Infoism - Latest Comments

Re: The experiences of one jobseeker in using Universal Jobmatch – a worrying sign for Universal Credit?

Ronz — Wed, 12 Jun 2013 13:28:30 -0000

Why would you think I voted tory? Never have and never will, I've always hated them! They seem to get worse every time they're in power..

Re: The experiences of one jobseeker in using Universal Jobmatch – a worrying sign for Universal Credit?

dave hall — Wed, 12 Jun 2013 12:07:50 -0000

funny thing was, i was asked for rejection letters by JSA, yer, dream on, how out of tune are these people!

Re: The experiences of one jobseeker in using Universal Jobmatch – a worrying sign for Universal Credit?

dave hall — Wed, 12 Jun 2013 12:02:10 -0000

sounds about right, i know people who get sanctioned for this, makes no sense!

Re: The experiences of one jobseeker in using Universal Jobmatch – a worrying sign for Universal Credit?

dave hall — Wed, 12 Jun 2013 12:00:50 -0000

because they are vile!
voted tory did you?

Re: The experiences of one jobseeker in using Universal Jobmatch – a worrying sign for Universal Credit?

dave hall — Wed, 12 Jun 2013 11:42:52 -0000

know your rights

first, being away from home even for 1 day...lol

easy to get round

they cannot force you to apply for work under 16 hours

there is no contract for you have the internet, a landline or even a mobile phone

they cannot force you to move home, get a driving licence or buy a car or motorbike

and i don't care what some half dead adviser thinks of me, i don't care what anybody thinks especially silver spoon Tory Eton bullies.

but back to UV job match, i have 1 CV and I am not going to change it!!!!

by the way, all this name calling of JSA claimants is pointless and silly, ignore it and focus on what you need.

by the way, after 5 years on carers allowance, i am now in work after 9 weeks on JSA, but with no help from the braindeads in the local JSA center.

Re: CILIP re-brand – a non-member’s perspective

Ian — Tue, 11 Jun 2013 08:50:48 -0000

Hi Aurélie. I basically think there needs to be a big restructure of the professional structures because the professional body cannot do the things that many people would like. It is prevented from engaging in anything too political because of its constitution (as I understand it) which therefore blunts its ability to really fit for the profession and the institution. I think it is not so much CILIP itself that needs restructuring, more the professional structure.

I think quite possibly there could be, say, a trade union that requires membership of the professional body in which to be a member, possibly? Essentially, as I suggested in my comment to Tom, maybe there is room for a structure similar to the one that pharmacists (and other professionals) enjoy. I'm not saying the structure should be the same, but maybe we could see how it works in other professions and adapt to our own.

I really don't see the current situation as sustainable. We are members of large unions that do not have the resources to campaign effectively for every represented profession/workforce, or we are divided amongst many different unions. The professional body isn't in a position to defend us from the ideological attacks the profession and the institution of the library faces (particularly, but not exclusively, public libraries). So it rather begs the question, what now? Do we do nothing at all? Do we accept the status quo but work within it and try to change what we can? Or do we see if we can come up with something different? The first is not an option as far as I am concerned...so I guess that leaves the other two options. Neither are easy, but I think they are the only viable options available to us.

Re: CILIP re-brand – a non-member’s perspective

Ian — Tue, 11 Jun 2013 08:26:24 -0000

Hi Elly.

Apologies for the delay in replying, but thanks for your comments! Possibly a trade union for professionals maybe not quite what we want, but I think it is worth some thought and possibly using it as a starting point with which to come up with something better. I personally strongly believe that there is a need for something different, it's not enough to think it can carry on as it is with just a few tweaks (of which a re-brand is one element). But as to what that 'something else' would look like, I'm not entirely sure.

I've not been through many re-brands myself, but I do agree that they can stall progress and can have a substantial negative impact. Personally, I tend to be very sceptical of any re-brand process...I think substantial 'reforms' should come first.

