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Not sure whether I'm being scammed. I was contacted by a job agent at the start of last week for a job with pretty good salary and the sort of work I'm looking for. 

At first it was 'the company is really interested in your CV'. Then 'fill out all these forms and send them back'. I questioned why I had to give stuff like my bank account details and references already and he said don't worry about them, just fill the rest in. Now that's done he suddenly wants a scan of my passport for proof I can work in the UK. Hold on a minute, he said before that just the forms were needed before lining up an interview?

Not really sure how I'd check the legitimacy of this recruitment agency and I'm kinda worried I've given way too much info to them if it is a scam. 

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16 minutes ago, Mandalore said:

Not sure whether I'm being scammed. I was contacted by a job agent at the start of last week for a job with pretty good salary and the sort of work I'm looking for. 

At first it was 'the company is really interested in your CV'. Then 'fill out all these forms and send them back'. I questioned why I had to give stuff like my bank account details and references already and he said don't worry about them, just fill the rest in. Now that's done he suddenly wants a scan of my passport for proof I can work in the UK. Hold on a minute, he said before that just the forms were needed before lining up an interview?

Not really sure how I'd check the legitimacy of this recruitment agency and I'm kinda worried I've given way too much info to them if it is a scam. 

You need proof of ID (well proof of settled status) to get a job and I've been asked during interviews before, so maybe it's pre-emptive...?

Figure you've tried looking into the recruitment agency itself to see if they're legit?

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My school takes a photocopy of ID on the day of the interview and usually lines up references pretty early as well.

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I've looked the agency up online, can't see anything dodgy. I understand proof of ID is needed, but I've always given it after a successful interview (not very often admittedly). This guy just seems really slippery and it doesn't make me feel anymore confident when his spelling and grammar is terrible. 

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God I hate working at the school during the summer when we have lets in. Obnoxious kids running around like they own the place, music blaring and various loud events going on all the time, damage to the building and facilities which they don't give a shit about. Plus I get why they do it but being asked who I am and why I'm on site gets annoying when I work here all the time and they are just renting the space.

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On ‎14‎/‎08‎/‎2018 at 11:42 AM, Happenstance said:

God I hate working at the school during the summer when we have lets in. Obnoxious kids running around like they own the place, music blaring and various loud events going on all the time, damage to the building and facilities which they don't give a shit about. Plus I get why they do it but being asked who I am and why I'm on site gets annoying when I work here all the time and they are just renting the space.

We have the same at our school. A few years back, they somehow managed to shatter the window in the door in one of the classrooms. The money people weren't too happy when I noticed it and reported it.

I've made a to-do list of stuff for the Summer holidays. Things that I need to do ready for September, or for the up-coming inspection. Every now and again, I realise that maybe one thing requires 3 or 4 steps, so I break that down into smaller points. I've got a to-do list of 80 items. Kill me. Would've got way more done if it wasn't for the fucking heat over the last month or so!

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EEVIL, I'm going to say the immortal words: I'm leaving the shoe shop!...well, I will be.

However, unlike the majority of my jobs, it won't be on bad terms. My knee is consistently hurting all of the time and going up and down three flights of stairs has finally taken its toll on me. Also, the customers are just extremely rude. Not just that but working 6 days a week is a bit of a pain. It's doable but working 12 hours on the one day fucks me up for the rest of the week. My knee hurts and I'm tired and then when I start to feel better, I do the shift again and it goes dodgy. I'm going to the doctors tomorrow about my knee. I hope I can get to the root of the problem. It's been a problem anyway because the days constantly change under me and it's annoying. I have three other job offers all willing to work with the hours of my other job. Speaking of...

In the game shop, it's just amazing. I'm really enjoying it and not just because it's games and movies but because I get on well with the manager too. He trusts me to make displays and also let's me do my own thing. Also, it's just so nice to actively upsell or even recommend something. I've always found it easy to do and I've not had one complaint about my recommendations. Oh, and I've had positive reviews so I'm buzzing. I'm hoping to get my hours increased (fingers crossed) so who knows.

I'm in a better mindset but the job needs to go.

Sent from my HTC One_M8 using Tapatalk

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Today is my last day at my current work. I have got rid of every task and cleaned up my desk so now the waiting game for my farewell "party" later today. I'll start my new job on Monday. I'm excited but it's also a bit sad that I'm going to leave now. I've spent 5 years with these people and I've grown to like most of them. 

