Having trouble getting a job!
Moderator: Moderator Team
Having trouble getting a job!
Hi I am a dyspraxia suffer. I am having real difficulty getting a job, I have very little experience but I have done study before and I have certificates. First of all I do not have a competitive personality which is very important to get by in this world. I have read that one the most efficient way of getting a job is directly approaching places and ask them if they have any work, but I am too scared to do this. I would like to hear other people with dyspraxia and if you have or have had similar problems. I would also like to know what techniques you have used to get a job.
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gherkin001
- Super poster
- Posts: 673
- Joined: Tue Aug 14, 2007 2:33 pm
- Location: Swindon, Wiltshire, England
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Re: Having trouble getting a job!
Use the internet, you could end up apply for hundreds of jobs a week, but dont ever give up. Use the agencies, if you get employment through an agency, a lot of companies employ temp-to-perm this way... usually aperiod of 13 weeks on agency before being taken on.
www.reed.co.uk is a good site to use, it is an agency, but you're chances of finding something to suit is very high.
Don't jsut stick to local agencies either... Ive just found my other half a job using a London agency, and we're in Swindon.
What type of work are you looking for? Try using an agency geared towards that area... ie Workmates for construction
Good Luck, and dont give up, it can take a while, but the odds are in your favour if you refuse to be beaten.
www.reed.co.uk is a good site to use, it is an agency, but you're chances of finding something to suit is very high.
Don't jsut stick to local agencies either... Ive just found my other half a job using a London agency, and we're in Swindon.
What type of work are you looking for? Try using an agency geared towards that area... ie Workmates for construction
Good Luck, and dont give up, it can take a while, but the odds are in your favour if you refuse to be beaten.
DySpRaXiA dOeSnT mAkE lIfE hArDeR, jUsT mOrE cOmPlIcAtEd.
Re: Having trouble getting a job!
Hiya
reed is an excellent site, I also find total jobs, jobsite and monster good as well. I do think Reed is the most user friendly (it remembers your last cover letter which makes applying for lots of similar jobs easy as you can just tweak the old one slightly). I once applied for 70 jobs in a 12 day period until I got my current job (3 months contract in HR admin). I'm currently job seeking again as I need a permanent role.
remploy are also good, they help people with disabilities and health conditions find work - I managed to get work experience through them which helped me get my current job.
reed is an excellent site, I also find total jobs, jobsite and monster good as well. I do think Reed is the most user friendly (it remembers your last cover letter which makes applying for lots of similar jobs easy as you can just tweak the old one slightly). I once applied for 70 jobs in a 12 day period until I got my current job (3 months contract in HR admin). I'm currently job seeking again as I need a permanent role.
remploy are also good, they help people with disabilities and health conditions find work - I managed to get work experience through them which helped me get my current job.
Dyspraxia - Dx Jan 2010, borderline ASD as well plus strong Dyscalculia overlap.
Fibromyalgia - Dx Jan 2011.
Hypermobility - Dx April 2011
Willis-Ekbom Disease - Dx November 2011
I also have Eczema, Rosacea and Trichitollomania. Oh joy
Fibromyalgia - Dx Jan 2011.
Hypermobility - Dx April 2011
Willis-Ekbom Disease - Dx November 2011
I also have Eczema, Rosacea and Trichitollomania. Oh joy
Re: Having trouble getting a job!
Hi there
I too am very non competitive. Competitiveness does not sit well with me at all. I'm totally not excited by sport, the olympics and all that but I digress.
15 years ago my strategy was applying for lots (100's) of jobs until eventually I got taken on by the organisation that I did my NVQ Business Admin with. After nearly 3 years I was made redundant when the company folded and it was back to trawling the newspaper job columns looking in the job centre (I always preferred the papers). As I was looking for office work I got on my local councils temp staff list which landed me a data input job for a month which filled in the time until I found something more permanent.
Not sure how your dyspraxia affects you but concentrate on stuff you're good at. Find out about places that do stuff that interests you and see if there is anyone you know working there. Write speculative letters enclosing a CV. I share your fear about just walking into a place and asking/handing them your CV.