I certainly don't think you are naive and idealistic...as I have said to you before, I have a lot of respect for the work you do within 'little CILIP'. I think it is naive and idealistic to think CILIP will suddenly become the type of body many non-members would like (ie out there and political and do the things that campaigns and trade unions can do), because it simply is not possible. I think it can make moves *towards* that ideal, and I think that is something you and other 'little CILIP-ers' (ok, that sounds patronising now!) are doing - nudging them in the right direction. So, I don't think you are naive and idealistic in thinking you can change CILIP to a certain extent from the inside, because I certainly think you can. (I'm not sure if all that makes sense...ask me next time we are in the pub together!)

Basically, do I think we need to re-think the professional organisation structure? Yes. Do I think something more akin to a trade union would be a good thing? Yes. Do I know what all of this would actually look like? Nope. Am I hopelessly idealistic and should just get real? Quite probably! But I'd rather suggest mad ideas than just accept the status quo. People can always ignore me :)

Re: CILIP re-brand – a non-member’s perspective

Aurélie — Mon, 10 Jun 2013 09:56:14 -0000

Hi,

Thank you very much for this very interesting post.

I'm quite new here so I would really like to get a bit more details so as to be sure that I've understood everything.

Why do you think that CILIP needs a substantial restructure? What are the issues with its current way of working? And doesn't it have already had a fairly recent restructure? In an ideal world, what would you want it to look like (apart from adding a union to it)?

Re: CILIP re-brand – a non-member’s perspective

ellyob — Mon, 10 Jun 2013 09:24:30 -0000

I think the challenge for an organisation like CILIP is precisely the diversity of professionals it represents. I agree that it is not really possible for it to be "the thing that people would like it to be". People pay their membership with different expectations, so I am not sure that any large organisation representing a large and diverse membership could ever be everything that all members want it to be. I am not sure how an information professionals' trade union would work as there would presumably be wildly differing concerns across different segments of the membership. I don't think that is the model I would want, but I think it is important to add new ideas to the debate as we can all too easily stick with the status quo simply because we have thought of no alternative.

I completely agree with your arguments regarding the name, CILIP has encouraged a range of professionals to come under its umbrella (pardon the pun) and the new PKSB (http://www.cilip.org.uk/jobs-c... is evidence of how multiple subtypes of professional can coexist within the professional body.

I have seen numerous rebrands (from the inside and outside) and I agree that the results are usually superficial. Rebrands are hugely disruptive and stall progress in numerous areas of work within the organisation rebranding. A rebrand would also cause a loss of traction in CILIP's various campaigns, finally CILIP is getting called by the media and getting some public attention, this progress would be lost in any rebrand. This may sound rather doom-mongering but as I say, I have seen the disruption that rebrands cause.

With regards to changing CILIP from the inside, I don't think I am either naive nor idealistic. I think it is necessary to separate "big CILIP" from "little CILIP". I am a committee member on two committees (CDG London & SE, CILIP in London), I volunteer my time freely because I am engaged with my profession and committed to providing development opportunities to those within the profession (obviously there is some CPD benefit to me, but this is not my primary motivation - not trying to sound pious here!) In this arena of "little CILIP" I believe it is possible to effect change and make a positive impact on your profession. It may not be obvious to a non-member, but the branches and groups represent members in various ways, e.g. by writing to "big CILIP" about policy matters. Perhaps we need to shout about this a bit more. I acknowledge that so far my engagement with CILIP has been at this "little CILIP" level and that many people I know who have chosen to leave CILIP have done so because of issues with "big CILIP" in terms of policy etc. For example, I have had many non members attend CILIP in London events and praise the range of events we put on. I agree that changing "big CILIP" is a much greater challenge, but still feel that engagement is the way to do it and Tom's actions provide a powerful example of one way that members can make their voices heard (I had no idea of these bylaws!)

Apologies for such a long comment, it's your own fault for writing a thought-provoking post!

