This is really quite sad...

[Pretty pink fairy]

I work in recruitment, and I speak to a lot of unemployed people and it is sad sometimes,

I speak to guys that at one point in their career, they were the shit. They were earning megabucks in managerial roles, and within a 2 year period they cant find work and are applying for jobs that they were doing 10-15 years ago on less than a quarter of their previous salary...

And it's even harder for graduates or people that are looking for first employment.

blame the bankers, it's not rocket science this is a direct result of few greedy bastards

 

[Tricky Dicky]

You can tell its bad from the job specs on the job sites. For any given role, the list of absolutely specific skills you need is as long as your arm. That only happens when theres far more jobseekers than jobs and they want to drastically whittle down the number of applicants. When there's far more jobs than jobseekers the list of skills required becomes far more vague. Can't blame 'em I suppose and nobody owes contractors a living in the first place. Personally I'm giving it til Easter then buggering off to Oz for a month.

Whilst that's true, if you have a subset of the skills required it can be enough - depends on the position of course. What's your area - whenever an agent calls me re C++ dev roles, they say if I don't want it, do I know anybody who would ?

 

[Tom Hark Preston Park]

Whilst that's true, if you have a subset of the skills required it can be enough - depends on the position of course. What's your area - whenever an agent calls me re C++ dev roles, they say if I don't want it, do I know anybody who would ?

I do system testing & UAT. Not many of those roles around at the moment unless you've got Selenium. But new financial year soon, new budgets, all these test & project managers they are advertising for at the moment are presumably going to need people to manage further down the line. Hope so anyway.

 

[looney]

Fair enough - the point you make is a fair one and the same questions was asked by my SVP. Adn frankly there is not really a definitive answer other than what were the graduate recruitment company doing? And the answer to that is not accpetable but pretty clear. We dont want to take on the level of resourcing, saerching, phone interviews and therefore on the basis that despite this years disaster they have placed several decent cadidates and this lot may have been the best of a poor bunch.

If you know anyone who fits the bill PM me. I cannot fill these spaces and need to asap. I amc arrying budget for this quarter and into next financial year so am suffering mysefl

Heres what you could do.

1 Ring the local jobcentre and ask for names of companies running back to work scemes.

2. Ring these companies and ask them if they have anyone with sales experiance and maybe of graduate calibre.

Chances are they will have one or two or know others that do. The upshot is you can take someone on a trial basis(why you dont do this in the first place puzzles me, do you like forking out K's to dodgy recruitment companies?) and it costs you nothing, well the time and cost of a few phone calls. If successful the recruits will worship the ground you walk on and not be so full of it.

Thats my best suggestion.

 

[NickBHAFC18]

I do system testing & UAT. Not many of those roles around at the moment unless you've got Selenium. But new financial year soon, new budgets, all these test & project managers they are advertising for at the moment are presumably going to need people to manage further down the line. Hope so anyway.

There is a lot of testers looking for work at the moment. I put an add out last night for a Test Analyst and got over 160 applications within a night.

 

[Tricky Dicky]

I do system testing & UAT. Not many of those roles around at the moment unless you've got Selenium. But new financial year soon, new budgets, all these test & project managers they are advertising for at the moment are presumably going to need people to manage further down the line. Hope so anyway.

Hmm, we hired a new tester last week. A few years ago at a different firm I was looking for 2 testers and found it very difficult - most of the ones I interviewed didn't come across very well, unlike developers. I found 2 good ones in the end.

 

[Tom Hark Preston Park]

Salary discussions do not happen with graduates. It is a package that is standardised across the business. It is totally different to hiring a sales rep from SAP or Oracle who has been selling ERp / BI or Performance Management software for 15-20 years. Then salary discussion and negotiation are pretty much the basis of the interview.

in this case graduates are told the package and that there is no room for negotiation - its a definitive offer and standard across our company.

These 5 numpties decided to try and ignore that clear direction and suggested that the base salary should be hiked.

I think they're just being a bit naive. They don't sound like they realise its standard to get, say, two years decent experience under their belts, then they can start asking for the kind of salaries they think they should be getting. And you can hardly tell them that at interview. Somebody should be telling them that's how the world works tho.

 

[Tricky Dicky]

There is a lot of testers looking for work at the moment. I put an add out last night for a Test Analyst and got over 160 applications within a night.