If you can get yourself known by helping out as a volunteer it is a good thing to add to your cv/talk about in interviews. Also think about the usual questions which interviewer might put to you and have notes about difficult situations you found yourself in and how you dealt with it. Things you worked out and are proud of and how you approached it. Try not to let setbacks grind you down and move on to the next application. Persistence is necessary but does work.
I had an interview once where I dared to say. I recently went for another interview with xxx What is it about this job over the other one that I might be offered that I should come and work here.
Wishing you all the best in finding something soon.
Tom
I too am very non competitive. Competitiveness does not sit well with me at all. I'm totally not excited by sport, the olympics and all that but I digress.
15 years ago my strategy was applying for lots (100's) of jobs until eventually I got taken on by the organisation that I did my NVQ Business Admin with. After nearly 3 years I was made redundant when the company folded and it was back to trawling the newspaper job columns looking in the job centre (I always preferred the papers). As I was looking for office work I got on my local councils temp staff list which landed me a data input job for a month which filled in the time until I found something more permanent.
Not sure how your dyspraxia affects you but concentrate on stuff you're good at. Find out about places that do stuff that interests you and see if there is anyone you know working there. Write speculative letters enclosing a CV. I share your fear about just walking into a place and asking/handing them your CV.
If you can get yourself known by helping out as a volunteer it is a good thing to add to your cv/talk about in interviews. Also think about the usual questions which interviewer might put to you and have notes about difficult situations you found yourself in and how you dealt with it. Things you worked out and are proud of and how you approached it. Try not to let setbacks grind you down and move on to the next application. Persistence is necessary but does work.
I had an interview once where I dared to say. I recently went for another interview with xxx What is it about this job over the other one that I might be offered that I should come and work here.
Wishing you all the best in finding something soon.
Tom
Tom
Moderator/Administrator
With a foot full of bullets I tried to run faster but I just hobbled on to the next disaster.
(from Peter and the Test Tube Babies, Foot Full of Bullets)
Moderator/Administrator
With a foot full of bullets I tried to run faster but I just hobbled on to the next disaster.
(from Peter and the Test Tube Babies, Foot Full of Bullets)
Re: Having trouble getting a job!
Fantastic responses
Good luck with the job hunting
I am also on the job hunting path again (this year) my last job I got via reed.co.uk through an employment agency reed. This was between September 2010 to December 2010, but sadly company could not take anybody on as far as I knew, in the last week of the contract the company only kept on four people
2 from one employment and 2 from the other for the last week before getting shut of us.
In fact all my temps job has been via employment agencies,
sometimes I have emailed agencies in the past whilst looking for work, did fantastic well in the data entry test and managed to get some temp work before the contract ended.
I also recommend trying http://www.monster.co.uk, totaljobs and jobsite.co.uk and jobseekers.direct.gov.uk.
http://www.myjobgroup.co.uk (however you might need to click on a few links to find the right pages for the location you live in/would like to work in etc)
try local papers even though there might not be many advertised some weeks.
I will not be beaten, I have done work placements and did not get taken on due to lack of funds and waiting lists to do placements at the company.
Good luck with the job hunting
I am also on the job hunting path again (this year) my last job I got via reed.co.uk through an employment agency reed. This was between September 2010 to December 2010, but sadly company could not take anybody on as far as I knew, in the last week of the contract the company only kept on four people
2 from one employment and 2 from the other for the last week before getting shut of us.
In fact all my temps job has been via employment agencies,
sometimes I have emailed agencies in the past whilst looking for work, did fantastic well in the data entry test and managed to get some temp work before the contract ended.
I also recommend trying http://www.monster.co.uk, totaljobs and jobsite.co.uk and jobseekers.direct.gov.uk.
http://www.myjobgroup.co.uk (however you might need to click on a few links to find the right pages for the location you live in/would like to work in etc)
try local papers even though there might not be many advertised some weeks.
I will not be beaten, I have done work placements and did not get taken on due to lack of funds and waiting lists to do placements at the company.