Re: CILIP re-brand – a non-member’s perspective

Ian — Mon, 10 Jun 2013 05:19:09 -0000

Hi Tom, no problem. My wife is a pharmacist actually. She's a member of the Royal Pharmaceutical Society (which was once mandatory for pharmacists) and a member of the Pharmacists' Defence Association (http://www.the-pda.org/). I'm not sure it is an ideal set-up however, it is often interesting to see the similarities between her profession and mine. For example, now membership of the RPS is no longer mandatory, many pharmacists have the same debate about whether belonging to the professional body is really required when groups such as the PDA exist. This, of course, calls into question whether such an equivalent to the PDA in our profession would really be the answer. Perhaps it is more of a case of looking at their model and seeing if it can be adapted to suit the needs of our own profession.

To be honest, I am mainly just throwing this stuff out there...I have no idea if this would be better or worse than the existing arrangements, but I think it should at least be discussed or considered.

Re: CILIP re-brand – a non-member’s perspective

Tom Roper — Mon, 10 Jun 2013 05:00:12 -0000

Thanks for the support Ian. What's your wife's profession? Teacher? Nurse?
I still think it's possible for the separation of powers between professional organisation and trade union to work; when you say some unions are too big to be able to focus on library issues, you may have a pleasant surprise later on today

Re: The experiences of one jobseeker in using Universal Jobmatch – a worrying sign for Universal Credit?

guestuser — Thu, 06 Jun 2013 08:10:15 -0000

I use jobssites to browse on and if a company name appears go to their website find their vacancies/jobs page and apply directly. You can request feedback and sometimes this is useful, even if negative, to hone your application skills

Re: Universal Jobmatch – it’s a bit rubbish…

jray — Wed, 05 Jun 2013 02:01:26 -0000

Abc, UJM is a total waste of time and effort(this from my JCP Adviser) I agree.

After 379 applications I have received 0 replys,the WP has rewrote my CV so many times that now I am qualified to do anything with nothing,I do not even resemble what I am qualified for. As for Advisers,8 in the last 15 Months,they are overloaded a quick 10 minute "Are your details the same? Proof of JS? see you next time)

Re: Universal Jobmatch – it’s a bit rubbish…

BarryTooksRook — Mon, 03 Jun 2013 11:56:28 -0000

I was told at my last appointment that any CVs not made "public" will not have been seen by any employer that I have chosen to apply to. Why have a toggle option between public/private option if the latter has no use? Particularly when the advice initially was to have only one CV public for employers to search for. Not that I have been 'invited' to apply by any employers nor received any feedback on applications I made despite the ability to request such information.

They were also peddling the idea that applying via UJM was going straight to the employer directly unlike the Reeds and Totaljobs etc etc so I foolishly prioritised applying via UJM when I saw the same job on commercial sites and thus have cost myself who knows how many opportunities in the last 7 months.

Funny how nothing on the site itself mentions any of this by way of apology nor the attendant media coverage that one would expect.

IDS, if you're reading, can I just say FYATHYRIO?

Re: The experiences of one jobseeker in using Universal Jobmatch – a worrying sign for Universal Credit?

Calean — Sun, 02 Jun 2013 05:59:58 -0000

Yes, I have had issues with the CV section.

Exactly as you say,
the tabs go all over the place. Tried both direct upload and cut n paste methods.

My usual method of composing anything
with text is cut and paste, but I had to reset about 40 % of my CV
manually on the UJM site. When I had a moan about this I was told I must
be using an incompatible typeface and should try Helvetica or Times
Roman :(

Was very surprised the adviser even knew the names of typefaces !!

To be fair, similar issues can be experienced when attaching a CV to an email, the recipient gets a jumbled de-tabbed version of your perfect CV. Now I always include the CV in the body of the email text. Far more successful.

NB: The only two interviews I got out of over a hundred applications were from direct email applications. Nothing at all via UJM.

Re: The experiences of one jobseeker in using Universal Jobmatch – a worrying sign for Universal Credit?

