I’m gonna be honest if anyone turned up for an interview in tinted glasses I wouldn’t hire them.
Yeah let’s pretend that everyone signing on long-term has serious physical disabilities.
From what I’ve heard, the job centre focuses more on ensuring you’re job-hunting, than actually helping you find work.
If you’re intimidated at a job centre then how is a workplace going to make them feel
Those initial appointments at the jobcentre do feel intimidating, especially if you’re not used to situations like that. I felt like I was being tested, the first few appointments. And I felt that if I gave the ‘wrong’ answer they wouldn’t help me.
The job centre have treated people like criminals for a long time. It seems they are trained to talk down to you and treat you as some kind of scammer no matter how many jobs you apply for.
I was on JSA for a year and I can honestly say it was the worst time of my life.
Its normal to feel intimidated in a new environment, especially in a Government setting. Adult live sucks and pretty much just have to get on with it.
i would love to chime in and say yeah, went for my first time the other day. in between work wanting to move into my industry post-uni. definitely intimidating at first, but my case worker was an older gentleman had been working there for a long time (always a good sign) and i went in with a certain confidence no need to lie i knew i was entitled to some benefit and truly needed it despite qualifications and having been in work.
but definitely helped by that sweet gent, enquired about my job search and said what i said already, looking into computer science fields, and clearly a little autistic this man struck a cord because he was a massive nerd and got him yapping about his obsessions from dnd (not really my thing) to his first experiences with tech and computers from original calculators to vinyl and our respective childhoods and what you could get away with back in his day.
understand i’m very lucky in this regard, can’t imagine what it is like to do this as a job, a lot of emotional labour for the most part and i’m sure management there are delightful given the politics that sits above.
the doorman/secuirty was a little bit condescending because i didn’t make my way immediately to the desk. but other seekers in there were polite. i’m sure i’ll be in for a bit more in the near future 😂
hopefully they keep me to that old man
People just want their brew money instead of all the BS they’re subjected to. I blame the Tories in the 1980s for ostracising people who sign on the dole.
Last time I was in a job-centre I saw one member of staff get spat on and two security guys trying to eject somebody for being a foul-mouthed POS, two separate incidents.
In the 1990s this would have barely registered, let alone make it to any written text other than maybe a personal journal. While it is good to call out meanness and intimidation, we are also fostering fragility and sometimes creating problems where there are none
My time spent at the JC was mixed. One employee there came off as the sort of guy who I would want to drink beer and play D&D with. Another seemed to model his approach and look after Heinrich Himmler. Glasses and all.
I’ve been quite lucky that some of the people that work in my local one are really good and understanding whenever I’ve needed to go in there.
[deleted]
All those jobseekers had chronic pain conditions, it’s wild
Ok, so I’ll clear up a few things here.
I left my job as a work coach about 2 years ago for a promotion. While there alot of absolute pricks working there as work coaches there are a fair few that actually give a shit, myself being the latter.
Our hands where tied alot by the faceless decision makers. I had people who where scared to come to us thinking we would send them out to work despite having a list of health conditions as long as your arm. My approach was to tell them about the work assessment and how to get help completing forms. They have a doctor’s note? Good, I’m not a doctor so I’ll default to whatever the medical professional states.
However, the medical assessment and decision makers who don’t know the people would make a decision, then leave us to clear up the mess. I had people who had strokes, heart conditions, one who came in wearing a back brace, and for one reason or another they had been told to go to work. I didn’t make the decision, but it was me who had to sit there and tell them they had to work.
On the flip side of that, I’ve had self employed people get angry at us because we called them out on their blatantly obvious income fiddling. I had a young guy jump the table at me and try to punch me for refusing his 27th advance in as many claims. One guy came in and tried to attack a family of Afghan refugees, shouting about how “you fuckers give them ones free cars!!”. I also had to sit with a woman in her 40s after she took out a Stanley knife blade and started cutting her wrists, telling me she was going to top herself and she wanted me to know it was all my fault. And I remember clearly that was because she was refused the high rate of work capability but someone who wasn’t me.
Working in the job centre is a thankless job. The pay was a step up from my call center days, and I liked the job security, but I hated it. You got all the shit of the day thrown at you, and because the system or someone in an office 50 miles away said no, you got the brunt of people’s anger. Was never as glad in my life to get my promotion out of there.
I am very fortunate that my work coach has been very supportive and understanding about why it has been so hard for me to find work. Any work. But others aren’t so lucky, especially fellow Autistic people, whose coach’s try to spin it as our fault we can’t get a job. It’s really easy to feel judged, because the job market can’t accommodate people with disabilities, both neurological and physical.
