
- On the first page of a marketing search I get offered the chance to apply to be a weight loss coach. If anyone can tell me the progression from those two jobs I would be impressed
- Out of date. I was being offered Christmas jobs in January...enough said
Conclusion
I only check this because its in my job seeker bookmarks. If you want a job in hard door to door sales then this is your site. Then again you can find the jobs on many other sites as well. Similarly it claims to offer a wide range of seasonal jobs, I just never found them.
Only Marketing Jobs - 2/5
This is only useful to anyone searching for marketing jobs. Well, slightly useful. I would have expected Only Marketing Jobs to turn up regular opportunities but this simply has not been the case.
Pros:
- Once a search is completed, you have a chance to narrow down or expand criteria by clicking on side bar links. This allows you to really find only relevant jobs
- Simple and easy applying feature which uses a pre saved C.V to send to organisations
- Colourful..
Cons:
- Does not seem to have many relevant jobs to starting out/graduates. Also it works by finding keywords the job poster has used, so in my job results this morning was a 45-50k salary. As expected, it was not looking for an entry level graduate.
- Spam Email. An irritating feature of many sites is their desire to spam you, not even with jobs, just emails telling you how great they are. I wouldn't mind if they actually were!
- When searching you have to select specific marketing fields, there is no "All" so finding the relevant jobs initially can be a challenge
Conclusion
Its okay if your looking for a marketing job and you can always block its pointless spam. I am yet to find and apply for a job through it, which doesn't say much for a specialist site sadly.
Direct Gov Search 2/5
You may recognise the name of this as it was tagged into the post on the job centre plus site. I was informed this morning it will be replacing it from the 31st March, this to me is not a good thing
Pros:
- Easiest search function of all. You can write what you are looking for and were in a sentence and it will return the relevant jobs
- Nope that's it, for now at least. I imagine if I am still searching in April I will need to be better acquainted with it.
Cons:
- Because of the ease of the search function you do not get the same depth in the search results. You cannot specify how far from Southampton or filter out results you have already seen. That requires an advanced search, which looks a lot like the job centre one..
- Unattractive- really minor that.
- Job return from a search is a real mixed bunch.
Conclusion
It just is not as good as Job Centre Plus. Searching is easier, I get that. But the process and return is worse for the moment at least. Job Centre is also playing up so perhaps they are trying to make the transition easier by making Job Centre worse. "I'd go direct, gov!" now appears to be a command rather than a suggestion.
Hot Recruit - 1/5
Hot Recruit is a job site I was put on to by someone else, I almost wish I had never found it. Quite probably my least favourite job site it has a number of spectacular issues and random oddities.
Pros:
- Simple Job search feature, simple to use at any rate
- Ability to set up email alerts, see applied jobs etc. Most sites have this as well I just felt one pro would have been overly harsh
Cons:
- Home to 90% of the fake marketing - really door to door sales jobs. Finding a real job in amongst the options is a needle in a haystack
- Utterly bemusing search criteria. If you search for Southampton it gives you a number of options including Southampton Common. How many jobs, realistically will there be on Southampton Common. This is more an oddity than a major con, but really, what!?
- Yet to find anything remotely suitable for myself. Given the number of jobs on other sites I have found, this either means the jobs don't use it, or its search just fails.
- On the first page of a marketing search I get offered the chance to apply to be a weight loss coach. If anyone can tell me the progression from those two jobs I would be impressed
- Out of date. I was being offered Christmas jobs in January...enough said
Conclusion
I only check this because its in my job seeker bookmarks. If you want a job in hard door to door sales then this is your site. Then again you can find the jobs on many other sites as well. Similarly it claims to offer a wide range of seasonal jobs, I just never found them.
Only Marketing Jobs - 2/5
This is only useful to anyone searching for marketing jobs. Well, slightly useful. I would have expected Only Marketing Jobs to turn up regular opportunities but this simply has not been the case.
Pros:
- Once a search is completed, you have a chance to narrow down or expand criteria by clicking on side bar links. This allows you to really find only relevant jobs
- Simple and easy applying feature which uses a pre saved C.V to send to organisations
- Colourful..
Cons:
- Does not seem to have many relevant jobs to starting out/graduates. Also it works by finding keywords the job poster has used, so in my job results this morning was a 45-50k salary. As expected, it was not looking for an entry level graduate.
- Spam Email. An irritating feature of many sites is their desire to spam you, not even with jobs, just emails telling you how great they are. I wouldn't mind if they actually were!
- When searching you have to select specific marketing fields, there is no "All" so finding the relevant jobs initially can be a challenge
Conclusion
Its okay if your looking for a marketing job and you can always block its pointless spam. I am yet to find and apply for a job through it, which doesn't say much for a specialist site sadly.
Direct Gov Search 2/5
You may recognise the name of this as it was tagged into the post on the job centre plus site. I was informed this morning it will be replacing it from the 31st March, this to me is not a good thing
Pros:
- Easiest search function of all. You can write what you are looking for and were in a sentence and it will return the relevant jobs
- Nope that's it, for now at least. I imagine if I am still searching in April I will need to be better acquainted with it.
Cons:
- Because of the ease of the search function you do not get the same depth in the search results. You cannot specify how far from Southampton or filter out results you have already seen. That requires an advanced search, which looks a lot like the job centre one..
- Unattractive- really minor that.
- Job return from a search is a real mixed bunch.
Conclusion
It just is not as good as Job Centre Plus. Searching is easier, I get that. But the process and return is worse for the moment at least. Job Centre is also playing up so perhaps they are trying to make the transition easier by making Job Centre worse. "I'd go direct, gov!" now appears to be a command rather than a suggestion.
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