I’m due to sign-on on Thursday, so I’m just updating my jobsearch “diary” for the jobsearch that I’ve done since I last visited my local JCP. Which means, using the JobCentre Plus website, to search for new vacancies.
Now, while the “original” system wasn’t perfect, it was at least useable. The new version, located over at DirectGov, is quite honestly, appalling. It’s completely unintuitive, and makes searching for vancancies a lot, lot more difficult, and time consuming, than the old system.
If I were a cynical person, I’d say they’ve removed the “original” jobsearch website, not in order to streamline everything under the DirectGov banner, but to draw more traffic to JobSeekers Direct, in order to generate additional revenue.
Update -> The “original” version is still online, for the moment – though for how long, I’m not sure. It isn’t linked from the JobCentrePlus website, but if you type in the old address, it’ll work.
3 Comments
(In)Flexible New Deal? 
it is still available…
On the JCP homepage… http://www.jobcentreplus.gov.uk/JCP/index.html
Click “I’ve got it, I’ve got it! 1000s of jobs online” for the old search.
Click the Jobsearch part for the new search (direct gov) – anywhere in the top red bit, the image and the now button.
Have they asked for the jobseekers feedback yet?
Just had my letter today telling me that I’m starting FND. Found out much more from your blog about what FND involves than the Job Centre has provided. Thanks to you both for the tip on finding the JobCentre Plus search engine. I know a lot of people (including myself) that found the old search engine much easier to use than DirectGov, so I will pass it on. Cheers.
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