I left college in 2008. I spent a lot of time in Jobcentres.
I am now in the Civil Service and you couldnt pay me enough to be a work coach. Im sure its every bit as soul destroying as claiming Jobseekers allowance/UC
I got made redundant from a professional role and was ‘forced’ to attend a ‘job skills’ course. I was the least qualified in the room (apart from the power-point dolly) – we had ex-uni professors, a radio presenter, and at least 4 ex-business owners. The course was basically egg-sucking and we had to use the computers at the location to do job searches rather than use our own.
I felt like I was being penalised whilst ‘Billy Piss’ could just turn up stoned and unpressed and claim that he was depressed.
Recently I had an absolutely amazing experience in my job centre. I was never on JSA before and I heard awful stories, so much so I was shaking before my appointment.
But my job coach was actually fantastic, when I doubted myself and worried about getting a job they supported me and said words of encouragement I really needed. They referred me to some places that helped me with interviews.
I came for all of my appointments well prepared, had a number of places I applied to, updates on any interviews, networking events I went to, any referrals I managed to bag etc. They never asked me to apply anywhere or do anything, just encouraged me to continue and believed that I’ll get something soon.
I actually want to send them a thank you card
I’ll go and say if they didn’t hire intimidating and judgy people it wouldn’t be so bad.
Get a job then, it’s not actually that difficult – leeches
I’ve been on both sides of the coin. Started off claiming Universal Credit, and now I am a work coach.
I didn’t want to claim, but I had just finished Uni, and money was tight. The horror stories you hear about how job centres treat you made me very anxious about attending my first appointment.
Thankfully, my work coach was awesome. He was laid back, and it felt like I was just chatting with a mate. There was one work coach in that office that I had to encounter once, and he was a massive cunt. He loved to antagonise people and threaten to stop people’s money for very minor reasons.
It’s definitely a coin toss in regards to people’s experiences with the job centres, and now that I’m a work coach, I try to be like my old work coach. The only time I deal with confrontation is if someone is clearly not doing what they’re supposed to, and I have to warn them about it. Most of the time, as long as they’re making an effort to find work, I’m happy.
I do question at times why we’re called work coaches though. The role is more like policing job search, mixed with signposting to support. We don’t actually have enough time to give proper support, so I don’t blame people for thinking it’s a waste of time.
This isn’t new in my experience. The only time I’ve ever been on the dole was in 2007 while looking for my first post uni job, and they were awful then as well.
Not all of them who work their are cruel, but I know someone who left their old job and took a break. When they signed on they said the employee who talked to her spoke to her so judgemental and was making her feel wrong for taking a career break. To point it made her feel judged and belittled for even considering taking a break and not signing onto benefits after leaving an old job.
I feel they need to stop the interrogation style questions and judgement.
Really do not understand why a job centre is still a thing. Most/if not all jobs are advertised online, so if you really wanted a job, it’s a simple Google search.
I had weekly appointments at my local Jobcentre for about six weeks while job hunting. It was certainly intimidating at first, but I will speak a word in defense of my job coach who consistently showed patience and understanding until I got my job. It’s difficult to factor a person’s general character into the hiring process but I feel that if we had more folks like her in those positions, it’d be easier for everyone. It’s a pretty demeaning experience unless you get lucky enough to be paired with someone kind.
I guess the tl;dr is: They’re not all bad apples
Maybe it is different in Scotland but my work coach was chill af. A few times I forgot to attend and she would just call me and say ‘no problem we’ll just put it down as a phone attendance.’ when I had to move out of the area due to Covid she let me continue to sign on remotely even though I was 100 miles away, when my laptop broke she gave me a £300 grant for a new one as I needed it to look for work online etc.
And on top of all this she was absolutely lovely. No condescending shit or interrogations, she just seemed really sweet and genuinely cared about trying to help people find a job.
I feel like I’m the only person who didn’t have a bad experience with them during my job hunt. This was in 2018 after graduating, when it was still called Job Seeker’s Allowance. Took me 7 months to find a job and I was applying for graduate roles left right and centre.
Every two weeks I’d show up to the job centre, sign, and that was that. Only after a few months they said that I should change the scope of job I should aim to get if it was proving too difficult. I said no and showed them a few email responses to job applications. They kept letting me sign and giving me money until I found a job.
It was actually after I had a job and told them then they stopped payments, that they started calling me asking about if I’ve found a found a job yet and wouldn’t stop calling me until I got annoyed at them on the phone.
