Employment

Thankyou for attending the recent interview. I am pleased to inform you that we are now in a position to offer you an appointment as a Administrative Support Assistant

This, of course, is the news I have been waiting for, for some time.

On one level there is very little to say, right now it changes very little. I do not know when the post starts, because to be formally given the role I have to submit my disclosure etc. This is exciting enough nonetheless.

I don't actually know what I will be doing, but whatever it is, it is unlikely to be the kind of job to put in one's epitaph. On the other hand it is an in, an entrance to the civil service, and a way of obtaining the much needed experience in a rigorous environment. Since I have (sort of) chosen the route of entering at the bottom and climbing, I intend to be fairly aggressive in my own advancement, seeking opportunities to learn and advance wherever they arise.

The main change is a fairly abstract one, for some time now all the elements of my life have been in place. I live in a fine flat in a wonderful city. I live with my fiancée, an ambition which I had been holding for some time until, finally, it could happen. We manage a fairly comfortable lifestyle, and see enough of our fine friends to keep us very happy indeed in that respect. However, there has been a force which has been dragging my happiness back. My failure, for some time, to find employment, has been a terrible burden to carry.


Job Seeking (as opposed to leisurely unemployment, which I am sure I could enjoy) is a depressing purpose. Firstly it forces one to prostitute oneself far and wide. I have filled in countless applications, pouring in as much enthusiasm as possible into each one. For many of these applications several hours of work was not even met with courtesy reply. In some cases I would spend yet more time, preparing for, and then attending, an interview. The interview process was emotionally taxing every time. In order to come across well at interview I would work up the maximum enthusiasm for a post, leading to inevitable crushing disappointment when, again, I heard nothing. Secondly the process makes one question ones value, in a world where people define, and value themselves, in relation to their employment a failure to find employment can leave one very cold. Finally the guilt is all consuming, I felt I should be looking for work at every minute, felt every time I watched TV that I was cheating the system. I tried to avoid reading news stories about unemployment, so as not to encounter the inevitable driveling "what I reckon", about scrounging JSA scum.

Throughout this process I was "supported" by the Job Centre "Plus". I feel having finally gotten a job I can confidently say that the Job Centre has made life much more difficult than it needed to. Firstly in treating me like a feckless cheat. For instance in making me attend punishment interviews twice in a week at nine o'clock in the morning because I "missed" an appointment. What actually happened is that I had an interview at my signing on time, I rang, and asked to re-arrange to a different time, I was given another appointment. Only when I got to this rearranged appointment did I discover that this was not to perform the usual signing on, but to provide evidence of my interview, evidence which I did not know to bring. As such I had to attend a second appointment with this evidence. In the first appointment I received what can only be described as a ticking off. Being treated as a truanting child does not do wonders for the self esteem.

The Job Centre claims to help the seeker find work, this help was not only not offered, but not given even when it was requested. I needed help, I had to find it elsewhere. When I first came to the Centre I did so full of naive enthusiasm, on entering a Job Centre you are met by burly security guards who wish to know why you are there. I stated the obvious, and was admitted as far as the "welcome desk". At the welcome desk I explained to a grumpy woman that I was looking for help finding a job. She looked at me blankly for some time before asking if I would like to claim benefits. These two anecdotes are representative of the whole Job Centre system, as I have experienced it.

I have to thank everyone who has been supportive through the process especially the patience of my family, and my Natasha. I have no illusions about the job, I am sure it will be at times difficult, at times dull. But I will feel a lot happier for doing it.

[b]addendum[/b]

What I managed not to mention above are some of the more stupid regulations.

It is right and proper that a condition of receiving JSA is that one actively seeks work, to this end one is supposed to perform three job seeking tasks a week. This is woefully low, and I did far more. However they also expect you to not be doing anything else. Which is stupid. In order to keep myself sane, and improve my employability, I started volunteering, first at a small building preservation charity, and I was later accepted as an intern with the Church of Scotland. One of the regulations was that I was only permitted to do a maximum of 12 hours of voluntary work. This prevented me from taking up the full internship at the Church of Scotland. If I had not gotten that I would have been unable to take more voluntary work.

Correct me if I am wrong, but shouldn't the Job Centre be encouraging people to improve their prospects, and give back to society, by volunteering?

In addition, one cannot claim JSA if ones partner works for more than 20 hours a week. Paid or otherwise. It is not based on money or income. Your partner can be a part time banker, or a jobbing cleaner, and it has the same effect. If your partner is working on the minimum wage that is not enough to support you both, it is probably not really enough to support em. - Stupid.

The amounts paid in JSA assume that a 24 year old needs significantly less money than a 25 year old. Under-25s are also not eligible for working tax credits, presumably their are some shops I don't know about that sell food to u25s at a massively discounted price.

Finally, for no reason I can discern, one receives no JSA for the first two days on which one is actively job seeking. - A tiny, petty complaint, but the pettiness is what makes it annoying.