“The woman who typed it suggested I took my degree off my CV as a means to helping me getting an unskilled job because if you have a degree it can actually hinder you rather than help you as an employer will bin your CV thinking that you’re over qualified for the job; so I did.”
Complaint:
By the start of this year, my Journalism degree seemed like a lifetime ago. I’m not saying I don’t want to be a Journalist, but saying I’m a little disillusioned would be an understatement. The Job Centre referred me to a ‘Gateway to Work’ course via a company called A4E. It was a two-week course consisting of CV writing skills, interview techniques, application form filling and other handy tips.
Or at least that was what it was meant to be about; the course was badly organised and badly managed and I spent most the time playing pinball on the computers and doodling.
It did however give me a fantastic insight into the supposedly hilariously pedantic screening method of potential employers when given a stack of CVs or application forms. Any excuse seemed to be grounds to put your application form in the bin. Folded your form into an envelope instead of putting it into an A4 one? Rejected. Left a question blank instead of putting ‘n/a’? Rejected. Filled it in using block capitals? Rejected. Used blue ink? Rejected. Said that you enjoy extreme sports in the ‘About Me’ section? Rejected.
All of the above reasons were apparently, according to the woman leading the course, are all justifiable reasons. The advice given concerning CVs seemed to constantly contradict itself and the grounds for rejecting CVs seemed just as insane. What one person in the A4E building said was the desired format that employers want CVs would be completely different to what another person said.
All their advice contradicted everything I’d ever been taught to do through school, sixth form and university. The CV I had written after being taught a module on it at university was in no way similar to the one A4E typed up for me. The woman who typed it suggested I took my degree off my CV as a means to helping me getting an unskilled job because if you have a degree it can actually hinder you rather than help you as an employer will bin your CV thinking that you’re over qualified for the job; so I did.
Three years of university work deemed as a hindrance in the job market. Currently I have five different CVs prepared depending on what kind of job I’m applying for that different people say is the way to write one, but none of them have managed to get me a job. I wasn’t the only university graduate suffering on the A4E course though, one guy had a 2:1 in Law and he hadn’t been able to find work three years after graduating. It was good to know I wasn’t alone, but it wasn’t exactly a boost.
Comments welcome.
Source:
http://oxfordjournaldaily.blogspot.com/2009/05/graduate-fed-up-of-being-credit.html
The problem in your circumstances is when you remove your degree it opens up a new problem.
Firstly, I understand why you may appear over qualified for a job on that level however it is very rare to be rejected for being over qualified no matter what anyone says.
The usual story is someone who was better qualified etc. got the job. Regardless of the job being advertised as “no experience necessary, training provided” this commonly comes up and employers generally like choosing people with unrelated qualifications.
How is this fair? A degree in childcare for example has no relation to stacking shelves in a shop – however you are more likely to be chosen then someone who hasn’t got a higher-level qualification at all.
Generally, low level jobs are graded on this scale:
1) no qualifications/poor grades @ GCSE
2) GCSE’s higher than C
3) A levels and relevant certificates (H&S, food hygiene)
4) degree, diploma, NVQs, professional qualifications
The higher up the scale the more desirable you are even though the lower down the more likely you are going to stay there.
So back on to the subject…
You have now got a HUGE gap in your employment history.
Mention University then you will sound like a drop-out which will strongly go against your favour: shows you as unreliable, someone who can’t handle stress and a quiter.
Don’t mention University then it is either a LONG period of unemployment (guarantees you not a chance) or if you want to make it sound better (maybe distorting truth/lying) say you done volunteering – the underlying truth is this wont help neither.
The third sector employs many tens of thousands of people, considering this, why would you volunteer for a charity when you could have been employed by them?
There are a few reasonable answers (such as charity didn’t have the funding) but dont expect the employer to understand this.
Mr Common Sense
13 Jun 09 at 11:24 am
yeh…..
Workign in A4e IS FREEE MONEY!!!!