30 comments
I’m gonna be honest if anyone turned up for an interview in tinted glasses I wouldn’t hire them.
Yeah let’s pretend that everyone signing on long-term has serious physical disabilities.
From what I’ve heard, the job centre focuses more on ensuring you’re job-hunting, than actually helping you find work.
If you’re intimidated at a job centre then how is a workplace going to make them feel
Those initial appointments at the jobcentre do feel intimidating, especially if you’re not used to situations like that. I felt like I was being tested, the first few appointments. And I felt that if I gave the ‘wrong’ answer they wouldn’t help me.
The job centre have treated people like criminals for a long time. It seems they are trained to talk down to you and treat you as some kind of scammer no matter how many jobs you apply for.
I was on JSA for a year and I can honestly say it was the worst time of my life.
Its normal to feel intimidated in a new environment, especially in a Government setting. Adult live sucks and pretty much just have to get on with it.
i would love to chime in and say yeah, went for my first time the other day. in between work wanting to move into my industry post-uni. definitely intimidating at first, but my case worker was an older gentleman had been working there for a long time (always a good sign) and i went in with a certain confidence no need to lie i knew i was entitled to some benefit and truly needed it despite qualifications and having been in work.
but definitely helped by that sweet gent, enquired about my job search and said what i said already, looking into computer science fields, and clearly a little autistic this man struck a cord because he was a massive nerd and got him yapping about his obsessions from dnd (not really my thing) to his first experiences with tech and computers from original calculators to vinyl and our respective childhoods and what you could get away with back in his day.
understand i’m very lucky in this regard, can’t imagine what it is like to do this as a job, a lot of emotional labour for the most part and i’m sure management there are delightful given the politics that sits above.
the doorman/secuirty was a little bit condescending because i didn’t make my way immediately to the desk. but other seekers in there were polite. i’m sure i’ll be in for a bit more in the near future 😂
hopefully they keep me to that old man
People just want their brew money instead of all the BS they’re subjected to. I blame the Tories in the 1980s for ostracising people who sign on the dole.
Last time I was in a job-centre I saw one member of staff get spat on and two security guys trying to eject somebody for being a foul-mouthed POS, two separate incidents.
In the 1990s this would have barely registered, let alone make it to any written text other than maybe a personal journal. While it is good to call out meanness and intimidation, we are also fostering fragility and sometimes creating problems where there are none
My time spent at the JC was mixed. One employee there came off as the sort of guy who I would want to drink beer and play D&D with. Another seemed to model his approach and look after Heinrich Himmler. Glasses and all.
I’ve been quite lucky that some of the people that work in my local one are really good and understanding whenever I’ve needed to go in there.
[deleted]
All those jobseekers had chronic pain conditions, it’s wild
Ok, so I’ll clear up a few things here.
I left my job as a work coach about 2 years ago for a promotion. While there alot of absolute pricks working there as work coaches there are a fair few that actually give a shit, myself being the latter.
Our hands where tied alot by the faceless decision makers. I had people who where scared to come to us thinking we would send them out to work despite having a list of health conditions as long as your arm. My approach was to tell them about the work assessment and how to get help completing forms. They have a doctor’s note? Good, I’m not a doctor so I’ll default to whatever the medical professional states.
However, the medical assessment and decision makers who don’t know the people would make a decision, then leave us to clear up the mess. I had people who had strokes, heart conditions, one who came in wearing a back brace, and for one reason or another they had been told to go to work. I didn’t make the decision, but it was me who had to sit there and tell them they had to work.
On the flip side of that, I’ve had self employed people get angry at us because we called them out on their blatantly obvious income fiddling. I had a young guy jump the table at me and try to punch me for refusing his 27th advance in as many claims. One guy came in and tried to attack a family of Afghan refugees, shouting about how “you fuckers give them ones free cars!!”. I also had to sit with a woman in her 40s after she took out a Stanley knife blade and started cutting her wrists, telling me she was going to top herself and she wanted me to know it was all my fault. And I remember clearly that was because she was refused the high rate of work capability but someone who wasn’t me.
Working in the job centre is a thankless job. The pay was a step up from my call center days, and I liked the job security, but I hated it. You got all the shit of the day thrown at you, and because the system or someone in an office 50 miles away said no, you got the brunt of people’s anger. Was never as glad in my life to get my promotion out of there.
I am very fortunate that my work coach has been very supportive and understanding about why it has been so hard for me to find work. Any work. But others aren’t so lucky, especially fellow Autistic people, whose coach’s try to spin it as our fault we can’t get a job. It’s really easy to feel judged, because the job market can’t accommodate people with disabilities, both neurological and physical.
