My bun

Job Seeking and the Governments unreal expectations

HI all

I know for some of you this could be a real depressing subject, especially if you are like me and want a job.
I never thought I asked for much happy as hell when I finally got one to only be made redundant after nearly 5 years 4 days before Christmas.

Best timing ever, oh thanks a packet, and the day before I was about to take 3 weeks annual leave. I was seriously looking forward to some much needed time away with my teenager.  We have not been on holidays in 7 years and I don't know if 2 days away could be classified as a holiday, but that is the longest time we have ever been away for.
So now I found myself instead of taking my teen away, searching job boards, attending the Centerlink office to be informed that I have to serve a maintenance period until early June. :o

Me being the person that I am was not sitting on my laurels.  I got straight into job hunting and scored an interview, great, to not get that job.  Ok no worries keep trying several weeks and more applications later great another interview, to not get that job.  Ok I am not going to let that get me down, yea sure keep me in mind if it comes up in 12 months, but I am not sitting here for 12 months waiting.  Nope not me back at it, oh great another interview.  Waiting waiting waiting, sorry didn't score that one either. Hmmm ok not letting it get to me apply for more jobs, ahhhh yeah more jobs, what damn jobs seriously there is ahh bugger all to nothing not even an hour from where I live.  Oh frack..... What am I going to do I have a teen to support, rent to pay, bills to pay, uniforms to buy. and not one red cent coming in nothing nada.

Yes it's a dire situation and when I am off this maintenance period I am expected by the Government to get 5 interviews a week!!! Hello I am as you can see flat out securing 1 a month at this point and there are so little jobs out there that I can literally count them on one hand!!! Competition out here for each position is so tough that there are in excess of 100 people applying for the same job.

I am sure I am not the only one in this position and they call us DOLE BLUDGERS. Oh yea I am BLUDGING. there is so much BLUDGING going on here I mean it's just going to make you sick right while I just sit the feck on my ass and do nothing, absolutely nothing while you all pay for me to sit here and oh I don't pay tax.  Now let's keep in mind right now I am not getting one cent of Government money, I am barely getting maintenance as the Ex doesn't think he has to pay and the money I have from the redundancy is drying out.  I have scrimped and scrapped every penny. I've said NO, to movies, no to outtings, no to a hell of a lot of things. I don't drink, I don't smoke, I don't take drugs and I find myself here, in this position frustrated, sick to my stomach and wondering what the frack (thanks Felicity) I am going to do.   I have an Associate Diploma of Animal Science and A diploma of business Administration along with several other certificates and I feel right now that they mean fracking nothing.

I'm too qualified for the local council and I have applied for 7 jobs there and not attained a single interview.  One would think I am not asking for much or anyone else that is looking for a job these days stuck on the welfare roundabout.

So now we get to Governments unreal expectations.
Can anyone tell me how the heck we can get 5 jobs interviews a week when we are flat out finding 5 jobs a week to apply for?  Particularly in rural areas.  Talk about the Government being out of touch, and as I say, I cannot move it's called a Court Order, the limitations restrictions and expectations placed on us are beyond a darn joke.
Now they are talking about putting the welfare funds on cards because a select few piss it up the wall on booze, drugs and cigarettes.  Thank you so much, us poor honest buggers don't stand a fecking chance.

As the single mother's know once your youngest turns 16 you must get a full time job, well  great all good and well I am sure a lot of us want a full time job.   So can you find us one? And find us one where us court ordered buggers have to reside.   Can you if you can hey fell free to let me know where it is, what company where I live has this job and be permanent.I'd love it it would make my year and the rest of my life.

The problem with our out of touch Government is that permanent full time jobs are a dime a dozen or actually less.  Jobs in the bush are even bloody harder to find and actually acquire especially when we have city buggers applying for them and actually getting them.  Some jobs over 100 people apply for it meaning the competition sis tougher than bs. so from this Government pray tell me how the hell am I and others meant to obtain 5 interviews a week??? Tell me please I'd love to know so hey can I ask you Government are you going to give me a job??? Are you cause I'd love to have one so come on where these jobs are.