All tehy do is sit on there fat are geting 18k a year…
There are good people such as teh teachers who do actualy help.
but the recurtiers re rubbish…. I gave one guy a list which he asked for for 40 comapnies and still he did’t go through it
????
17 Aug 09 at 10:49 pm
Hey everyone, Im starting new deal tomorrow – not looking forward to it at all. It’s a total joke and a waste of taxpayers money, they are going to pay my travel expenses (£3.50 per day x 5 days per week = £17.50 total, plus “money for a roll” lol lets say I get £2 x 5days per week = £10 total — That means the government is paying £27.50 per week for me to go and sit in a room and “do nothing or learn how to make a CV”, I mean the jobcentre has never seen my CV so are they assuming that as I’m unemployed in the jobless bloody job market that my CV is crap?? or are they implying that Im so stupid that I dont know how to make one?? It’s a joke and back to it costing them £27.50 per week to put me to new deal I’m going to be in with another 14 “new dealers”, thats 15 x £27.50 = £412.50 per week and thats only bus fares and money for a “roll” –What a waste of money, its a joke and Im so annoyed at the governments patronising attitude that it gives to young qualified people, they make out on TV that they understand and want to do their best to prevent a lost generation blah blah blah but all they are doing is putting us in a stupid room to learn how to make a CV but as we are qualified in something we already know how to do that as we are not stupid and its probably a basic module in every course!!!… I mean its just a joke overall, guess we’ll all just have to hang in there and hope we get something but it’s not something we want is it? No its a job we studied for and are carrying the student debt for!!! :-l
Kirsty
28 Sep 09 at 7:10 pm
I have the following scotvec(scottish equal to C&G)qualifications on my cv and have never been told to remove them they are
typing, computers, library and information science
also under hobbies i have listed; CYCLING,WATCHING TV, WATCHING CLASSIC BRITISH FILMS ON VIDEO OR DVD,CYCLING,CYCLE MAINTENANCE,MEMBER OF VETERAN CYCLE CLUB, COLLECTING AND RESTORING CLASSIC BICYCLES AND TAKING THEM ON VCC RUNS WITH FELLOW CLUB MEMBERS, DISPLAYING MY CLASSIC BICYCLES AT CLASSIC CAR SHOWS, INTERESTED IN CLASSIC CARS,VANS,LORRIES,BUSES READING, SURFING THE INTERNET
I would hardly deem any of the above qualifications would have to be removed from my cv and would argue the point about why they should not be removed ie a prospective employer could also be a classic car or classic bicycle enthusiast thereby the employer and myself would have a common interest if i was interviewed by that person
allan johnstone
23 Oct 09 at 7:07 pm
I think the goverment/jobcentre/department for witless pratts think that all unemployed who have been so after 18 months whether they are 18-24 25+ or 50+ are all below normal intelligence and cant read and write
my idiot ndpa tried to imply that i was not literate and numerate until i pointed out i had spent two years doing a distance learning course to get my scotvec library and information qualification which made me a qualified library assistant and if i wasnt able to write 3000 word essays and sit exams how could i be illiterate.
needless.
if idiot had sent me to one of these courses under benefit sanction threat i would have explained that my new deal advisor seemed to be under the impression that i couldnt read and write properly but considering i had done a library assistant course via training for work and had got my scotvec qualification surely this proved i could read and write considering this is the one attribute needed to work in a library by my reckoning they would have said i didnt need to attend these classes
allan johnstone
23 Oct 09 at 7:22 pm
“dont let the bastards grind you down all the rest is propoganda arthur seaton saturday night and sunday morning
allan johnstone
23 Oct 09 at 7:29 pm
I was told by the jobcentre that my scotvec library and information science qualification wasnt a recognised qualification in other words what they were telling me was you were on training for work for 5 years and did a 2 year distance learning course to get this qualification but its not worth the paper its written on the other person to tell me this was the womnan who did the training for work courses via the council seems strange they kept telling me this despite the fact that this qualification is the entry requirement to rober gordon university in aberdeen to do a librarianship course.
