The Jobs Market

[muldoon74]

I've finished Uni now, just need to wait on results..

 

My problem is that the field my degree is in (Sport and Exercise Science) is very limited these days with regards opportunities for entry level jobs.

 

I have a conditional for a place on a Masters at Napier and have sorted funding for it starting September but not sure if I want another ?9,000 of student debt (I'm 42 so this will never be paid off!!)

 

Currently applying for anything and everything, I have broad experience having been in the Army, hospital porter, admin, call centres, distribution, private hire driver, prison officer but being a student for the last 4 years means I don't have work referecnes for the last 4 years and many places won't touch you without it.

 

I've applied for 20 jobs this morning through S1jobs.com, anyone any experience of using them? Good, bad, indifferent, all experience will be helpful. I just get the impression that agencies are faceless and as such, so are you as an applicant. They'll recieve thousands of apps for the same jobs so what are the chances of yours being picked out instead of "highlight 100, delete"... 

 

Last summer in the break between 3rd and 4th year I registered with NAS in Livingston, was told they'd have work for me within 10 days, still waiting! Do agencies get paid for the amount of people on their books? Surely it makes sense to be succesful in supplying companies with workers... I must be missing something.

 

Although I'm not a technophobe by any means, I am a bit old fashioned in that I'd prefer to phone up or go into a place and speak face to face about a job. I believe you get a far better idea of if you want to work with someone when you've made a good first impression (smartly dressed, firm handshake etc...).. 

 

So does anyone know of any good agencies? Or firms that are hiring and don't use the agency route to advertise?

 

If I can get a decent ful ltime job I won't need to do the Masters, otherwise it's fingers crossed for exam results!

[Riddley Walker]

Getting a job through these websites is very tough unless you have direct experience in the position you're applying for. I'm moving back to Scotland at the start of June and have applied for a few this week through S1 Jobs. I got a call yesterday afternoon and have an interview with one next week. As I'm sure you know, make your covering letter as perfect as you can. Triple check spelling, grammar, un-natural and forced language etc. Give examples for your claims instead of just saying "I'm good at this, I'm good at that."

 

Try and think about how you can fit/manipulate (whatever you want to call it) any experience you have into the requirements for a new job. You seem to have had a varied range of jobs, there will be a lot there you can fit into different job specifications. There will also be stuff from your degree that you can fit into a covering letter (self-motivation, autonomous working, worked as a team for projects etc.) Not all of it will apply to each job but it will fit in with some.

 

Sorry if this is stuff you already know, thought I'd just put it out there since I've been on the job hunt recently as well.

[Taffin]

Do the Masters. If you have funding and the debt will never be paid off then what is to lose?

[Homme]

I did one year of that course at Napier then quit and went into Engineering.

 

My mate who did it is now in IT.

 

However it is admirable that you chose to go back to uni at your age so use this to your advantage in cover letters, CV, and any interview opportunities. You will have a bit of experience of the world and this may give you an upper hand over the young graduates looking for the same type of work.

 

All the best.

[John Findlay]

Apply online for any of the rail companies.

I work for Scotrail. Money and terms and conditions are better than alot of others. After 6 months you can start applying internally for vacant positions. You will be very surprised at the money on offer and not in a bad way.

[neilnunb]

Apply online for any of the rail companies.

I work for Scotrail. Money and terms and conditions are better than alot of others. After 6 months you can start applying internally for vacant positions. You will be very surprised at the money on offer and not in a bad way.

And let's be honest, it's money for nowt as so many of their trains are cancelled (like this morning!)

[muldoon74]

Getting a job through these websites is very tough unless you have direct experience in the position you're applying for. I'm moving back to Scotland at the start of June and have applied for a few this week through S1 Jobs. I got a call yesterday afternoon and have an interview with one next week. As I'm sure you know, make your covering letter as perfect as you can. Triple check spelling, grammar, un-natural and forced language etc. Give examples for your claims instead of just saying "I'm good at this, I'm good at that."

 

Try and think about how you can fit/manipulate (whatever you want to call it) any experience you have into the requirements for a new job. You seem to have had a varied range of jobs, there will be a lot there you can fit into different job specifications. There will also be stuff from your degree that you can fit into a covering letter (self-motivation, autonomous working, worked as a team for projects etc.) Not all of it will apply to each job but it will fit in with some.

 

Sorry if this is stuff you already know, thought I'd just put it out there since I've been on the job hunt recently as well.

 

Taking a lot of this on board as it is common sense.. Been out the job game (other private hire which is self employed..) for 7 years...

 

Seems from what you are saying that cover letters and CV's are more important now.. was told by mates brother (now a top recruitment bod in Singapore) to make my CV totally basic, 2 pages max.. that was 8 years ago.. Have things changed again?

 

I've 4/5 cover letter templates that I'll alter individually for each application..

 

Cheers RW

[muldoon74]

Do the Masters. If you have funding and the debt will never be paid off then what is to lose?

 

Not confident of my last two exam results tbh.. might not get the grade required..

 

I did one year of that course at Napier then quit and went into Engineering.

 

My mate who did it is now in IT.

 

However it is admirable that you chose to go back to uni at your age so use this to your advantage in cover letters, CV, and any interview opportunities. You will have a bit of experience of the world and this may give you an upper hand over the young graduates looking for the same type of work.

 

All the best.

 

I was so frustrated by work and people,.. Just thought I could do something for myself... have done now and am proud whether I fail or not.. I've always shyed away from putting myself forward and being vocal about my achievements.. I just try to get on and do what I can when I can..

 

I need to change my attitude and be more ballsy with it..

 

Apply online for any of the rail companies.

I work for Scotrail. Money and terms and conditions are better than alot of others. After 6 months you can start applying internally for vacant positions. You will be very surprised at the money on offer and not in a bad way.

 

Applied for several posts over the last few years on the rails... Not so much as an interview. I'll try again as I monitor the websites for jobs.. The money on offer was/is very good and from what I see progresses quickly..

[heartsfc_fan]

Taking a lot of this on board as it is common sense.. Been out the job game (other private hire which is self employed..) for 7 years...

 

Seems from what you are saying that cover letters and CV's are more important now.. was told by mates brother (now a top recruitment bod in Singapore) to make my CV totally basic, 2 pages max.. that was 8 years ago.. Have things changed again?

 

I've 4/5 cover letter templates that I'll alter individually for each application..

 

Cheers RW

Yes, a CV should not be longer than 2 pages. Also bullet point stuff, don't write sentence after sentence. It's easier to pick out key words in bullet point form.

Also if an employer has a stack of CVs to read through, on average he'll only spend 30 seconds to a minute max on each one so you want to get key points across.

[Jambothump]

Not confident of my last two exam results tbh.. might not get the grade required..

 

 

I was so frustrated by work and people,.. Just thought I could do something for myself... have done now and am proud whether I fail or not.. I've always shyed away from putting myself forward and being vocal about my achievements.. I just try to get on and do what I can when I can..

 

I need to change my attitude and be more ballsy with it..

 

 

Applied for several posts over the last few years on the rails... Not so much as an interview. I'll try again as I monitor the websites for jobs.. The money on offer was/is very good and from what I see progresses quickly..

Learning to spell or use of Spellchecker is always good, as an employer, when I see the likes of this it would immediately be binned.

[IronJambo]

Apply online for any of the rail companies.

I work for Scotrail. Money and terms and conditions are better than alot of others. After 6 months you can start applying internally for vacant positions. You will be very surprised at the money on offer and not in a bad way.

I certainly wish I'd joined the railway long before I did. There's not even the slimmest of chances of me ever looking for a job outside the industry.