This is a list that I found on a site called Smart Recruiting. It is an American site, however as America are experiencing the same impact of a worldwide recession, recruiters, employers and job seekers there are discussing many of the same issues as we are discussing here in the UK, so I think this list also pertains to the British job market. (I have changed number 10 from America to Britain)

1. The unemployed are hungry.

2. They are willing to work.

3. The unemployed are talent ready to adapt to vision.

4. More willing to give greater commitment.

5. They are not jaded from overworking.

6. Less often, you have to bid against competitors for wages.

7. You get more talent for your buck.

8. Because this world doesn’t need anymore discrimination.

9. To make the economy better.

10. Britain needs your help.

Hilda Solis from the Department of Labor said: “I am very disturbed when I hear that employers don’t want to even look at resumes of people that have been out of work for 6 months oIt is an American site, however as America are experiencing the same impact of a worldwide recession, recruiters, employers and job seekers there are discussing many of the same issues as we are discussing here in the UK, so I think this list also pertains to the British job market. (I have changed number 10 from America to Britain)r just (are) unemployed. It’s as though people have created this problem themselves, and that’s just not true.”

Apparently America has a huge problem in this particular area, and I am starting to wonder if this is also apparent with British employers and recruiters too? Is it easier to get a job if you are already employed? I would LOVE to hear from employers and recruiters about this. If this is the case then I would like to ask them WHY?

For most single parents like me, shopping can be a drag when the kids accompany you to the supermarket, because they are no different to any other child, in that they want everything they see and believe it to be a huge injustice if they can’t have something that little Johnny or Annie has got! In truth we want our children to have the best of everything and never have to do without, because single parents on benefits are no different to any other parent in that respect. However, I do not believe it does them any harm and it does make them appreciate what they have perhaps more so than a child who has everything.

One of the most popular meals that I cook is the good old halabalu (stew) Tatter Hash, otherwise known as Corned Beef Hash’ is a good one to get vegetables into your children’s mouths without the chorus of ‘yuk’ ringing in your ears. A big pan of tatter hash lasts a few days and can be made into little pasties or pot pies which are great because you get variety with one pan of stew! I often make my own bread, and I really enjoy the process of energetically beating up the dough which is a very therapeutic process after a day at the Work Programme office! There is nothing yummier than a big plate of halabalu with homemade crusty bread still warm out of the oven!

I am lucky enough to have an open fireplace in my dining room, which helps cut down the costs of having the central heating on constantly. I love those cosy winter nights sitting by the log fire sipping a bowl of homemade soup and dipping fresh baked bread in it. No telly, no computers, no phones, just the joy of being with my kids talking, singing and telling stories and jokes. I encourage my children to read a lot, so this is an ideal time to read… or sometimes I will start off a story and then each takes a turn to make up the next part of the story… the last one was about a greedy witch who had a craving for ice cream and went about pinching all the children’s ice cream cones, however she came a cropper when she tried to pinch Ben 10’s ice cream cone.. Yes one hit of his magic watch turned him into humungousaur and she got walloped right off her broomstick!

I am actually an artist with a BA hons degree in illustration, and I have considered writing these stories down and illustrating them… who knows perhaps there is a publisher out there who may like them? I am sure I could fit that in with my mandatory visits to the Work Programme office to be humiliated and patronised. Remove the Work Programme from my life and I would be the more positive, dynamic and highly creative individual that I used to be. Now I feel like a number on a file and a commodity for the Work Programme to cash in on by means of doing absolutely nothing but hinder my every move in finding employment and constantly wafting the finger of authority under my nose with absolute threats of sanctions.

The recruitment agency I referred to in my last article has also become part of the Work Programme which despicably exploits the unemployed in every way shape and form it can get away with. This is an opinion through experience which is echoed by the majority of Jobseekers who have been referred onto this mandatory scheme with threats of sanctions chained to each jobseekers ankle like a ball and chain. As a Jobseeker who is giving everything I have got to finding employment, which includes applying for many positions on a daily basis and constantly learning new skills which has included using my initiative to get trained in certain fields, and the fact that I am putting a lot of time and my own money into building a CV web site, joining Twitter and reaching out not only for myself but for all Jobseekers.. Do I REALLY need the British government to refer me to a Work Programme and threaten me with sanctions?

Let me give you an example of how the Work Programme has actually hindered my chances of finding employment on a number of occasions. Starting with the very first day at my group induction interview, we were all told to switch off our phones… common sense should ring alarm bells here for any intelligent individual! After the most patronising day of ticking boxes and pressing buttons on a computer to answer the most ridiculous questions on numeracy and literature, including a BBC personality test we were allowed to leave their crammed and stifling premises. The first thing I did was switch my phone back on, and to my absolute disappointment I found 3 missed calls and 3 voice messages from an agency I had recently signed with. This agency had a temp booking for me starting the next day, and it was a temp with view to permanent position. I phoned the agent immediately only to be told that as they were unable to reach me in time they had to give the booking to someone else. This has happened to me on two separate occasions when I have been mandatory summonsed to their awful office.