I left college in 2008. I spent a lot of time in Jobcentres.
I am now in the Civil Service and you couldnt pay me enough to be a work coach. Im sure its every bit as soul destroying as claiming Jobseekers allowance/UC
I got made redundant from a professional role and was ‘forced’ to attend a ‘job skills’ course. I was the least qualified in the room (apart from the power-point dolly) – we had ex-uni professors, a radio presenter, and at least 4 ex-business owners. The course was basically egg-sucking and we had to use the computers at the location to do job searches rather than use our own.
I felt like I was being penalised whilst ‘Billy Piss’ could just turn up stoned and unpressed and claim that he was depressed.
Recently I had an absolutely amazing experience in my job centre. I was never on JSA before and I heard awful stories, so much so I was shaking before my appointment.
But my job coach was actually fantastic, when I doubted myself and worried about getting a job they supported me and said words of encouragement I really needed. They referred me to some places that helped me with interviews.
I came for all of my appointments well prepared, had a number of places I applied to, updates on any interviews, networking events I went to, any referrals I managed to bag etc. They never asked me to apply anywhere or do anything, just encouraged me to continue and believed that I’ll get something soon.
I actually want to send them a thank you card
I’ll go and say if they didn’t hire intimidating and judgy people it wouldn’t be so bad.
Get a job then, it’s not actually that difficult – leeches
I’ve been on both sides of the coin. Started off claiming Universal Credit, and now I am a work coach.
I didn’t want to claim, but I had just finished Uni, and money was tight. The horror stories you hear about how job centres treat you made me very anxious about attending my first appointment.
Thankfully, my work coach was awesome. He was laid back, and it felt like I was just chatting with a mate. There was one work coach in that office that I had to encounter once, and he was a massive cunt. He loved to antagonise people and threaten to stop people’s money for very minor reasons.
It’s definitely a coin toss in regards to people’s experiences with the job centres, and now that I’m a work coach, I try to be like my old work coach. The only time I deal with confrontation is if someone is clearly not doing what they’re supposed to, and I have to warn them about it. Most of the time, as long as they’re making an effort to find work, I’m happy.
I do question at times why we’re called work coaches though. The role is more like policing job search, mixed with signposting to support. We don’t actually have enough time to give proper support, so I don’t blame people for thinking it’s a waste of time.
This isn’t new in my experience. The only time I’ve ever been on the dole was in 2007 while looking for my first post uni job, and they were awful then as well.
Not all of them who work their are cruel, but I know someone who left their old job and took a break. When they signed on they said the employee who talked to her spoke to her so judgemental and was making her feel wrong for taking a career break. To point it made her feel judged and belittled for even considering taking a break and not signing onto benefits after leaving an old job.
I feel they need to stop the interrogation style questions and judgement.
Really do not understand why a job centre is still a thing. Most/if not all jobs are advertised online, so if you really wanted a job, it’s a simple Google search.
I had weekly appointments at my local Jobcentre for about six weeks while job hunting. It was certainly intimidating at first, but I will speak a word in defense of my job coach who consistently showed patience and understanding until I got my job. It’s difficult to factor a person’s general character into the hiring process but I feel that if we had more folks like her in those positions, it’d be easier for everyone. It’s a pretty demeaning experience unless you get lucky enough to be paired with someone kind.
I guess the tl;dr is: They’re not all bad apples
Maybe it is different in Scotland but my work coach was chill af. A few times I forgot to attend and she would just call me and say ‘no problem we’ll just put it down as a phone attendance.’ when I had to move out of the area due to Covid she let me continue to sign on remotely even though I was 100 miles away, when my laptop broke she gave me a £300 grant for a new one as I needed it to look for work online etc.
And on top of all this she was absolutely lovely. No condescending shit or interrogations, she just seemed really sweet and genuinely cared about trying to help people find a job.
I feel like I’m the only person who didn’t have a bad experience with them during my job hunt. This was in 2018 after graduating, when it was still called Job Seeker’s Allowance. Took me 7 months to find a job and I was applying for graduate roles left right and centre.
Every two weeks I’d show up to the job centre, sign, and that was that. Only after a few months they said that I should change the scope of job I should aim to get if it was proving too difficult. I said no and showed them a few email responses to job applications. They kept letting me sign and giving me money until I found a job.
It was actually after I had a job and told them then they stopped payments, that they started calling me asking about if I’ve found a found a job yet and wouldn’t stop calling me until I got annoyed at them on the phone.
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