ND — Sat, 01 Jun 2013 10:43:43 -0000

More paths to privatisation and phasing out government commitments? Just
wait for the, 'it is a process' and 'time will be needed to work out the
glitches'. Hmmmm!?

Prertty off topic but not; Another thing that bugs me is the, 'never give up.
have faith, work hard and bear the strain. You will succeed in the
end', or the 'you are the true master of your future. take life in hand
and make it happen', type promps being always pumped in to peoples psyches.
In at least a reasonably balanced society, sure, this is true. But what
it mostly achieves in the societies we live in is more lambs to be
obedient, blind and accepting.

Re: The experiences of one jobseeker in using Universal Jobmatch – a worrying sign for Universal Credit?

Ginger Nutt — Fri, 31 May 2013 05:28:01 -0000

Has anybody got issues about how their CV looks on Universal Job match. I had a good CV but I found when I put it on Universal Job match it looks worse because it skewers all the formatting ie tabs. It means that columns are out of place etc. I found a way round it by creating my CV in a series of tables. Once CV is complete I removed all border to make it like a CV and then post it on Universal job match. What ever you do DONT use their CV builder. It has no Personal Profile despite their sister site saying you should. When I tried it my CV came out on 5 pages. Do they really want you to get a job?

Re: The experiences of one jobseeker in using Universal Jobmatch – a worrying sign for Universal Credit?

Alistair Munro — Wed, 29 May 2013 14:56:26 -0000

There are upsides to Universal Jobmatch. You can log your other job seeking activity in the portal so that it's there at your signing on, which if you're poor at keeping paper records like me, is helpful.

However, even on balance, UJM has been a waste of time for me. Over the last two months, I have applied for 24 jobs on UJM, and have not received a single answer from any of them. I've been well qualified and a good match for just about all of them. But I get the strong impression that the Agents and Employers only use UJM application as part of the numbers game that the modern job market has become. I think employers are told by their HR departments that best practice is to view a quota CV's before inviting for interview. And I think the ones that come from the unemployed market are only on the list to meet the HR department's quota, and are dismissed instantly and the candidates not given the courtesy of even a rejection.

I think the same can be said of 75% of applications made outside UJM via internet job sites and the agencies that use them. But at least you have a 1 in 4 chance of getting your CV seriously considered and put forward for interview, as opposed to 0 in 4.

Re: The experiences of one jobseeker in using Universal Jobmatch – a worrying sign for Universal Credit?

Johnnie1 — Tue, 28 May 2013 17:33:03 -0000

This is an incredibly depressing article. Today I registered as an employer on University job match.

Predictably (having had experience of government 'portals') the sign-up process asked for too much information, most of it unnecessary (although not close to the hoops a job seeker has to go through), and of course, it crashed on the last of the 5 stage sign up process. I finally rang up the call centre and posted an ad, but I've had no responses, and I can't find my ad online as I have absolutely no idea where to look. I can't log in and technical support (from a 'no reply with no telephone number) says 'clear your cookies, and change your browser' although of course it says that in 13 lines rather than 7 words.

Most depressing though - I desperately need staff. I run a small business, and I need two staff, and I don't want to spend thousands of pounds on recruitment consultants when there are good people who need work. And yet, here I am on a government site that can't seem to manage to connect me with the people who need work!

What is the point? Ultimately I'll have to find another route - probably a paid for private sector website, because a bunch of bureaucrats can't get their act together to deliver a fit for purpose website.

BTW, I have two degrees, one Computer Science with a heavy web component - this stuff isn't complicated - the people in charge are simply incompetent.

On another note - websites don't 'crash' any more - only government ones do.

Re: The experiences of one jobseeker in using Universal Jobmatch – a worrying sign for Universal Credit?

Steve — Wed, 22 May 2013 15:45:53 -0000

As an employee I am absolutely flabbergasted at the complexity in advertising my job vacancies for work in the construction industry.

