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MoogleViper

Job woes/wins

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I think i may have been overlooked for yet another project, 2nd time this may have happened*. The current project we're on is coming to an end, well it has ended it's just the occasional dregs of it coming through. So most days i've nothing to do. So when i heard of a new project, i inquired about it and heard the team i'm on would be getting it. So on an email on Friday, my name wasn't on the new project list and it was left on the dregs side. I mean, there's nothing on it to do.

 

*1st time was November last year when we had a project came in, and i wasn't chosen as i had a "bad quality score". Yeah, this was only because the gits accused me of not doing any work and decided to put me through 6 months of pure workplace misery

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Yeah I put in qualifications and yes I will bail as soon as what I want comes along but it's a part time job at a fucking supermarket, who isn't going to bail when something better comes along?!

 

Students, people who are happy working there? Take them off your CV for jobs that clearly don't require them.

 

I also had to do some bullshit psychometric test where you choose between three answers to a certain scenario, most of the time at least two of them make sense, so it could've been that I fucked up.

 

That's the whole point. They give a point score to each answer and it builds a 'profile' of who you are. It's a BS but gives them something else to go by.

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That's the whole point. They give a point score to each answer and it builds a 'profile' of who you are. It's a BS but gives them something else to go by.

 

But the questions are absolute bullshit. There's usually one obviously wrong answer but the other two are a toss of a coin and quite often should really be a combination of both.

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Don't be discouraged in massaging the facts. We're all full of crap at Tesco.

 

This basically... :p

 

I do miss the days when you could just hand in a CV at Tesco and you were still in with a chance of them actually looking at it, I was fortunate as I just handed my CV in to the member of staff who was greeting people on the door at the time, I was polite, said I could work any hours and would be grateful if they'd pass my details on; they did... I'm still there over ten years on. :)

 

Perhaps not my intended career choice but it is a part-time job which I'm still grateful to have. ::shrug:

 

But the questions are absolute bullshit. There's usually one obviously wrong answer but the other two are a toss of a coin and quite often should really be a combination of both.

 

All I can say is to just put yourself in the role of the customer service assistant where the customer is always "right" - amongst other things sometimes - and that you're just doing your best to serve them, which usually entails giving them what they want - where possible - as the clue to everything in the questions - to an extent - is in the role you're applying for, though you'll probably find the questions are similar no matter what position is being advertised. : peace:

 

I'm not trying to be clever here, just illustrating the way in which they want you to think, it's all about playing the game as it were. :wink:

 

Anyway I wish you all the best Eddage I really do, chances are though you'll end up finding something better though even if it might not seem like it right now. :hmm:

 

I've got to ask though...

 

What do you really want to do if you had the option to?

 

And...

 

What's stopping you?

 

I often ask myself the second question a lot and usually resign myself to the usual way of reasoning which is, I'm earning some money in a part-time job and I enjoy what I'm doing in my spare time.

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I've got to ask though...

 

What do you really want to do if you had the option to?

 

And...

 

What's stopping you?

 

I often ask myself the second question a lot and usually resign myself to the usual way of reasoning which is, I'm earning some money in a part-time job and I enjoy what I'm doing in my spare time.

 

I want to be a graphic designer. That's what my degree is in, that's what I have (a little bit of) experience in. I got a job almost immediately after uni, but I had to leave because of my epilepsy/suspension of driving license and have found it impossible to find one since. Have had numerous interviews and always had good feedback from said interviews but never got the job.

 

It's now got to the stage where the fact that I've been out of work for so long is a major issue. I've been turned down from a one month temp job because of a gap in employment, which as far as I'm concerned is a joke - who is going to be applying for a one month temp job if they've been in steady employment?!

 

Basically I'm fucked. I'm not going to get a design role because of this gap (despite the fact that I can do better work than half the shit I see out there and have a better portfolio) and I am apparently over qualified for retail and other similar roles. Trying to get temp admin/data entry but again, the gap in employment means no one wants to give me a job.

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Yeah I put in qualifications and yes I will bail as soon as what I want comes along but it's a part time job at a fucking supermarket, who isn't going to bail when something better comes along?!

