The other morning, while stuck in yet another snow-induced traffic jam, I was listening to Nicky Campbell’s radio phone-in programme on Radio 5 Live. I must admit, one caller really started to wind me up.
Nothing unusual in that, you might say, we all like a good rant at the radio now again, but this one really did make me angry. The topic of the day was the job market so – as you can imagine – a subject close to my heart.
We all know how tough it is out there at the moment with large numbers of people losing their jobs, and we appreciate how difficult and upsetting this is for them.
However, what really got to me was the attitude of the guy who rang in to complain about society “turning its back on the jobless”. He poured a torrent of abuse on the poor people working in job centres and – you’re not going to believe this – had a dig at recruiters!
He went off on a long and quite aggressive rant about how he had popped into the job centre to “find a job”, only to be told the person at the counter couldn’t see him at that moment because they were going to lunch.
He was almost incandescent with rage that they could not see him that instant. So much so that he had to phone up the radio and tell us about the “idle paper pushers” at these Government organisations who didn’t give two hoots about people like him. Even worse, several other people called in to support him.
What really got to me was that he omitted the fact that he had dropped in “on the off chance”, at lunchtime, and it had not even entered his head to make an appointment.
He made no attempt to understand or appreciate the job centre assistant’s situation. No thought was given to the fact the “idle paper pusher” had probably been working hard all morning advising and supporting lots of other people who had regrettably lost their jobs. I found myself shouting at the radio, “You’re not helping yourself. Stop blaming everyone else for your problems – get organised, get sorted, get active!”
It is tough out there, but there are still plenty of positive things you can do. Recession or not, the basics still apply and proper preparation and presentation are still important. The people who bounce back from a setback are those who have spent time and effort producing a good CV, researching the market and talking to as many people as possible – recruiters, outplacement specialists, job centres, trade associations etc. They are business-like in their approach, they keep in touch with developments in their sector and make an effort to be marketable to potential employers.
What they don’t do is waste their time and energy blaming everybody else for their problems.
Guy Moreton is director of recruitment practioner MorePeople.
Nothing unusual in that, you might say, we all like a good rant at the radio now again, but this one really did make me angry. The topic of the day was the job market so – as you can imagine – a subject close to my heart.
We all know how tough it is out there at the moment with large numbers of people losing their jobs, and we appreciate how difficult and upsetting this is for them.
However, what really got to me was the attitude of the guy who rang in to complain about society “turning its back on the jobless”. He poured a torrent of abuse on the poor people working in job centres and – you’re not going to believe this – had a dig at recruiters!
He went off on a long and quite aggressive rant about how he had popped into the job centre to “find a job”, only to be told the person at the counter couldn’t see him at that moment because they were going to lunch.
He was almost incandescent with rage that they could not see him that instant. So much so that he had to phone up the radio and tell us about the “idle paper pushers” at these Government organisations who didn’t give two hoots about people like him. Even worse, several other people called in to support him.
What really got to me was that he omitted the fact that he had dropped in “on the off chance”, at lunchtime, and it had not even entered his head to make an appointment.
He made no attempt to understand or appreciate the job centre assistant’s situation. No thought was given to the fact the “idle paper pusher” had probably been working hard all morning advising and supporting lots of other people who had regrettably lost their jobs. I found myself shouting at the radio, “You’re not helping yourself. Stop blaming everyone else for your problems – get organised, get sorted, get active!”
It is tough out there, but there are still plenty of positive things you can do. Recession or not, the basics still apply and proper preparation and presentation are still important. The people who bounce back from a setback are those who have spent time and effort producing a good CV, researching the market and talking to as many people as possible – recruiters, outplacement specialists, job centres, trade associations etc. They are business-like in their approach, they keep in touch with developments in their sector and make an effort to be marketable to potential employers.
What they don’t do is waste their time and energy blaming everybody else for their problems.
Guy Moreton is director of recruitment practioner MorePeople.
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