I have had over 300 people view these positions yet not one apply! I can only assume that the process in applying for the work is too complicated for tradesmen whom are more hands on than computer literate.
This morning I had to refuse two contracts that I was successful in tendering for as I had no one to do the work.

Re: The experiences of one jobseeker in using Universal Jobmatch – a worrying sign for Universal Credit?

Stephen Scott — Wed, 22 May 2013 13:53:24 -0000

Yes I have done that and I was told if I left it I would not be paid yet when I went to sign there was an Indian man in there who could not speak a word of English being told he had failed his test miserably he was told he had one year to do it again and pass it or face sanction wtf kick him out whatever happened to the govt policy learn English within a specified time or get out

Re: The experiences of one jobseeker in using Universal Jobmatch – a worrying sign for Universal Credit?

Stephen Scott — Wed, 22 May 2013 13:49:19 -0000

A couple of weeks ago I was summoned to the jobcentre on a Saturday morning in Middlesbrough to be told about sanctions there was twenty people in the room at James cook house when one of the guys piped up with your system isn't working is it ,the floor manager the bald one called Steve openly admitted that the system is not working at all which explains why I have sent 130 applications off to employers and not had one single response back not one.the system was brought in before being tested and it is not forwarding cv applications to the employers so why am I wasting my time

Re: The experiences of one jobseeker in using Universal Jobmatch – a worrying sign for Universal Credit?

Rosie Hare — Wed, 22 May 2013 11:15:32 -0000

On Tuesday I'm being forced to attend a two and a half day course which will basically entail learning how to do a CV and how to fill in forms. I'll also have to do a basic numeracy and literacy test. I have a first class degree and I am studying for a postgraduate library qualification. I already have a CV (which the careers adviser from my uni is using as an example to show to current undergraduates) and I have already applied for a number of jobs and had a few interviews - so I know I'm on the right track.

I'll also be forced to sign up to the Universal Jobmatch site as part of this course and after reading all of the comments, I'll be sure to only apply for the shittest possible jobs and send off rubbish applications just to meet my quota to make the job centre happy. Who has ever heard of anyone getting a job in this day and age by just speculatively sending out CVs? Unless it's in a bar or a shop and you're 16 and looking for a Christmas temp or Summer job, NOBODY gets jobs that way. Any reputable employer will advertise on their own site or on another reputable site and usually have their own application forms that can either be downloaded and filled in or submitted online. Like this post states, I feel for those who have limited information literacy skills and who do not have access to the internet at home. I'm lucky in terms of my circumstances; I'm currently living with parents, I have a good education and have a lot of good work experience, so although it feels tough at the moment I feel positive that I'll find something soon. I'm not actually even unemployed, I do have a weekend job at the University of York but it's fewer than 16 hours a week so I applied for job seeker's to enable me to top up my income while I look for work. I only signed on on Monday but I'm already beginning to think it's going to be more trouble than it's worth. My adviser made me plan some weekly actions for my 'job seeker's agreement' which includes uploading my CV onto the UJM site and checking the godforsaken thing every day. When I mentioned other sites I'd been using: jobs.ac.uk and northeastjobs.org.uk for jobs specific to my region, he'd never heard of them and kept telling me to register on generic sites like Monster and reed.co.uk. Erm, no. Then when I told him my long-term goal was to get a full-time, preferably professional, library post in an academic or public library he just kept typing things like 'public service' and 'civil service' into my form, not actually the types of jobs I was saying. I know he didn't invent the system but what does 'the system' actually want me to say?! If I was a GP who had been made redundant and needed to sign on would they still put me forward for shit data input and telesales jobs? I don't understand.

I'm also going to be blogging about my current experiences of job hunting and being 'on the dole' and basically being at the mercy of the jobcentre and their ridiculous rules. http://tryingtobealibrarian.bl...

Good luck to everyone else who is in a similar position! I feel your pain!

Re: The experiences of one jobseeker in using Universal Jobmatch – a worrying sign for Universal Credit?