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On 28/08/2018 at 11:01 PM, Animal said:

EEVIL, I'm going to say the immortal words: I'm leaving the shoe shop!...well, I will be.

However, unlike the majority of my jobs, it won't be on bad terms. My knee is consistently hurting all of the time and going up and down three flights of stairs has finally taken its toll on me. Also, the customers are just extremely rude. Not just that but working 6 days a week is a bit of a pain. It's doable but working 12 hours on the one day fucks me up for the rest of the week. My knee hurts and I'm tired and then when I start to feel better, I do the shift again and it goes dodgy. I'm going to the doctors tomorrow about my knee. I hope I can get to the root of the problem. It's been a problem anyway because the days constantly change under me and it's annoying. I have three other job offers all willing to work with the hours of my other job. Speaking of...

In the game shop, it's just amazing. I'm really enjoying it and not just because it's games and movies but because I get on well with the manager too. He trusts me to make displays and also let's me do my own thing. Also, it's just so nice to actively upsell or even recommend something. I've always found it easy to do and I've not had one complaint about my recommendations. Oh, and I've had positive reviews so I'm buzzing. I'm hoping to get my hours increased (fingers crossed) so who knows.

I'm in a better mindset but the job needs to go.
 

I KNEW IT! right on schedule too. Those previous timeframes I gave were red herrings.

Hope you sort yo' knee out.

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We've got a storage room at school which we just refer to as "the cupboard". Since I've been there, it's always been a mess. You could hardly walk in there, you could barely making it to the back without tripping over stuff and it was always a pain trying to find the thing that you were looking for, like the right types of books, or gluesticks. We've had a few people try to give it a tidy up over the years, but it would always get messy again. The tidying up referred to mainly "picking up on the floor and putting it on the shelf" or "organising the books neatly". Not really about getting rid of the old junk. I visited the cupboard a few weeks ago to put something away and could barely get through the door. There were books just left all over the place, boxes of shit in the way, objects all over the floor from where they had slid off the shelves, etc. I knew it needed sorting out. On Thursday, I borrowed the key for that room and announced to a few friends there who work on the front desk that I was going in there - to reeeeeeeeally tidy it up.

I spent around 6 hours on Thursday and about 6 or 7 on Friday. We have a row of biiig rubbish bins which is on the other side of the building and I've already filled two of these bins up with junk from the cupboard. I've used at least 15 rubbish bags. The highlight was finding unused test papers and resources from 1997. It looks A LOT better now, but it's still not quite sorted. Going to go in again on Monday to do a final whip around, maybe vacuum it as I don't think it's ever been cleaned. Yuck. I was ruthless yesterday and binned so many things that we just didn't need anymore. Felt really good! 

I made so many trips to the bins yesterday and Thursday that my arms and shoulders ached afterwards. Due to the layout of the building, you have to go through a series of corridors, open the doors and it's quite a walking distance away. Also, for some reason, I now have a swollen left eyelid. It started hurting yesterday afternoon and it's annoying me today. Noticeably swollen. On top of that, my body aches, so I'm just going to do some computer work today and chill the fuck out.

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2 hours ago, Fierce_LiNk said:

I made so many trips to the bins yesterday and Thursday that my arms and shoulders ached afterwards. 

4739964.jpg

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I'm anxious because the account I work on basically gives me less work than it used to. I've done a few bits on other accounts recently but I don't really feel part of the process and I don't get much feedback. While I was picked for pretty particular reasons for this role, the two people involved in my hiring have left/are leaving; one agency side, the other client side, so I kind of think my role has become redundant.

I've kind of just hoped things would return to normal and I'd start getting more regular briefs in (because I really like this account), but I think I'm kind of in denial.

I could be over thinking it, I usually assume the worst but...part of me thinks this job is handled really fucking stupidly and that having someone full time on it is not worth it. Things do tend to calm down around this time of year but there's just been a bit too much change. While the processes involved in the job have never been efficient (and part of my job was dealing with that) I feel that it's got to a tipping point.

So, yeah, I dunno. I'm having a catch up with one of the higher ups in the agency tomorrow. Last time we did a catch up, they were really accommodating but this account is just awkward. I often feel redundant, so I'm kind of expecting them to make me so at some point.

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So, basically it ended up that the account doesn't need me anymore which has left me kind of aimless at work and I'm not really getting regular briefs from the other accounts. I don't think this sustainable for obvious reasons and it's only a matter of time before they tell me that. In the meantime I've been speaking to recruiters and all that.

