Lying on a CV?

[Speicher]

Cheers Speicher
Wasn't aware of there being a limit to voluntary work, there's a limit of 16 hrs paid work, is it the same limit for voluntary then?

I do not know. I am currently only claiming NI credits. If you are claiming Job seeker's allowance, I think you should check this limit for yourself. I think you need to let the DWP know that you are doing voluntary work, in any case. Best to err on the side of caution on this.

I hope the Link I gave you is useful.

 

[asterix]

In my last job (IT) I worked with a graduate who had joined a couple of years earlier in the admin dept doing mundane tasks that were undoubtedly less than demanding of his ability.

His supervisors obviously thought well of him and he was able to get promoted into the IT dept as a change controller (his knowledge of what happened in admin depts was useful). After about 3 years of good performance he became a project manager.

His success had nothing at all to do with his excel or other technical skills (other people could help him out on those) and was purely down to his ability to work with others at all levels, common-sense and enthusiasm.

 

[beanzontoast]

You're not doing yourself any favours...

You're thinking about it in very narrow terms and you don't know what you're talking about, because you've never done it. For a start, job descriptions are more like guidelines than a rigid set of tasks. Training doesn't always happen either. Companies see training as a reward and an investment and most of the time you'll be expected to pick stuff up as you go along.

Ok, look at it this way. Lets say you want to join a cycling club, yes? How hard can it be, it's just riding a bike isn't it? So you rock up on the day of the club-run, announce yourself by saying 'I'm really good at riding a bike, me, it's dead easy' and vanish in a blur of legs while your new clubmates watch in awe. Except it doesn't work that way, does it? Nor does work, especially in offices. You've got a lot to learn...

Chuffy makes a lot of sense here, plus his earlier comment about pi**ing people off. You really will rub people up the wrong way if you go into an office with an 'I've got it all sorted' attitude, and besides, you will not have it all sorted at all. The management will most likely come to regret employing you and your colleagues would be forgiven for letting you fall flat on your face.

The job description means little - it's what you do in practice that counts. As soon as you find yourself responsible for an aspect of the business, you will realise how little you actually know. Applying skills isn't the same as having skills. I've met a lot of 'know-all' types who should be able to do it but who've come unstuck as soon as they had to originate something.

 

[snapper_37]

just not a general dogs body low ranked office job.

Which a lot of people made redundant would give their high teeth for.

It reminds me of a tw*t who started here who'd 'done it all' at the ripe age of 22. Called the production workers f*ckwits, stuck her nose into everyone's business and generally rubbed folks up the wrong way.

Funny, but the project she'd been taken on to manage failed, simple mistakes. It would have been brushed over by the senior management BUT because of her willy waving attitude, she was jumped upon from a great height. Now she is working on the line .... as a f*ckwit herself.

Karma.

 

[Arch]

And Chuffy, I get what you're trying to say, but you're really not seeing how basic some of these jobs are that I'm applying to. NMW, filing, photocopying, answering phones. I've done all of that before in my life, just not as direct workplace experience

In what capacity have you done all this before? Are you mentioning it on your CV?

You said your shop job didn't seem relevant. Are you sure? Depending on the shop, no doubt you have customer service experience, stock control, cash handling... Play up what you have got (unless you were very crap at it).

I suspect with the job experience stuff, it's not the technical odds and ends so much, it's a demonstration that you are capable of getting up, going to work on time and sticking it all day without day dreaming or walking out if you get bored.

 

[Sh4rkyBloke]

Any job experience is worth mentioning - as Arch says it's the breadth of differing skills in the workplace (pretty much any workplace) which count.

I used to work at a Supermarket at weekends when I was at College, it helped me get a better part-time job at a Multiplex Cinema when I was at University as I had skills in dealing with people, problem solving, coping under pressure, time management etc. The job in the cinema was then used to get my first job after Graduation as it added more of the same as well as handling cash on the tills, dealing with complaints etc.

I even used my Newspaper rounds experience to get jobs - good time management / early starts / facing adverse conditions and continuing etc. It's all in how you sell the skills you have.

 

[HelenD123]

I got my first job post-graduation, a low-grade clerical job, courtesy of experience I'd gained temping in offices in uni holidays. Try signing up with some temp agencies or do some voluntary placements as Speicher suggests. Even a few weeks experience to put on the CV is worthwhile. You wouldn't believe the number of applicants there are for clerical/office jobs so employers can be picky and take the people who already have experience.

 

[Chuffy]

My recent job applications have relied quite heavily on the three years I spent as an unpaid volunteer on the organising committee of the Leamington Peace Festival. I was working as a postman at the time, so the experience I gained from the Festival was invaluable when I started looking for a different type of work. I didn't realise it at the time though, but it proves that any experience can be turned to your advantage.

Skills do NOT equal experience. Take our collective word for it or learn the hard way!

 

[Bodhbh]

It's difficult fresh out of education to get a proper first job anyhow, just a fact of life. After finishing uni it took me 9months to get a proper job. In between I was either on the dole or doing agency and temp work digging holes for fence posts and the like. Just get something, it's easier to find and work and be fussy about it when you've already got a job.

 

[tyred]

I don't think it's a good idea to enter a job with the "a monkey could do it attitiude." Experience ina ny role, no matter how small and meaningless it might seem is always an asset. I work in such a job that a monkey possibly could do. I've been in it for over 4 years now. I have learned a lot from it, about dealing with customers, the various systems we support, programming. None of it is really rocket science but I know that after 4 years, I am much better at it than I was when I started. It's small things like being able to spot potential problems before they actually happen that makes the difference. It's called experience and I think it's degrading to anyone to say a monkey could do their job. And as someone who is natuarally very shy and quiet when meeting people for the first time and I therefore know I may come across as arrogant when I'm not, I have learned that the most important skill in any job is the ability to get on with people.

 

[gratts]

Thanks guys. I guess I'll try and adapt my CV more to each job and just keep applying!
Chuffy - how could you afford to do 3 years unpaid work?
And how did you stick at it so long?! After a few months I'd be wanting to be earning money

 

[Chuffy]

Thanks guys. I guess I'll try and adapt my CV more to each job and just keep applying!
Chuffy - how could you afford to do 3 years unpaid work?
And how did you stick at it so long?! After a few months I'd be wanting to be earning money

I didn't, it was all done in my own time. But it propped up my CV when I made the jump from one type of work to another.