Unemployment blues/frustrations

[lostmyway]

Hi all

Just wanted to discuss briefly how i feel about this.  It has been since April that i haven't worked, and don't seem to be able to get the job that i really want to do.
I spent 13.5 years in a job as a warehouse operative, and decided I've had enough of doing this particular vocation.  So I have decided to try and go into IT.
Spent a fair bit on training and started to do that in 2009.  Unfortunately it is looking almost futile because like every other job they are looking for the magic word 'Experience'.

I am finding it frustrating, at times depressing, and now I'm just getting tired of the whole shebang.  I log into jobsites everyday including the DWP's fabled Universal Jobmatch.
I just feel so useless and powerless to change the situation. calls from employment agencies about a job then they don't get back to you about it. Companies cant even be bothered to write
back a short e-mail!  ( they have a lot of applications i know but still.)

so my bedroom has almost become an enforced prison cell looking all over the net for a damn job.  I am also concerned about references.  Some agencies even asked for 3 references (Really with that?? 3?).  It is making me depressed and frustrated/angry and i really hate feeling like that because it really isn't me.

So I am worrying about the future, and what it is all about, and whether I actually feel it is all waste of time. The enforced loneliness and isolation this situation puts upon me is something I probably hate most of all, even though i am somewhat of an introvert.

Getting up in the morning is a task in itself as i just want to lie there half the time.  I don't really know what to do for the best anymore.  My mother is the only 1 who offers a crumb of comfort but she tends to drive me mad with the state of the house, and goes over the same things again and again, and again (which adds to my stress).

I can only hope the situation gets better.  later peeps.

[craig84]

this might seem a bit pointless bearing in mind you wont  earn any money but I was told one way to gain experience is to volunteer with a company for that simple reason.

im thinking of getting into some form of animal care mainly dog shelters and the likes .... have sent emails out asking to volunteer with no response but I haven't tried all yet.

I have the same situation with van driving, spent years getting my licence and now I have it they want delivery experience which I have as a drivers mate but still isn't good enough.

come to think of it I haven't asked about volunteering as a van driver.... something to look into maybe..

hope you find something soon. im not short of job offers its just a matter of what im willing to accept. I want to do something I enjoy at least a little I have mainly been in warehousing all my working life but have played the field a bit.

might give you some food for thought anyway

[lostmyway]

Hi Craig

I could try volunteering, at least it would get me out of the house etc.  Just not sure what exactly.  I think job satisfaction goes a long way, it makes the job more enjoyable, bearable etc.
There are days i want to scream, I'm sure it isn't just me though. 

[craig84]

nah your not alone there at all we all get like that its frustrating so its bound to happen.

the world is your lobster man its upto you what field you want to get into... I don't have much of an education I don't have any gcse's so low level jobs is where I have to start from. I usually get promoted pretty quick because although im not educated im not an idiot and use all my previous experience which is pretty vast applicable to the role im in.

job satisfaction definitely is the way forward. picking and packing in a warehouse is a bit mind numbing. management is more rewarding in warehousing but tbh the pay doesn't justify the responsibility.

[lostmyway]

hi craig

Yeah, I did order picking and QA of mobile phones.  That was really boring.  Management were clueless and only cared about productivity, 5s, and housekeeping and so on.
Finished late every night so i didnt really like it all that much.   Warehousing can be quite hard work, stressful and so on, is not really fun .  I know all about that. 

They were never satisfied.. Talk about a lot for 6.73 an hr.  Was ridiculous really

[craig84]

yeah I re-organised a frozen food warehouse and gained more productivity from staff, faster pick rate, faster putaway rate... I was agency and was paid more than their own staff and they got rid of me and sacked someone else. worked myself out of a job....

sometimes seems like you can never win and warehousing work is hard work at times yeah but ive found it doesn't matter what the work is its all in the team.... if you don't get on with people it always causes problems.

[lostmyway]

Very true, If the people you are working with are non co-operative, and lazy etc it really makes it a lot more difficult to get the job done.  It always seemed to be a select few that got the bulk of the work finished.  Some always did the large orders while others deliberately did the easier stuff.  If the teamleaders could of been bothered maybe it wouldnt of gone on as often as it did, but most of the time it was like "Oh what do you want me to do?" .  "Youre in charge supposedly, do something."

Happened all the time.  Most of the ppl i worked with were of central western european descent and English was their second language.  Hardly an ideal scenario

[craig84]

yeah I was one of the good ones, our information centre won awards every month for getting everything done to their 'perfect order' status. it was like a little family I was only 18 at the time had 5 staff, went pub for lunch I got money to take them on nights out.

trying to find that kind of team has proved difficult since.

id always take the bigger picklists  before my promotion tbh, kept me out of the office and running back and forth doing queries..

it got to a point when applying for jobs that I didn't even expect any responses I just kept applying, for the jobs I really wanted I followed up with phone calls ... sometimes your perseverance will get you a job so stick with it mate!!