 

I also had to do some bullshit psychometric test where you choose between three answers to a certain scenario, most of the time at least two of them make sense, so it could've been that I fucked up.

I lied on it. I lied in most job interviews (but the job I'm in now because the manager is my friend and she knew everything about me).

 

Sometimes it can pay to tell the truth but I've never found that to be the case half of the time. They want experience but won't take anyone on who doesn't. I don't like to lie but it pays the bills when you get the job.

 

Think about it like this: they have to train you for the job anyway so you may as well say you have experience and then blag the rest. It's what I did. Through you being trained, they train you like you've never done the job before anyway.

 

----

 

I'm really liking my job at the moment. The staff are nice, customers are cool (90% of the time) but there's a few problems though, but the rest of the staff feel the same:

 

Lone working: I have to be on my own a lot of the time lately as well as the other supervisor. They got rid of a staff member and opened later, meaning the hours don't meet contracts. So either me, manager or the other supervisor open on our own two hours before another staff member comes in or staff leave two hours before closing. It's annoying because sometimes it's hectic, which leaves thieves open to rob shit (which has happened twice).

 

Studying: I find zero time to study. I'm practically full-time. Meant to be 30 but I end up doing 45-50 hours, which is great, but when I have to study for tests in the place to able to keep the job. I do it in the morning and do a few pages a day so it doesn't add up to too much. Unlike the others though, the other supervisor and I have to do two tests. I failed the one by one question, which is annoying because I don't know what question I failed on.

 

Customers (good and bad): Obviously one everyone relates to but yesterday was horrible. I said hello to a customer and she nodded back and carried on. She seemed puzzled so I just asked if she wanted any help and she starts shouting at me "I DON'T COME IN HERE TO BE HARRASSED" and I said "Forgive me but how is being polite harassing?"

Apparently I was all over her.

Two customers got involved and were so sweet. They said "the lad only tried to help you, which is a better service than most shops around here. What is your problem with him?"

She started ranting to customers about me harassing her and she was like "I don't want to be served by someone who harasses me!" and I just said "That's fine, I don't serve people who cause disruptions in my shop and its my right to do that". The other customers actually known me for months in the shop and become my regulars, which is lucky for me.

So she says "You've lost a sale" and I said "I know. I wasn't going to serve you because of your behaviour"

The other supervisor saw the whole thing and said it was bizarre. She said it was like she had it in for me when she entered the shop.

The other customers started asking for me a lot and said to ignore her, that I'm doing amazingly and actually complimented me a lot. I woke up this morning to find that they wrote a comment about me saying how even after 'he faced abuse from a customer through no fault of his own, he still managed to give out exceptional customer service' and they'd visit again. I was so happy!

 

Also, I earn commission for everything I sell and I earn an extra £150 a month so far, which I think is good. My mate reckons I should look into estate sales but I dunno. I'm happy helping people with their health at the moment but I think I might do in the future. I want to definitely get out of retail and find something I'm happy doing.

Edited by Animal

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I want to be a graphic designer. That's what my degree is in, that's what I have (a little bit of) experience in. I got a job almost immediately after uni, but I had to leave because of my epilepsy/suspension of driving license and have found it impossible to find one since. Have had numerous interviews and always had good feedback from said interviews but never got the job.

 

It's now got to the stage where the fact that I've been out of work for so long is a major issue. I've been turned down from a one month temp job because of a gap in employment, which as far as I'm concerned is a joke - who is going to be applying for a one month temp job if they've been in steady employment?!

 

Basically I'm fucked. I'm not going to get a design role because of this gap (despite the fact that I can do better work than half the shit I see out there and have a better portfolio) and I am apparently over qualified for retail and other similar roles. Trying to get temp admin/data entry but again, the gap in employment means no one wants to give me a job.

 

 

Could you find some freelance work? What are you doing to ensure that your skills are being kept up to scratch? Do you create graphics for NE? If you do, there's some great experience to put on your CV.

 

Reach out to every single graphic designer, creative agency, branding agency etc in your area and ask for work experience. Yes, it will be unpaid but it will get you a foot in the door and will look great on your CV.

