Job Hunting

[IamJamesGreens]

All right, I know I'm going to get a lot of stick for this but I'll speak my mind:

I've been job hunting since October and have had no luck, mostly because I want permanent postal job and nothing permanent is going. When I hear on the radio that an actual paying job provides less cash than benefits, I wonder why should I bother? If I get more for not getting a job and having the time to help other people and voluntary organizations why should I restrict the time I spend with these worthy people for less money?


Temporary jobs scare the crap outta me, because after you get sacked after six months, you'll have to re-apply for job-seekers and begin the rather depressing search for another temporary job only to be sacked again & again & again...
It's even worse if you don't have the greatest confidence in the world, being sacked repeatedly isn't what you need.


Then there's the job themselves, almost 75% of all jobs need past experience, of which I don't have limiting what I can get - low paid jobs for long hours.

Now it's christmas, temporary jobs are appearing everywhere. Friends of mine (One of which has less, poor qualifications than me, manages to get a nicely paid job thanks to his lucky cousin, when I'm far more experienced & qualified to do his job!) say I should wait till the January sales as most part-timers who don't like what they're doing, quit and leave lots of free jobs which I could take up. I'm skeptical...

I don't know what to do, it's christmas and there's going to be an influx of temporary jobs, but I need a permanent one - even if I have to cut my spending power (because my rent is exactly half what I get) friends say wait, and there's a few other friends who say an agency will provide constant temporary jobs, but yet I'm earning more than some jobs with the free time to help...

It's a tough triple choice with both benefits and downfalls and I can't choose which one is best.
Any help?

[hammy]

sorry i cant help with this, but I wanted to let you know I read it and I care.

xxx

[FallingStar]

With temporary work you don't get 'sacked' at the end. It's an agreed contract so nine times out of 10 you'll know when it will be ended and you can organise another assignment for when that one ends (usually a good agency will be able to help you with this. :) If you don't have much experience temporary work is great as you can apply for something more permanent within that sector. Try a few agency's.
When I was looking for work I got a 3 week assignment with a hospital department (not crap money 6.50 an hour and liked it so much that I applied permanent and got it.


To be honest I'd say at least try to find work. You might find something that pays well before January.

[IamJamesGreens]

So agency work is short but pays better than part-time jobs?

[FallingStar]

It could do you have to get the right assignment. Office work and things that are ICT based tend to pay slightly more.

[gritty]

I did locum work for quite a while (which is the same as agency work), and in my line of work it pays much better than temporary part-time work (I'm a vet nurse). Well worth looking into. And the agencies i did work for helped me to line up one job after another, so i didnt have any gaps between jobs.

dunn if thats any help?!

[IamJamesGreens]

I'll be on the lookout for an agency with a good reputation then