Breakthrough

Seems I have a second interview for the job.

Unfortunately it's not for a while, due to holidays and the like, so I'll have plenty of time to second-guess how to approach it. There are, alledgedly, a number of candidates involved, so obviously not everybody ran screaming from the building.

Knowing the situation they have themselves in, I think I've got a few pointers on what to research, so a couple of new software project books are winging their way from Amazon as we speak. I genrally find its good to get your mindset aligned beforehand, so I'm hoping they will do the trick.

Sign on day tomorrow too. I have to print out my 4 page job hunting log to prove I've not just been sitting on my backside whilst the government shells out everyone elses hard earned money. Fun.

Dole scum

I took the plunge and decided to claim Jobseekers allowance.

After my first attempt to use their online system which just got lost in digital oblivion, I had a lovely half-an-hour on the phone answering lots of questions about all my personal finances. I then had to attend an interview at my local Jobcentre which I did yesterday.

It was a strange experience. The actual people were actually reasonably pleasant, but the whole process did seem very protracted, with photocopies of things being taken and tons of paperwork to fill in.

I then had to formulate my Jobseekers agreement, which is basically the beginners guide to looking for a job. If I don't do 3 things to find work each week, my money is cut off ... seems like very little to ask. He also did a search for jobs for me which yielded absolutely nothing - which was funny because I had 2 emails about jobs whilst I was sitting there.

I think it was a good idea to reinforce that the unemployed should be looking for work, and hence be called Jobseekers, but I also think that the blurring between the benefits side and the looking for work side is counterproductive. The stated goal of the centre is to help you back into work, but in fact half of what they do is make sure you're actually looking yourself. The one-size-fits all approach which sees me having to ring the Jobcentre for jobs just as if I were an unskilled school leaver seems like a waste of everyone's time - when the specialist agencies have far more to offer.

Possibly the most amuzing thing is that I can specify the sort of job I want and the salary, but this only holds for 13 weeks, after that, I have to take any job - which is just foolish. If the pay won't cover the mortgage, there's just no point.

All in all though, I felt it was a more positive experience than I was expecting and, given the range of people they probably get, I felt it was quite constructive. I am, however, looking forward to officially being Dole scum when my application is finally processed (about 3 weeks, apparently).