i told the former district and assistant district librarians(now both retired) this and they said the jobcentre had a cheek on them
my idiot ndpa also had the cheek to say a reference from my last employer dated 2002 wasnt useable for applying for jobs when i asked my ex employer this he told me a reference lasts as long as the person is living and to tell idiot ndpa this i did at my next interview and also told him i had a contact number if he wanted to phone him regarding this strangely he declined the request and never mentioned it again
when i have had an interview i have been told i have exceptional references so dont see where this problem with references arises from
allan johnstone
24 Oct 09 at 10:52 am
I have seen 16 yr olds and others just this month, dumped in a room to watch Harry Potter film. Plus since 01/12/2009 I have yet to see any evidence this outfit is fit for purpose. I am late 40′s and with others of this age group left with no help.
I would urge all to email your MP and go direct via email to MPs in your area. The tax payer is beening robbed.
Value for bucks.
Not jobs for labour MPs like Blunket, who is on the payroll.
D Morgan
10 Jan 10 at 4:15 pm
fuck the new deal
they are a bunch of cum licking salad fucking cunts
fuck them
i will personally go to the job centre and anal fuck the sexy blonde as her pussy makes my dick hard like a stick.
fuck my cock you job centre bitch!!
fucknewdeal
16 Jan 10 at 12:35 am
Waste of time was put on a job for 2 weeks and they let me go and my mate who works for A4E said that they claimed the bonus money for it,bunch of corruption make me feel sick,paying into the goverment for all these years to have to put up with this.
Tiff
19 Feb 10 at 12:07 am
The 20th Century Pharaohs have the slaves begging for work.
Jobcentre staff? illiterate ( secretary’s) slovenly, rude and ignorant, creating unnecessary paperwork to keep themselves in a job. Sack the lot and use the money to give everyone a liveable minimum social stipend – more if they do voluntary work. Face it, there’s not enough work to go round and plenty needs doing.
Dr Unemployable
19 Feb 10 at 12:49 pm
I have been told to go on Flexible New Deal even though I have nearly completed a 26 week course on Flexible Routeway at the end of which I have not had any interview.
It seems to be a waste of time as there is nothing at the end of it for me anyway. I might as well do voluntary work which I can’t do if I am sent on these courses. I have had no encouragement in that I am actively employable at the age of 54, educated and with 35 years experience.
Please help.
Joy
28 Jun 10 at 11:17 am
I was put on a New Deal 25+ Course by a Jobcentre ‘advisor’ who knew nothing at all about what the course was about, yet still insisted it would help me. Of course, I could have refused this ‘advice,’ but my benefits would then be stopped.
I’ve just completed the first week. I was sent to a place where it takes me 2 hours to get to and 2 to get back by public transport across London. We sat in a room with no computers and no access to newspaper job ads.
We were dictated to (badly, as she blatantly had no idea about what she was talking about) by a stroppy woman, the trainer apparently, about Cvs job application forms etc for about 2 hours each day and then spent the other 4 playing on mobile phones or sneaking out for a few smokes.
What joys will await week 2?
Adamo
3 Jul 10 at 12:04 pm
I really dont want to do the new deal now after reading all your comments.Arghhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh
A Job Seeker
11 Aug 10 at 4:09 pm
I was previously an office worker and I have been offered both care work and cleaning since I have been on jsa.
To say they take the piss is an understatement.
All applications I have made for jobs have been rejected probabley because they wonder why the hell I am applying for them in the first place!
The old card system in job centres worked much better when they rung up on your behalf and the atmosphere was alot happier as a result.
That way, you had to attend the interview and you choose the card detailing job description of your own choice.
Our new goverment hasn’t made things any easier.
Staff can also be misleading regarding information and don’t check my booklet at all.
Glenda
15 Aug 10 at 8:00 pm