I have heard many people claim that the Work Programme is a good scheme, however when questioned in a short survey I recently carried out, I found that none of these people have any experience of the Work Programme themselves, nor do they have any real knowledge of how it works… for example the majority of them actually believed it is voluntary and had no idea it was a mandatory scheme attached with threats of sanctions. Many of them did not understand what sanctions actually are or the effect it has on a Jobseeker when they are sanctioned. I was astounded to find that many of them held the belief that the unemployed are generally lazy layabouts who simply don’t want to work, and that single parents have been ‘living it large’ for years on benefits… to quote one person “single parents have been living it up at the expense of tax payers for years, popping out one kid after another to stay on benefits and get a council house.” So the ‘yea but, no but’ image of single parents is firmly and subconsciously planted in the minds of many people out there!

I wonder if these people have ever considered the genuine fact that single parents are not all teenagers living on a council estate and dressing in shell suits and trainers? That many single parents are mature intelligent grown up’s who have lost their partners for a number of reasons such as death or divorce/separation due to a wide range of reasons, such as an abusive partner/husband or adultery. In fact many mothers have become single parents because their husband/partner has left them for another woman/girl. There are many men out there who have traded their wife/partner in for a younger model. Further to that, there are actually MANY single parents who are men! Yet somehow the mentality of many mind prepped Brits out there is that of the ‘yea but, no but’ single parent which has sadly and unfairly become a stereotyped image of the single parent!

I have just been reading an interesting article about ‘replying to job applicants’ by Iain Mackinnon who has pronounced the lack of replies from companies as ‘plain bad manners’ He also believes it to be ‘bad business’ and dismisses the excuse of ‘costs’ as a reason for not replying explaining that businesses have used stock responses for decades and universal use of email reduces the cost to almost nothing.

As Jobseekers, we know full well what he is talking about here, no matter what our age or experience this is an on-going issue we all face. However, having said that, we are all too familiar with the reply containing that word ‘unsuccessful’ which does tend to grind after a number of replies in the same vein.

One particular job site that I used to apply for many jobs through on a daily basis became predictably known to me that I would receive an ‘unsuccessful’ reply if the application was sent to one particular female recruitment agent. I decided to do something about it, and after saving up enough money (which is a VERY hard task on benefits!) I managed to afford enough to have my CV looked over and refined by a professional… it cost me £150 which is a hefty sum when you consider that as a single parent I am only paid £67 per week on JSA! Even with Child Tax Credits and Child Benefit the amount I have to live on per week is £145.94 in total, but I felt it would be a good investment for my serious and determined search for employment.

Returning to the same job site, with a refined CV and cover letter along with a renewed confidence, I applied for a number of positions… and every single application got rejected by the same female again with the usual ‘unsuccessful’ reply! Although her name is deeply engraved in my memory bank I will of course not mention her by name here. But I began to wonder if she had some personal grudge against me?! I began to get a lot of good responses whenever I applied for positions elsewhere, however predictably if the application went through this particular person the reply would always be ‘unsuccessful’.

For the huge number of positions I had applied for via her and her agency, and the fact I paid £150 to refine my CV, have heaps of proven experience and could do all of those jobs blindfolded and standing on my head, you would expect that at least one application would have been referred to the company this persons agency was acting for! So I decided to write to her for some feedback, I wanted to know what I was doing wrong and how I could improve… I got ignored! This is one point I do strongly agree with Iain MacKinnon on, as I think it was plain bad manners to not reply to my request.

I stopped using that particular job site, and have unfortunately seen her name crop up again recently with another local agency. I doubt I will get any work with her paper shuffling the CV applications! I should imagine she puts on an utterly charming front for her paying clients; however recruiters such as her would do well to recognise the fact that we are the commodities that keep agencies bank accounts healthy and keep its agents from being right where we are on JSA! What if one of those candidates who have been treated in this way was to end up in a position of employment and themselves seeking a recruiter for suitable candidates or even temporary workers? I for one would avoid her like the plague! Not to mention the Jobseekers own grapevine, which is growing in strength… yes we do discuss and talk about how we are treated! So Iain Mackinnon is very correct that it is ‘bad business’ and is something for all the recruiting agencies to consider!

Here is another interesting article about how some recruitment agencies are actually blocking the way for candidates by pigeonholing and not properly reading through the CVs sent to them. It has to be said that many recruitment agencies are more like the stereotypical car salesman type, making false promises and far too money grabbing to apply care in regards to candidates. I have to reaffirm that there ARE some excellent recruitment agencies out there which are very effective and professional in their approach to both Jobseekers and Employers. Many of the ‘good’ ones are listed on our web site with links to their sites.

Gimme A Job UK is now on Twitter! We have linked up with with lots of Employers, Recruiters and some very interesting people!

Follow us!