I have an interview today for somewhere that I'm meh about. But we'll see. The money is better but the direction of work isn't really what I'm looking for and it's about time in my career that I settle on a specialty – I'm kind of bored of being a jack of all trades and master of none. Maybe I'll change my mind when I talk see this new place.

But I doubt it.

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One week left at my current position. Began looking for alternatives a couple of months ago, had a couple of interviews but nothing has panned out yet. Had one yesterday which I think went well. Shall hear back next week if I'm getting called back for a second interview. I think that the fact I'm going to be out of work before Christmas is a little to my advantage as they want someone starting in the new year straight away. I have another interview in January for something as well. And have applied for a legal assistant role at Games Workshop, due to their not-so-great (as I've failed previously) I've utilised my contacts there and contacted the head of the legal department to express my interest further.

 

RANT A COMIN'

My main gripe this week has come from an agency, which I had forgotten I had registered with, as I've registered with nearly all of the ones in Nottingham centre. Applied for a legal secretary and was emailed by them on Monday to arrange a call, called at the time agreed. Dude was in another call. OK, previous call overran, understandable. Call back in ten minutes "Hi it's Dwayne how can I help you?" and had to pull up my file, it felt like he'd forgotten all about the appointment. Said I wasn't on the system and arranged to come in next day on my lunch break to register.

Came in, and as I walked in I knew I'd been here before. I went there in April and I believe met this Dwayne dude then, they didn't have anything for me then and naturally promised to keep in touch. Never did.

Dwayne appeared to be running late again, as he took someone else who had been waiting at EEVIL time. The patience begins to wear thin... I pointed this out and that I was on my lunch break so someone else saw me. Was told that they didn't have my details on file because they now have a new system, a few days old, so it's not as if my details disappeared months ago. Patience gets thinner, rage increasing... Was told about a secretary role at an accountancy firm that Dwayne was recruiting for, which was "temp to perm", this was not what we had discussed in our emails and telephone calls... starting to get quite pissed off now...

Thar be the email exchange between Dwayne and myself, I think I should get an award for the restraint I employed.

Hi Dwayne
It was disappointing that I was unable to see you this week. I believe we had spoken previously in the year and you said you were going to get in touch with me should any roles become available  and I note you did not do so. Is there any specific reason for this?
 
Hi Derek
Sorry, I missed you on Tuesday, but I know you met with my colleague Clare instead. The reason we have not contacted you is that currently, we do not have any roles suitable for your experience. 
 
Hi Dwayne
Thank you for getting back to me. Could you tell me more about the positions available please? You contacted me in relation to a legal secretary role, but Clare said you were going to put me forward for a temp to perm role in an accountancy company?
 
Hi Derek,
That is correct, the role that I did have in mind to discuss with you was filled very quickly, unfortunately.  Do keep your eye on our website and apply for any other positions that you feel might be aligned with your current skills and we can discuss further.
 
Hi Dwayne
I find this very hard to believe. I registered with you in April and there was not a single role you thought I was suitable for? Now two positions appear in the space of a week, one being a role I applied for which disappeared in a matter of days, but you thought I was suitable for a role that I did not apply for, and based on what you have previously said roles like this accountancy role have not cropped up over the past nine months either. Otherwise you would have surely been in contact with me.
 
The only explanation that appears to fit is that after our initial meeting in April, you may have looked for a position for me - if I recall correctly you said you were going to pass my details on to the department that deals with permanent work, as you are primarily temp work, so they may have had a quick look around the time - not found anything and then simply gave up considering me for work.
 
As for your suggestion to keep my eye on your website for other positions that I feel might be aligned with my current skills, why do I have to do your job for you? If you do not feel that there is anything suitable enough for me for you to actually contact me, why should I go on your website and look at roles you clearly do not consider me suitable for? Because if you did think me suitable you would have contacted me, making your suggestion irrelevant.
 
I look forward to hearing from you with your response.
 
Hi Derek,
Thank you for your email, I have tried to call you on your mobile to discuss however I was unable to reach you. 
Please do get in touch with me here on the office number on 0115 XXXXXXX.
 
Hi Dwayne
I am currently at work so cannot take calls but I can access my emails. However, I am sure you can address my concerns in your reply to this email.
 
Hi Derek, 
I am not going to get into a confrontation with you over email, the best way forward, in my opinion, is for me to have my manager give you a call tomorrow.
 