I would think testing is an area that firms cut back on when things are tight. It's seen as more of a luxury - although it isn't - and you can make developers test their own stuff. We may be expanding our testing shortly, so may have more positions available.

 

[Tom Hark Preston Park]

There is a lot of testers looking for work at the moment. I put an add out last night for a Test Analyst and got over 160 applications within a night.

Yup, that sounds about right.

 

[Brian Fantana]

I feel so lucky to have found a job straight of uni, that I have managed to hold onto for 18 months thus far. I have already reached something of a glass ceiling however, and there is virtually nothing else out there to progress to. So many of my contemporaries from uni are either doing nothing, are doing masters or being offered work in recruitment. I'm happy to sit tight with what I have, but it would be nice to maybe have something to progress onto before too long.

 

[Tom Hark Preston Park]

Exactly, it'a shit. And Employers just are not prepared to take the risks, especially if they are working with an agency, as they are risking paying a hefty agency fee for nothing.



Tom, I've PM'd you.

Ah, right. PM never arrived. But cheers anyways.

 

[Aldridge Prior]

I earn £350,000 a year. Plus bonus.

 

[Lady Gull]

My lad is looking for a job at the moment - its a difficult time - he's at college at the moment - and to be honest he's not really happy there either but there is no alternative - we just tell him to stay in education for as long as possible at the moment and get as many qualifications as he can - I would hate to be a young person t the moment.

 

[Seagull over Canaryland]

Back to the original post, yes it is sad, particularly as the young man had the confidence to approach a complete stranger to ask for advice. I agree this shows initiative and for Edna (especially with her background and experience of dealing with todays yoof) to form a positive initial impression of him indicates to me that a prospective employer ought to give him a chance of an interview. I hope something comes up. Good luck to him.

In my experience from many years of recruitment and selection sadly there are far too many younger applicants who did not exhibit much sign of initiative, adequately prepare for select6ion processes and/or expected a job to be given on a plate and then not have to 'work' to earn a decent wage. A recent feature on local TV news showed a guy running a joinery business with full order books who was offering skilled apprenticeships but (sadly) his experience was that local youngsters did not have the right attitude to work and often packed it in after a week or two so he was obliged to take on immigrant labour who were punctual and happy to put a decent shift in. OK probably not well paid but you have start somewhere and completing an apprenticeship will gain a decent technical skill that future employers would place good store by. Plus this helps to build self esteem and make youngsters feel valued.

 

[tubaman]

There is employment out there. It is a question of knowing where to look for it and being flexible enough to move wit change. The first hurdle is always the biggest for young people - experience.

 

[Dave the OAP]

Its also a fact that if you work in a job for a long time, you tend to get pidgeon holed. I am support admin (like a help desk function)for our tools, monitoring, ticketing system, software deployment etc.

the thing is, if you look in the job papers you see nothing like what I do advertised, not that I am looking specifically, but coming up 54 you have to be aware, of stuff if the worst came to the worst.

I suppose i only have 12 years to go, so losing my job would be serious now, but i have no idea if my sort of "expertise"is of use. We use service Now ticketing/asset management etc...its pretty good.

 

[superwomen]

my son went to uni and has a Civil Engineering Masters but at the moment has a job working nights at a superstore !!

 

[BrickTamland]

I'm currently at college and am trying to find a part time job and there is nothing. The second something turns up there are so many applicants and it always goes to someone with past experience. The only people of my age group I know who have jobs know someone a little higher up in the business. At the moment it is definitely a case of 'who you know, not what you know'. In the long run I am looking to go to Uni, but can't really see the point if there is going to be no job at the end of it. If things don't change within the next year or so I will start getting very worried about my options.

 

[turienzo's lovechild]

In the long run I am looking to go to Uni, but can't really see the point if there is going to be no job at the end of it. If things don't change within the next year or so I will start getting very worried about my options.

you might as well......by the time you come out of uni it might be better....it's certainly better than living on the dole

take this opportunity to get good qualifications........alternatively have you looked into any apprentice type stuff?

 

[Uwinsc]

My lad is looking for a job at the moment - its a difficult time - he's at college at the moment - and to be honest he's not really happy there either but there is no alternative - we just tell him to stay in education for as long as possible at the moment and get as many qualifications as he can - I would hate to be a young person t the moment.

What does he want to do?