Buster

Just heard from an interview I had last week, didn't get the job! Gutted is an understatement! What am I doing wrong????

Will ask for feedback tomoro, but honestly, how hard is it to try and forge even a fledgling career? I'm not asking for much, just the chance to work towards further professional qualifications, have at least a career ladder dangling for me to climb under my own steam. Honestly, I work my socks off and will always do so, and have fought tooth and nail to gain marketable skills and qaulifications (PRINCE 2 - I was the only person on the course having to pay for it out of my own pocket!).

Seriously need some proper career advice as would like to try and make a decent life for myself in this country, but am I really going to have to leave Britain to kick start my life and career???

Need some good advice, none of this "chin up" nonsense as I've heard it before and it can be rather condescending!

Moose

Well, what do you want to do? If you had a choice, what reasonable career would you choose?

Now, who are the big players in that sector? And what would they like new starters to have, not just qualifications, but also life experience wise?

Though I'm a wise one to talk, I got turned down for a job with Sussex Police just last week which I really thought I'd get as well with my experience.

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Buster

Project management- in any sector except public sector, environmental or construction. Don't want to shoot myself in the foot by narrowing down my options too much!

Wardy

Which sector(s) have you been doing PM in, upto now?

Steve

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Emily-Elizabeth

I feel I am being left hanging for a job the other day. It was in the public service sector, that I have been after for some time. I completed online application and was finally asked to attend a half day interview. I was told to expect to hear something in the post by Monday, and if I had not heard by Monday to call the recruitment like. I called it and the member of staff told me that I had got through.

Great, I thought. Next day the letter finally arrived and it said that I was through the interview process, but that was not a formal job offer. I am now waiting for another telephone call to tell me if I have either a start date for the job, or if I am in the waiting list (for up to a year) for othee people to drop out. I just want to know either way now! I need to make plans with my current employer about what I am going to do in the future.

Not sure if you saw a thread I did a while back about postitive discrimination, might have something to do with it.

As far as I can tell with Public Sector, they are not always looking for people who think outside the box, more for someone who ticks as many of the regular boxes as possible (if that makes sence)

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Buster

Hi Em, yep I did see that thread! The job I went for was in the Finance sector. New industry but I wanted to even go in at the bottom to learn the industry.

I've been doing project management (IT and environmental) in the public sector (not council tho) for over 4 years. Really want to be stretching my legs and adding new strings to my bow

mannyo

What qualifications do you have, Prince2 etc.. Most employers look to some form of formal qualification as well as experience.

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Buster

OK qualifications time:

2:2 BA Dual Hons degree in French and Geography (2000)

City and Guilds Level 2 in Computers and Networking - distinction grade achieved (2003 - self funded).

PRINCE 2 Foundation - Distinction (75%). (2007 - self funded).

JMK2

Been going through the same - ironically in the North West.

Today (after 10 months of searching and 8 months of actually applying or anything remotely suitable) I have been offered a job - contract in post so who knows it may be a dream. But assuming it isn't it has been a long hard slog.

What I have found:-

1. 90% of the agencies I have used are.... not very nice(well if I said what I wanted to here I would be banned)

2. Whilst waiting take any work - contracting etc. But be careful read your contracts and notice periods.

3. Don't take any nonsense from agencies. Truth is they have their blue eyed boys and girls who can do no wrong. Truth is these people have the gift of the gab. In some cases these people should never be employed but the agencies put such a good case they get the jobs and then leave suddenly - i.e cannot do the job.

4. Keep plaguing the agencies - they won't tell you if you have or haven't got a job. In some cases the employer will want someone in quickly i.e. the next day. If the agent does not get back to the employer, chances are they will go to the candidate from another agent who has got back to them. Keep up the pressure.

5. Finally - and this goes out to most of the employers who are using agencies - why are you using 6 or more agencies to fill one job? A few examples:-
i. One smallish company had one IT techy job on offer. Salary was prety mediocre (well under £20k) but the company used 10 agencies, each submitting 2 candidates for interview. After interviewing 20 candidates, the employer decided they wanted someone on a contract so used another agency to put 3 candidates forward, whilst keeping silent to the other agencies for a whole 3 weeks. Eventually the job was given to one of the people aplying for a 3 month contract.
ii In another organisation, the client wanted to fill 1 vacancy. They used 4 agencies - 12 candidates in total. On the day I attended there were 3 interviews in 3 rooms taking place. One of the candidates was being askjed what colour they prefered, the other was being given a look at the system whilst the 3rd was being interviewed by management. when 2 of the candidates accidently bumped into each other, we were told that we were there for seperate jobs. In the end no one was selected - reason without fail all of the candidates (myself included) told the agencies we were not interested. They are still trying to fill the role 6 months later.
iii Agencies advertised roles which are not there. I was promised an interview but not given a date. After a whole month I called the company, to find they were actually laying off people. And this agency was advertising through the job centre as well!

Please PM me - I am only too willing to talk.

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juicey

Can be tough to get a job as a PM without credentials of a certain size and contract value. Maybe it's just not the right job for you and they have not got the foresight to spot how determined and hardworking you are.

juicey

I have also used agencies and am fed up of jobs that are advertised and never really exist. They seem to use them as bait as those jobs always sound really good

lfc958

Buster

You have a PM.

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Steve

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cheezemonkhai

I've been doing some PM work, but am now looking to get some formal qualifications following the courses so I can move around a bit.

It does seem that everyone wants something different so working out which qualifications to take is a bit of a pain.

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Buster

Cheeze, thats why I chose PRINCE2, as it is used accross all industries. Its a really good starter, and if you do give it a go, feel free to ask me if you've got any questions and I'll do what I can to help!

Buster

Juicey, well first project was part of a £3.3m IT platform rollout (with no prior tarining or experience!). Then I've done £30k document management project and I'm currently wrapping up a £90k environmental project, plus mentoring my colleagues.

Need bigger projects and different industry!!!

anewman

I know how you feel about the job thing. It seems having a degree goes against you too as it can be challenging to get a job of the sort you want where competition is fierce and it seems that only the best will do. I was managing to get interviews for jobs as a research assistant but I was no good in the interviews unfortunately (I'm naturally shy so will always be weak when it comes to interviews). I applied for jobs at supermarkets etc and got not so much as an interview. I guess if I try supermarkets again I should leave out some of my qualifications to make it look like I want to stack shelves for the rest of my living years

On the positive discrimination thing, worst job advert I ever saw was a job advert specifically asking for female muslims to work in HM Customs and Revenue offices in Bradford, the justfication given was they were underrepresented in the work force or somthing like that. Ok so I can understand there are many Muslim people in Bradford, they may well have more difficulty getting a job than me and I have nothing against Muslim people. But if I was qualified for the job I would feel discriminated against for being a white athiest male. Post a job advert asking for white british male applicants only and the company would never hear the end of it. At least I suppose they were up front about it and not accepting all CV's and binning the one's that don't fit their cartegories.

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Aspman

Public sector can be bad. It's more 'if your face fits' than if you can do your job.

Plus you have to fight past friends/relatives of the recruiter and the dreaded internal candidate.

I don't know how far afield you've been looking, I've seen quite a few PRINCE jobs way up here.

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gilesk

Have you thought of setting up your own consultancy and going down that route? or an MBA (expensive)

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