I’ve just finished updating my “Jobsearch Diary”, so I thought I’d take a few minutes to post a few thoughts about the process, and some thoughts on the role of external New Deal Providers, when it comes to effective jobsearching…
Firstly, a little bit of background. When you first sign-on, aside from filling out a small forrests’ worth of paperwork, which includes a Jobseeker’s Agreement (Something I hope to address in the near future) you’re also “encouraged” to keep a JobSeekers Diary, or an E4JP. I say “encouraged” because on some peoples Agreement it’s a “suggested” action, where as on other peoples’ it’s actually a requirement.
Either way, when you attend the Jobcentre, to sign-on, you’re supposed to satisfy the person “on the other side of the desk” that you’ve been actively looking for work, and one of the easiest ways todo this, is to complete the JobSeekers Diary.
Now personally, I don’t use the supplied ES4JP, I use a series of notebooks. I’ve had a few negative comments about this, from a certain member of staff, however, at the end of the day, there isn’t really anything he can do about it, as I’m providing them with a written record of my jobsearch activities. (This particular memberof staff just flat out doesn’t like me, however, as my signing-on time has changed recently, I don’t “run the gauntlett” that I might have to deal with him, anymore)
So what exactly are the Jobsearch requirements? Again these will differ from person to person, but from my own personal point of view, these are the requirements that I have to meet:
- Write to at least 2 employers per week.
- Contact Jobseeker Direct at least once per week.
- Ask Family, Friends and People I have worked with before.
- Look in the local newspaper each Thursday (Job Night for that particular paper).
Now “Contact Jobseeker Direct…“, is an interesting point. I’ve never actually agreed to that action, as I don’t see the point of phoning an 0845 number, which costs 4p per minute, with a 7p “setup” cost, just for a callcentre operative to suggest vacancies for me, that are listed on the Jobcentre Plus website. Which I access regularly, from home. The JobCentre staff will happily inform you that you can use the phones within the Jobcentre to contact JobSeekers Direct for free, however, realistically, trying to jobsearch in a busy Jobcentre simply isn’t practical.
As a result, my Jobseeker’s Agreement does contain my signature, however it also contains a note from myself that I won’t access the service, but that instead I’ll satisfy the requirement for weekly “Jobcentre” contact, by utilising their wonderful (sarcasm) website. Said note is also signed by the original member of staff who completed my JobSeekers’ Agreement, so I think I’m covered.
Now of course, that’s all fine and well, but what, exactly, do I do, week after week, as part of my jobsearch? Well rather than post suggestions, I’ll post my actual jobsearch activities, for the last two weeks:
17-09-09: Attended Jobcentre to sign-on
17-09-09: Looked in local newspaper for vacancies. There were two that I will apply for
18-09-09: Applied for Financial Services Administrator vacancy. Send CV+Cover letter, through to company.
18-09-09: Applied for General Warehouse Person vacancy. Send CV+Cover letter, through to company.
21-09-09: Accessed the Jobcentre Plus Website. Found details on three vacancies that I will apply for.
22-09-09: Applied for the Following Vacancies:
- DUA/43406 (Office Administrator. Sent CV+Cover letter, through to company)
- HOW/8681 (Warehouse Operative. Sent CV+over letter, through to company, via e-mail)
- OLD/31041 (Receptionist. Sent CV+Cover letter, through to company, via e-mail)
22-09-09: Looked in local newspaper, for vacancies. All those listed were in areas / fields that, due to legal restrictions, I am unable to persue¹
24-09-09: Looked in local newspaper, for vacancies. There were two vacancies that I will apply for
25-09-09: Applied for Office Administrator vacancy. Sent CV+Cover letter, to company.
25-09-09: Applied for Receptionist vacancy. Sent CV+Cover letter, to company.
28-09-09: Accessed the Jobcentre Plus website. Found details on 4 vacancies that I will apply for.
29-09-09: Applied for the following vacancies:
- STS/46808 (Admin Assistant. Sent CV+Cover letter to company)
- TIP/24633 (Accounts Clerk. Sent CV+Cover letter to company)
- STS/46818 (Membership Officer. Sent CV+Cover letter to company, via e-mail)
- WOL.93983 (Receptionist. Sent CV+Cover letter to company)
29-09-09: Looked in local newspaper, for vacancies. All those listed were in areas / fields that, due to legal restrictions, I am unable to persue¹
¹:The vacancies listed in my local paper, on a Tuesday evening, are always either vacancies that are available through various recruitment agencies, or vacancies at the local Council. Due to the legal restrictions placed on me by the Police & Probation Services, I can’t currently work through an agency, as any potential employer has to be vetted beforehand, so as to ensure that any job there, is appropriate (in other words, that there isn’t the potential to me to start WW3 should I feel like it – that line in and of itself is deserving of an entry 
). With regards to the local council, I applied for a vacancy there once, got through to the final selection stage, and was asked if I’d got any criminal convictions. 45 mins later I was asked to leave, and it was “suggested” I not apply for any more vacancies within the local Council.
So that’s an honest indiciation of the steps that I take, to look for work, every two weeks. In total there are 11 “Actionable steps”, as I believe is the terminology.The last two weeks aren’t anything particularly special – I’ve had a look through my notebook, and I tend to average 11 – 14 “steps” per fortnight. Which compared against my “Jobcentre” mantaded actions:
- Write to at least 2 employers per week.
- Contact Jobseeker Direct at least once per week.
- Ask Family, Friends and People I have worked with Before.
- Look in the local newspaper each Thursday (Job Night for that paper).
Comes out favourably, I think. Indeed my argument isn’t that the Jobcentre have every suggested, directly, that I’m not doing enough – Usually the member of staff I’m “Signing-on” with will comment that my jobsearch is either “very good” or “more than good”, it’s the fact that it’s being suggested indirectly, in the form of my referrals either to New Deal (or Flexible New Deal, as may be the case depending on the outcome of my meeting next Monday), or as was recently the case, my referral to the “Programme Centre”.
The previous New Deal scheme contained a “Focused Jobsearch” element, during which I, and I’m pretty sure everyone else who has been through New Deal, was reguired to attend a specific “Jobsearch focused” course. As part of this course, “particpants” are supposed to undertake “intense” jobsearch, and be provided with help, by the external provider running the course.
My latest experience with this kind of “focused jobsearch” came earlier on this year, when I was required to attend “Programme Centre”, a recently developed course, that’s run by PPDG (PerTemp People Development Group).
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