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Customers (good and bad): Obviously one everyone relates to but yesterday was horrible. I said hello to a customer and she nodded back and carried on. She seemed puzzled so I just asked if she wanted any help and she starts shouting at me "I DON'T COME IN HERE TO BE HARRASSED" and I said "Forgive me but how is being polite harassing?"

BlXOurXCAAEnbwp.jpg

 

If someone thinks you're harassing them (be they right or wrong) you don't start asking them follow-up questions. You're basically proving their point and asking for trouble.

 

Actual solution: You get to da choppa and wait for them to approach you, cap in hand and suitably ashamed.

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Eevil has some good points, and I respect his opinion, but could you have started to unzip and calmly say "you have no idea what harassment is"?

 

Just a suggestion.

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BlXOurXCAAEnbwp.jpg

 

If someone thinks you're harassing them (be they right or wrong) you don't start asking them follow-up questions. You're basically proving their point and asking for trouble.

 

Actual solution: You get to da choppa and wait for them to approach you, cap in hand and suitably ashamed.

But then I get in trouble because part of my job description actually says to approach them, say hello and ask how you can help as soon as they walk through the door, lmao. Obviously I don't do it as they walk through the door but I approach them later but to go so far as to shout I HARASSED her? Naaaaah. Kept my cool a lot this year but I don't have people scream at me like a fool, haha

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This basically... :p

 

I do miss the days when you could just hand in a CV at Tesco and you were still in with a chance of them actually looking at it, I was fortunate as I just handed my CV in to the member of staff who was greeting people on the door at the time, I was polite, said I could work any hours and would be grateful if they'd pass my details on; they did... I'm still there over ten years on. :)

 

Perhaps not my intended career choice but it is a part-time job which I'm still grateful to have. ::shrug:

 

 

 

All I can say is to just put yourself in the role of the customer service assistant where the customer is always "right" - amongst other things sometimes - and that you're just doing your best to serve them, which usually entails giving them what they want - where possible - as the clue to everything in the questions - to an extent - is in the role you're applying for, though you'll probably find the questions are similar no matter what position is being advertised. : peace:

 

I'm not trying to be clever here, just illustrating the way in which they want you to think, it's all about playing the game as it were. :wink:

 

Anyway I wish you all the best Eddage I really do, chances are though you'll end up finding something better though even if it might not seem like it right now. :hmm:

 

I've got to ask though...

 

What do you really want to do if you had the option to?

 

And...

 

What's stopping you?

 

I often ask myself the second question a lot and usually resign myself to the usual way of reasoning which is, I'm earning some money in a part-time job and I enjoy what I'm doing in my spare time.

I'm really surprised that Tesco do these kind of tests for the sales assistant role, certainly changed from when I worked there part time all those years ago. Maybe they offer the jobs to the people who actually fail the tests...less employable and more likely to stay on?

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I'm really surprised that Tesco do these kind of tests for the sales assistant role, certainly changed from when I worked there part time all those years ago. Maybe they offer the jobs to the people who actually fail the tests...less employable and more likely to stay on?

 

Maybe I should try that! Applied for a position at another store, changed some of my answers and still got told I wasn't suitable for the role. Might try again but take my degree out and see if that makes a difference :heh:

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But then I get in trouble because part of my job description actually says to approach them, say hello and ask how you can help as soon as they walk through the door, lmao. Obviously I don't do it as they walk through the door but I approach them later but to go so far as to shout I HARASSED her?

I'm not saying you shouldn't approach them, but asking for clarification is foolish in this situation. Approaching them is fine, but you don't whip out a chaise longue, ask them to sit and tell you what they're feeling.

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Just applied for my first post-Ph.D. job as a research assistant at Glasgow University. Never applied for an academic job and surprised at the amount of stuff they wanted me to include. Taken 2 days of focusing solely on it to get it all out of that way, although some of that is because for putting in exam qualifications from High School, you have to input them individually and each time go through drop lists filled with things looking for the subjects :nono:

 

At least it's in so hopefully something will come of it, even if it is only an interview. Grade 6 pay and a 3 year contract but from the looks of their criteria for skills and experience, I tick a lot of the boxes for Grade 7 but not going to get my hopes up on that. Better to be realistic than optimistic. Fingers crossed anyway.

