Yes it's another one of these threads. God I hate jobhunting. Just finished a 12 month fixed contract in London. Back in the NW of England looking for something a bit more local. Finding jobs is damned hard, sometimes. My findings so far: 1) Universities are absolutely hopeless at getting back to you. 2) Most of the academic funding is going to bio-this or organic that. Not much use when you're an inorganic chemist. 3) Industry wants the best people but doesn't want to pay for it. 4) Industry also likes using recruiters, who are generally abso-****ing-lutely useless. I work in science, chemistry to be specific. Was making in excess of 30K in london (30 + 10% london weighting), and academic jobs GENERALLY pay in that ballpark, sometimes more. There are other perks to it, more holidays, flexible working (though generally more hours, I don't mind that), good pension etc. etc. Industry is a fickle beast. They want the best people, as in the best of the best, needing years of experience (good look finding someone like that) and an exact skillset, yet at the same time are offering mid-20s (figures in pounds here). Turned down one uni job as it was based a long way off (portsmouth), and didn't really interest me that much (at 32K, though), and I'm trying to haggle with one of the large chemical manufacturers up north (via an agent, ugh), for a better deal than low 27, when it's a 2 hour drive each way in rush hour traffic. I recently signed up for JSA so I don't eat into my savings, and don't really have to do much more than I was previously, really. Point being: Am I being too picky, or should I play hard ball and not settle for bottom dollar for my (not insignificant) experience? Sorry if that sounded horribly cynical but that's how I am sometimes.
^ that pretty much sums it up. Plus actually finding a job and being hired means didly squat it seems, you might be kicked out the door the next minute... As for your question, I think only you can judge that. If you want to stay firm, good. If you feel you must accept something lesser, fine.
The thing that completely puts me off, is the long winded, pointless weeks long process they force you into for even the most crappiest jobs For example, in order to get a job that a monkey could do, or a machine, packing frozen pasties into their boxes on a moving line, I had to go 15 miles away for an interview, a week later, again another 15 miles for some retarded test, then the week after another massive journey to HQ for some other useless paperwork, and then finally to the building I would be working in, 5 minutes up the road for an induction, then finally start the job months later My entire job was pushing frozen pasties into packets.... I lasted 2 shifts and left
It's more the indecision and waiting to hear back that irk me. I'm constantly having to chase people, it's a bloody nightmare. Been advised by several people to negociate hard, they will budge if they think you're worth it. In academia, fixed term contracts are a norm, but in industry they can quite easily warrant offering permenant positions. That sucks, dude. I hate interviewing and all that associated BS, especially when it's multi stage technical and competancy and personality interviews.
If it was for a decent job, I wouldn't have minded, but if you want me to do a job a 2 year old could do, then just give me the feckin job, a simple 5 minute 'get to know me' interview would have been more than enough
I hear ya, it seems employers can't be bothered to inform even the person they've picked for the job... again though, knowing when to put your foot down and when to back down is an art you never master. People will tell you this and that but things aren't that simple anymore.
When going for industry interviews you're asked salary expectations, I told them what I was after, they didn't listen but offered me the job anyway... I was told by the company that they'd offer full time permanent contracts, but the agents seem to think otherwise.
I know what you mean mate. I remember one job I had that required me to go to three separate interviews, as well as do a bunch of online tests. Then when they got me to the induction, they couldn't give me a black and white "yes or no" regarding my employment status, as they for some reason processed peoples references after the induction itself. I then spent 2 weeks learning health and safety, and a further 3 weeks learning general information about the company that had absolutely no relevance to my job whatsoever. This was all for an office job where I was sat at a desk all day. It was an absolute nightmare and I was glad to leave the place, I lasted a few weeks. OP: If I were you I'd accept a lower paid job and continue looking, it's always easier to find work when you're in work. Give it a few weeks and Job Centre will start to really get on your nerves, I'd consider living on the street before dealing with them again.
It's ridiculous isn't it, I mean, what good did it do those companies? forcing us to go through all that, and we left almost straight away anyway. Nice filtering When I was about 16, I went for a job in a furniture store (Chapmans in the town), I was 1 / 100 interviewees - then 1 / 50 for interview No.2, then 1 / 10 for the final interview, and eventually I got the job Few weeks later I got sacked because I was young, didn't even want the job in the first place, and broke just about every rule going, took days off etc So what good did all that filtering do ? My thoughts: Interview everyone once, pick someone - done.
It's just HR justifying their existence making their own job security nothing to do with the job lol.
Almost every company now wants a person with 30 years of experience in the field/fields,at least one Phd,good at everything on the spot,who doesn't want days off,nor taking lunch breaks,and willing to work for chips.And to be in their 20' nice and smart. Good luck finding unicorns!
What's odd is I've had more scrutiny over their years for menial jobs I didn't really even want (it was just "a job") than the vetting I get for proper, career type positions. Why does, say, a Wal-Mart or a McDonald's give someone a drug test and a criminal question sheet to see if they once stole a pen from the office? Don't you need to be high a lot to tolerate working in those places anyways? They always pile on the training as if you're completely braindead. High wage union jobs and government positions have given me far less scrutiny than the random, crap jobs. Feels like more trust is involved and intelligence is implied. One thing's for sure. These days, if you can find and keep any job that doesn't drive you crazy, you are fortunate.