Jim Cowie — Wed, 22 May 2013 09:00:34 -0000

Being unemployed in this country is a crime.

I am unemployed and have been for a few years now, originally it was down to an accident I had when I set out to become self employed which kept me sidelined for 2 years and then came the feeling sorry for myself period and once I got back into the mindset of Im better off working the building industry had all but collapsed, (please dont think "insurance scam" because as I said I was starting out
as self employed so insurance wasnt high on the list of priorities for
me in the first month).

As a result when you apply for the few jobs that do come up people look at your application and think "Lazy" because of the time out of work, any that do bother to ask why automatically think "accident prone" even though the original accident was the 1 in a million where everything was done by the book and the accident still happened.

So anyway, since my first day of unemployment I joined the criminal masses, I became one of the millions in this country who are out to steal from the government and the law abiding tax payers of our fair country, I became the sole reason for the depression and a social pariah or so the government would have you believe.

I want to put the record straight, I am not lazy, I am not accident prone, I am not a leech, a sponge, a parasite or any less of a man than anyone else in this country. What I am is a worker, father, husband who knows what he has to do and is being continually shafted by the system thats there to help him back to work while he is trying to get back to work.... Unemployment for me is not a damn career choice regardless of what the government tells you, but UJM is another weapon in the government arsenal used for kicking us when we are down. Yes there are people who use and abuse the system but it is not all of us, there are genuine people who are unemployed willing to do what needs to be done to get back to work and provide for their families so why tar and feather us all.

Its fantastic to think that the unemployed have become the criminals and the criminals have become the rich but the unemployed are the people persecuted for it while the rich criminals are given even more tax breaks and bonuses, hell drug dealers in this country are treated better than the unemployed and certainly get more financial help from the government in the form of tax breaks (after laundering of course).

UJM should be completely scrapped and rather than bring in a system thats there to spy on us as this system is devote the money to a system that will actively find us work and help us to get back in the door. This system has been put in place to cut unemployment and the way it achieves this is to ban as many people as possible from the system therefore cutting the numbers and allowing the government to sit and say yes 100,000 people went back to work as unemployment fell by that number, what they are hiding is the fact that out of the 100,000 who are no longer claiming JSA 45,000 have been banned from the system and havent actually found work at all.

This government are not interested in us finding work, they know their time is limited in power and are desperately trying to finger point at anyone they can blame other than themselves, they have had that much of a drought of power they are running about like maniacs trying to feather their own nests while it lasts because they dont know when they will get another chance to do so again after this fiasco, if this country was a business the owners would have been charged with fraud and criminal negligence long ago but it seems to be OK for a government.... anyway enough of my ranting...

A few things to be considered about this new system are:

Employers are under no obligation to even read your application let alone reply to it.

Even though you have checked the box to say you do NOT allow the jobcentre access to your UJM account they still know if you have applied for a job or not, meaning they still have access to what you are applying for in your account.

With new regulations coming into effect people on JSA will soon have to show proof that they are actively seeking employment for 40 hours per week and applying for a set number of jobs per day (as it is now accepted that as long as their better off at work calculations show your better off in work then any work, even temporary for 2 days, that you turn down is showing that you are not actively seeking work). The result is a time served joiner who turns down a job in a fast food shop as a toilet attendant will be banned for 13 weeks because the work was offered but they refused it.

After being blocked out of my UJM account because the account number was no longer being accepted you can contact their support via email, they then purge your email address from their system allowing you to re register using your original email address, but, it takes 3 weeks for them to purge you from their system.

Re: The experiences of one jobseeker in using Universal Jobmatch – a worrying sign for Universal Credit?

I'm just far too good — Tue, 21 May 2013 19:30:53 -0000

There must be a problem because most people are saying the same thing. I've applied via the UJM site too and I think I've had 1 that was actually 'viewed'. Unbelievable. I mean, what are the HR people in these companies doing if they're not actually reading the CV's? It defies belief.