The changing landscape

Have you noticed how even in the last few years the employment climate has drastically changed?  Gone are the days of what use to be called "job hopping" where you could have a different job every day!!! I recall people could move anywhere and land a job just like that.  Jobs included window cleaning, floor polishing, shop cleaning, bagging groceries, delivering bottles of milk, bottle cleaning, chimney sweep and so on.    Now look around you and tell me how many of these jobs exist today?   Not many, not many at all.   I also recall that little thing called job loyalty, where you worked in the same place for 10 + years and you got rewarded for said loyalty, because loyal staff are hard to come by.  Funny thing is loyalty employees really were not that hard to find and people enjoyed "job security".   Yes "job security" strange word that is now, I am sure a number of the younger/current generation are asking what the heck is that?

Changes' have even occurred in how we apply for jobs.  The days of walking into a prospective employers business and asking for work are rapidly diminishing, now you have to apply on the internet on various job sites. I personally have walked into a number of businesses to be told "You need to apply online and if there are no listings there then there are no jobs here." It's very disheartening and depersonalising at the best of times for even an educated confident person to hear those words.

Fine ok back to the online thing then. How many job sites are there? Oh lets just say enough and some of them are a bit confusing or is that odd to navigate around to even locate a job, and then there is my personal favourite...... Let's send you jobs that are so far away it would take you a day to get there and back.  Well that is all good and well for people who could move or even want to move.  Some of us are under a court order but try telling that too welfare places who insist you have to move for work.  I think they need to go and have a look at this again court order can't move not even 25kms away hello do you get it?

Anyway back to online navigation of employment sites, sure you have your seek and career ones they are ok to navigate but of course they keep spitting out the jobs that are over 200 + kms away, well this is no good to me I don't know about you and not only that why did you spit out ones I don't even have certifications or experience in and that is what most of them are asking for degrees in medical science umm sorry no I don't have that, degrees in engineering, umm sorry no I don't have that 5 years experience in a managerial role, umm oh bollocks I don't have that either but hey what the heck I  will apply knowing you will knock me back because I don't have the certification, degrees or experience you are after.Sigh but ok I will apply.    There done everyone satisfied?    Nope not everyone, including welfare places.   Oooooh I know then how bout you welfare places give me a job after all I do hold a Diploma!!!!! Yep thanks for coming.. Oooh no sorry no jobs here and you are too qualified for us!!! HAHA what a joke next.

How many of you out there are feeling me on this.  How many rejection letters/emails have you received in the last year alone?    Heck even in the last 3 months?   I remember starting out from school when you walked into places for work hunting as well as sending letters, every shop in my home town would not give me a job and yes I trudged the street and went into just about every single one ( The gas works was not hiring and gave me looks when I even went to open the door resume in hand).  And then I would go home and have a pile of rejection letters.  I had at that stage about a thousand. 😖   Well the years have passed since then and to date I have probably had over 2000 rejection letters sighting various reasons for not even an interview, "You do not have the qualifications we are after." "You are too young" (Classic love that one umm hello I am 21 wtf) "Sorry you don't have the experience we are looking for." (You want how many years experience in cleaning a bloody house???).   And the list goes on and on.   I am sure all of you out there are least some point in your life have heard one or several of these reason.... NOPE I call them EXCUSES not REASONS, EXCUSES for not even reading what is in front of you or even daring to give an inexperienced person a chance.

SO what am I trying to say?   Job hunting has changed so much in the last 10 years that it is increasingly difficult just to apply or even find a job no matter how much you want one.   These days we even have job centres that are suppose to help us get a job.  Well I love the ones I am with they won't even answer an email from me.  They are awesome oh and did I mention they are only open 2 days a week???? No I didn't well yes just 2 days a week.... Very handy indeed for us job hunters..... WT....

The job networking bunch seem to be such a great help that I overheard a gentleman in the welfare office trying to sort out his situation, he didn't come to work one day because he was ill he called the place he was working at and they were fine with it, apparently his job network provided was not.   They contacted the welfare office the very next day and had their payment stopped!!!!   Wow so they are incredibly efficient at getting payments cut but pretty pathetic when it comes to answering the job seeker or helping them find work.    Amazing. 😱

We are at this point now where, like everything else, we have to adapt, adapt or be left out totally.   So we fight our way daily through the job sites and if we don't have our own pc we go to the welfare office or a library and job hunt, because you see there are no excuses for not applying for your weekly job quota.... Ok so does there are no jobs to apply for in the area count?   NOPE.   Not even in the slightest.   You have to apply for any job anywhere and if I get the job that I applied for which is over 6 hours away and I cannot mover (court order)?   The response too bad you go you got a job now........ 😏😏😏