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Just applied for my first post-Ph.D. job as a research assistant at Glasgow University. Never applied for an academic job and surprised at the amount of stuff they wanted me to include. Taken 2 days of focusing solely on it to get it all out of that way, although some of that is because for putting in exam qualifications from High School, you have to input them individually and each time go through drop lists filled with things looking for the subjects :nono:

 

At least it's in so hopefully something will come of it, even if it is only an interview. Grade 6 pay and a 3 year contract but from the looks of their criteria for skills and experience, I tick a lot of the boxes for Grade 7 but not going to get my hopes up on that. Better to be realistic than optimistic. Fingers crossed anyway.

 

Glasgow Uni is a stone's throw away from my house. Give me a shout and I'll go chib them if they turn you down.

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So, just an update on that interview I went to. They gave me a written task to do after. It seems to have gone well as I was told later in the week that it was now down to me and one other. The recruiter said it's likely I'll get another written test. Just waiting for that now.

 

My attitude has changed slightly as I massively want to tell my current work to go fuck themselves with a rusted rat-tail file because they're cunts.

 

So....fingers crossed now.

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I fired off a load of CVs on Monday and got a call back today for an interview at one of them. They mentioned the street so I know where it is, but can't remember what the job was. Something office related with a verbal resolution-something... I think I've got this in the bag.

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Could you find some freelance work? What are you doing to ensure that your skills are being kept up to scratch? Do you create graphics for NE? If you do, there's some great experience to put on your CV.

 

Reach out to every single graphic designer, creative agency, branding agency etc in your area and ask for work experience. Yes, it will be unpaid but it will get you a foot in the door and will look great on your CV.

 

Just to randomly butt in - I really agree with this but also I think you can take it a step further to tackle your employment gap. From some (limited) experience of design interviews I'd say that you can probably blag the employment gap to make it seem as if at least part of it was time where you've been ull / part time freelancing. I think you only need a few solid pages in a portfolio of actual client work - or at least pages that look like actual a client work - to fill a few months of 'graphic design freelancing'. Even better if you manage to get a few freelance jobs to act as references.

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Just to randomly butt in - I really agree with this but also I think you can take it a step further to tackle your employment gap. From some (limited) experience of design interviews I'd say that you can probably blag the employment gap to make it seem as if at least part of it was time where you've been ull / part time freelancing. I think you only need a few solid pages in a portfolio of actual client work - or at least pages that look like actual a client work - to fill a few months of 'graphic design freelancing'. Even better if you manage to get a few freelance jobs to act as references.

 

Happy to supply a reference if it helps @Eddage

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Got a 'chat' about some potential temporary work at a uni on Wednesday more in line with what I used to do. Details are limited and what I do know I'm getting through the grapevine (the London university employment scene is incestuous as everyone moves within it, so I know from a former colleague some of the details).

 

Just trying to figure out what to set my day rate at. Spoke to a contractor I know who does the same (but with 20+ years more experience than me) and he gave me a price he'd recommend but it feels like too much. This kind of thing doesn't bode well with my insecurity :heh:

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Had a weird HR meeting at work today where we had to say what we liked and disliked about working at the company. I couldn't think of anything to say on either front, which was a bit awkward.

 

Basically, I like getting paid.

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And you like being able to post on internet forums during working hours?

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Had a weird HR meeting at work today where we had to say what we liked and disliked about working at the company. I couldn't think of anything to say on either front, which was a bit awkward.

 

Basically, I like getting paid.

 

giphy.gif

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Got a 'chat' about some potential temporary work at a uni on Wednesday more in line with what I used to do. Details are limited and what I do know I'm getting through the grapevine (the London university employment scene is incestuous as everyone moves within it, so I know from a former colleague some of the details).

 

Just trying to figure out what to set my day rate at. Spoke to a contractor I know who does the same (but with 20+ years more experience than me) and he gave me a price he'd recommend but it feels like too much. This kind of thing doesn't bode well with my insecurity :heh:

 

I got this. 3 days a week from mid-June until Christmas.

 

And now I'm thinking of all the things I can buy...

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