Hi Dwayne,
I do not intend to get into a confrontation with you. I believe I have raised some reasonable concerns which I think it is reasonable for you to respond to. You have either been intentionally deceitful at worst in saying you would look for positions and did not, or incompetent at best by just not bothering to do your job at all.
 
Since we may not always be available when one calls, I don't see how it is unreasonable for you to respond to this email what you intend to say over the phone.
 
You can pass this on to your manager if you like, but I find this evasive passive aggressiveness quite disturbing. 
 
I hope to hear from you in your response to this email. Or your manager can email me.
 
 
The above email was sent Thursday evening, Friday morning they attempted to call me but I didn't answer. The manager left me a voicemail saying Dwayne had passed on the email chain and was "quite concerned" about what I had said to Dwayne and to call her back.
 
 
Hi Dwayne
I received a message from your manager yesterday, however I did not have the time for a conversation, as previously mentioned.
 
Also as previously requested I would like you to (or your manager) to address my concerns via email, as I do not believe it is something a telephone discussion will provide a satisfactory answer to them all.
 
If you (or your manager) do not wish to respond to my concerns in writing could you please respond to this email confirming your refusal to do so and setting out your reasons for the same.
 
I look forward to your response.
 
 

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Eevil I'm sure this is going to sound terrible but I feel like someone needs to say it. You seem to have a terrible attitude and I have no doubt that it must be a big factor in struggling to find or keep work. 

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2 hours ago, Happenstance said:

Eevil I'm sure this is going to sound terrible but I feel like someone needs to say it. You seem to have a terrible attitude and I have no doubt that it must be a big factor in struggling to find or keep work. 

A terrible attitude on the whole? I would have to disagree but cannae argue if those are your feels. A most troubling opinion though.

I have another personality setting for employment though, which has no swearing and an eagerness to help. It's what you must do to survive in retail and saw me through a decade of it with only one complaint at the beginning. This is what is used in jobs and interviews.

The position I'm in at the moment is maternity cover, which is why it's ending. There is no problem with my work.

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On 12/15/2018 at 5:57 PM, EEVILMURRAY said:

A terrible attitude on the whole? I would have to disagree but cannae argue if those are your feels. A most troubling opinion though.

I have another personality setting for employment though, which has no swearing and an eagerness to help. It's what you must do to survive in retail and saw me through a decade of it with only one complaint at the beginning. This is what is used in jobs and interviews.

The position I'm in at the moment is maternity cover, which is why it's ending. There is no problem with my work.

Based on your posts (mostly about when you worked at Tesco) it comes across as if you have a bit of an issue with authority/lack of respect. Although nobody here has actually worked with you so can't say whether this is actually how you act at work; perhaps just the way you rant.

That's just the impression I get from your previous posts. Though I know how hard job seeking can be so sympathise with your above post.

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3 minutes ago, MoogleViper said:

Based on your posts (mostly about when you worked at Tesco) it comes across as if you have a bit of an issue with authority/lack of respect. Although nobody here has actually worked with you so can't say whether this is actually how you act at work; perhaps just the way you rant.

That's just the impression I get from your previous posts. Though I know how hard job seeking can be so sympathise with your above post.

Got ya. I'm a saint with customers, if I talked on the checkouts like I did on here... oh dear... however I will agree at Tesco there was a definite lack of respect for authority, because none was given from them. I can't speak for other Tescos, but no-one on the shop floor felt valued by their managers. 

Mecca was a much better place to work, just sadly the hours weren't great/concrete. 

 

SRA shut down the old firm I worked for, so that was an early Christmas present.

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Eevil I'm sure this is going to sound terrible but I feel like someone needs to say it. You seem to have a terrible attitude and I have no doubt that it must be a big factor in struggling to find or keep work. 

Have to agree with this. The common factor in all of your recruitment woes, EEVIL, is you.

When reading your recent post I don’t see why you waste time typing these responses when arguing with certain people like recruiters will achieve nothing good. Obviously they will put you forward for nothing now. It also wouldn't surprise me if your name became semi-blacklisted somewhere now due to the way you are talking to these people - it's often a small world in these circles. Always think "What am I going to get out of this?" when you're tempted to say things like this in a work setting.

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On 28/12/2018 at 1:05 AM, Sheikah said:

Have to agree with this. The common factor in all of your recruitment woes, EEVIL, is you.

When reading your recent post I don’t see why you waste time typing these responses when arguing with certain people like recruiters will achieve nothing good. Obviously they will put you forward for nothing now. It also wouldn't surprise me if your name became semi-blacklisted somewhere now due to the way you are talking to these people - it's often a small world in these circles. Always think "What am I going to get out of this?" when you're tempted to say things like this in a work setting.