[lostmyway]

I guess it is all about confidence, and that can diminish when out of work.  Following up  with phonecalls helps although that isn't really something that i am used to doing.
A woman at the job centre asked was there anything i was worried about.  "yeah i don't have a job" was the reply.  They tend to be rather useless, going by past experience.  Not much has changed lol.

[craig84]

everything has changed now at the jobcentre its all really stupid tbh... it depends on the individual who is your advisor as to the level of service you get... look into an organization called seetec... there offer help to people looking for work. help restructure your cv, teach you about speculative letters and covering letters. your right there is an element of confidence involved. key word to help with that. 'enthusiasm' employers are more likely to hire someone who is enthused to work for them.

you know how we as depressives have this uncanny ability to hide what were really feeling, the mask we sport to avoid people asking "whats wrong, you ok" try to manipulate yourself to mask your depression with enthusiasm, act excited, optimistic ........

theres a chain of events that need to take place before your confidence comes back. ill explain in a second but in the mean time when applying for jobs. just try to ACT enthusiastic until your confidence comes back.

ok so your confidence depends on a few things.... mainly your opinion of your self, your selfesteem. depressives tend to feel worthless, hopeless, everythings sh1t and nothing can change that...which is fine, we are all depressed for different reasons and are entitled to feel like sh1t because of those reasons but try not to let it consume you. easier said than done I know just keep in mind.
if your in an environment where your constantly being criticized  or put down your self esteem and confidence are bound to take a dent.
you know yourself better than the people who judge and criticize you so don't believe them. are they mind readers? no, their full of .....$hit !
id say contact mind.... I know they carry out courses that help you improve your selfesteem and confidence which I took and found them very helpful, even now I use what I learnt to help me.

sorry for the swearing, in a foul mood today I did intend on writing more but the pc is getting on my tits

[lostmyway]

Hi Craig

Yeah it all is really stupid at the JC.  Its the economy that dictates to a greater or lesser degree whether we can get a job or not.  It's easy for someone on the other side of the desk to say "Apply for 6 jobs a week".  One week there maybe stuff to apply for, and the next week , or indeed month.. you can't find anything worthwhile to apply for.

It's the economy and how capitalism works.  If everything is rosey financially and the economy is booming there tends to be low unemployment! but they don't seem to care.
If you can live on the NMW fine. But it's not realistic for a lot of people when you consider travelling to work , the cost of living generally, fuel costs etc etc

You tend to hide how you really feel and 'put on a brave face' to camouflage the fact that this is going on.  You have to be positive , confident, have questions and answers prepared mentally in your head and so on in the interview situation.  Hard at times that is, I have to say.  There are a lot of reasons why I feel like I do.  It would probably cover a few pages if I elaborated fully.  I am a qualified PC technician but surprise surprise.... there arent 100s of jobs i can apply for . Big shock

There are times i feel so enraged, then tired, then sad, and emotionally lost to this cruel world we have to live in.  The moods come and they go , it's a cycle we find ourselves enveloped in.  To me, if you have never suffered depression/anxiety you have absolutely no idea.  That is my opinion and unlikely to change anytime soon.

Confidence does indeed get damaged, I have met my fair share of unpleasant individuals that do their best to undermine your self-worth, probably because they are worthless themselves and are just tryint to stroke their fragile egos.  In fact my brother is one of the very worst for it, but to him its all a joke.. He has no idea.

It's hard work explaining how i feel or have felt... its hard to comprehend to the uninitiated.

[craig84]

my brother is (or used to be) a Microsoft certified engineer in networking and could have made a really successful career for himself (worked for mi5 at one point)... even with agency work he was well paid... when he lost his job I suggested getting business cards printed (which you can do for free with some printers as an introductory offer) and passing them around households. 9 times out of ten people who I know who have had a problem with their pc at home, call a friend or a pal who knows his thing about pc's to fix them. what about the people who don't know anyone... a missed opportunity I think and his written himself off anyway.

my point is you could try going at it alone for the household market... you can earn so much without declaring it for all you know it could work out for you.

the jobcentre is soo frustrating and you get people telling you things they shouldn't. like I had an induction for a job, I had the job but the induction wasn't for another month... the advisor told me that even though I have a job I have to meet the criteria set out by the jobcentre and I said whats the point if I already had a job im just waiting unless you want me to lie on my jobsearches paperwork. ' I didn't tell you that' she said.... implying that I should lie just to get my benefits for another month...

I was stuck in benefits once because NMW meant I was 2 pence better off than being on benefits but In fact I wasn't because my council tax went up because I was working and I was falling behind on that because I was working... i do consider myself lucky to be in a country where we get these benefits but my gosh .... things are so messed up right now...

rich get rich poor get poorer, its a sad truth. i am bitter towards the corruption in government and politics but what can one person do?  we are but sheep in a flock... just have to make the best of what we do have.

you might find keeping a journal helpful, i was never one for doing that but since signing upto this site ive found it helpful.

your absolutely right, people "think" they understand but we know they are full of it by the way they try and help. "you just need to snap out of it" "im sure its just a phase" "it'll pass" ...... if they understood they wouldn't say these kind of things