Ouch to that first section :'( I hope you don't say that to everyone who doesn't do well at job interviews.

I replied to them because I wanted them to be honest. I think I caught them in a couple of lies and wanted them to simply admit it, and the reason they don't want to put it in writing is because they are afraid. Agencies do have the habit of looking once, which is normally when they first contact you, promise to "keep on looking", then drop you from their system and simply stop looking for you. And if you attempt to chase them up they're generally unable to reach at that time. It wouldn't surprise me if this company doesn't put me forward for anything now. I don't think they even did to begin with - twice.

This has been happening for the entirety of my experience with agencies. Please note that this is not my only interaction with job agencies - I've probably signed up to the majority of them in Nottingham - but it is the first time I've reacted like this. I usually treat each call from them like an interview, polite, cordial, eager to answer all their questions and when I need to turn up to register, I'm there in a suit. This time I just got sick of the deceiving bullshit.

This instance aside, the region I'm aiming for is competitive and vacancies are scarce. I've been put forward for the same role by different agencies several times (I think my record is 5), because on the job sites the descriptions are generic in their listing of the roles and the location, and when they call they refuse to give the name of the firm, so you think you have applied for 5 roles when you've actually only applied for one or two.

 

For more info on the tricks they pull, see the links below:

https://www.contracteye.co.uk/legendary-agency-tricks.shtml

https://www.contractoruk.com/agencies/recruitment_agency_tricks.html

http://thecannycontractor.com/7-dirty-little-tricks-used-by-recruitment-agencies/

https://www.contractoruk.com/forums/business-contracts/107331-top-15-recruitment-agency-tricks.html

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A few weeks ago I updated LinkedIn for some of my more recent (last 2 years) roles and granted it's a specialist niche and they're all recruiters but I've had about 12 'hey we might have a role' kind of messages.  

Getting tired of repeat the same "not right now, thanks" message.

96128.gif?b64lines=IFdoYXQncyB3cm9uZyB3a

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1 hour ago, Ashley said:

A few weeks ago I updated LinkedIn for some of my more recent (last 2 years) roles and granted it's a specialist niche and they're all recruiters but I've had about 12 'hey we might have a role' kind of messages.  

Getting tired of repeat the same "not right now, thanks" message.

96128.gif?b64lines=IFdoYXQncyB3cm9uZyB3a

You loved the attention really. 

*raises hand* Sorry, I'm JUST too busy! 

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12 hours ago, Ashley said:

A few weeks ago I updated LinkedIn for some of my more recent (last 2 years) roles and granted it's a specialist niche and they're all recruiters but I've had about 12 'hey we might have a role' kind of messages.  

Getting tired of repeat the same "not right now, thanks" message.

96128.gif?b64lines=IFdoYXQncyB3cm9uZyB3a

Hah, yeah. I know about that. But you may want to update your job search preferences - press the suitcase in the bottom right corner (if you are on mobile) and enter "Career wishes" or something like that (it's been translated for me so don't know the exact wording on the English version). You may have some default setting that shows you as interested in hearing more.

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On 21/01/2019 at 10:18 PM, Fierce_LiNk said:

You loved the attention really. 

*raises hand* Sorry, I'm JUST too busy! 

Thanks for getting in touch. I am busy at the moment but I shall respond to your message as soon as possible. 

On 22/01/2019 at 8:49 AM, MindFreak said:

Hah, yeah. I know about that. But you may want to update your job search preferences - press the suitcase in the bottom right corner (if you are on mobile) and enter "Career wishes" or something like that (it's been translated for me so don't know the exact wording on the English version). You may have some default setting that shows you as interested in hearing more.

I'll look into it cheers. Don't mind so much because at least it gives me names to look out for in the future if needs be. 

Two today about roles in Coventry.  Coventry!  Don't they know my escape from the Midlands was a big part of my origin story?

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My other half went for a job interview last week, and was told that she'd hear back either way by this Tues. Man it has been unreasonably stressful for the last 3 days watching my phone during work waiting for any news, can't imagine how she must feel!

I know it's not promising that it's a day past the deadline but I can't help but be hopeful, as it's a really good opportunity without having to move anywhere.

In my work, watching people come in for interviews I can't help but feel that it's such a harsh process for so many applicants, who clearly have interviews that seem like they went very well, but the odds are stacked heavily against them purely because of the numbers.

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