Unemployment + Depression: Put your stories here
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Original post by redferry
Yep and I start a PhD in September.
I luckily/unluckily came into enough inheritance money to cover my fees when my grandma died. Although my parents probably could have afforded it anyway given they sent my brother to private school.
I luckily/unluckily came into enough inheritance money to cover my fees when my grandma died. Although my parents probably could have afforded it anyway given they sent my brother to private school.
Are you getting much external funding?
I want an RA; struggling to come up with enough for one!
Original post by samba
Are you getting much external funding? I want an RA; struggling to come up with enough for one!
I want an RA; struggling to come up with enough for one!I didn't get any funding for my Masters. For my PhD I am funded by NERC.
Original post by redferry
I didn't get any funding for my Masters. For my PhD I am funded by NERC.
How much iz you getting?
Original post by samba
How much iz you getting?
My fees are covered, plus a 15,700 stipend per year. I get a pre paid oystercard for the first 2 terms at least and if I get an industrial partner I get an extra 1000 a year. On top of that we get 3500 towards conferences, travel and equipment per year.
Original post by redferry
My fees are covered, plus a 15,700 stipend per year. I get a pre paid oystercard for the first 2 terms at least and if I get an industrial partner I get an extra 1000 a year. On top of that we get 3500 towards conferences, travel and equipment per year.
Thanks
Should probably take this to pm as it's a bit otOriginal post by samba
Thanks Should probably take this to pm as it's a bit ot
Should probably take this to pm as it's a bit otfeel free!
Original post by sherlockfan
the manager at all aboard was just an all round horrible person who barely spoke English. then the manager at Oxfam, whose English was also poor, said i wasn't good enough to work at the till, so i was confined to doing menial tasks that a monkey could do. do you know how humiliating it is to be told youre not good enough...at a charity shop?! if im not good enough for a voluntary position what are the chances of me getting a real job?
I know how you feel. I volunteered at Caudwell Children's charity before uni, having had many years in admin' and qualified financial advisor and they would let me do more than sales calls and paper shredding. Treated me like crap!
Original post by Anonymous
I know how you feel. I volunteered at Caudwell Children's charity before uni, having had many years in admin' and qualified financial advisor and they would let me do more than sales calls and paper shredding. Treated me like crap!
Why did you choose to volunteer with so much experience?
I have been in a rough situation job wise since losing my job in september last year. I have bipolar disorder and was quite ill anyway. I also developed a severe gambling addiction, partly as a coping mechanism and partly through getting that oblivious and reckless that I couldn't see the harm I was doing to myself.
I have a 2:1 degree from a good uni and years of professional experience in a well paid job. I also have years of experience of retail, bar and labouring jobs from when i first left school and as i supported myself through uni. From the age of 16 to 28, i was pretty much never out of work except in term time at uni when i survived off grants and loans and short periods where i was too acutely ill to work.
I went through months of applying for hundreds of jobs but didn't get more than a couple of interviews only to be told that I was overqualified or not competetive enough for a job stacking shelves, loading pallets or serving coffee. If only they appreciated how desperate i was for the opportunity to prove otherwise!
Eventually, my advisor forced me on esa since there was nothing else she could see that I could do to get a job and she was right that my mental health was getting in the way. I then ended up in hospital on a psych ward and ended up homeless on discharge. Trying to find work when you have mental health problems, haven't worked in an 'official job' since september and are homeless and don't have good clean clothing is a nightmare. I have trawled the streets and internet applying for work but they just look at you like scum. I don't think they believe someone like me could really have the cv I do either which is a shame because I have people willing to give me references for my last two jobs - a period which covers five years.
So far, the best I have been able to get is cash in hand labouring work. Even that isn't regular and has relied on people having pity and trying to help me out. Because I don't have my cscs or any other ticket - people will only risk letting me work on domestic sites. I have gone out and worked a full day humping heavy gear for as little as a tenner and some sandwiches.
Now, after a month roughing it, I am off to rehab for gambling and they have said that they will help me get back into housing and employment. I spoke to a guy who went through the same rehab and was also homeless and unemployed before he went (and also had a bad alcohol problem) and he is now living in a house and is working in retail and is able to pay his bills. So, I am trying to take hope from that and just think that it is possible to get there in the end. God knows I have been in total despair thinking that I would never get back to 'life' and that it was all over but I suppose the answer is to accept that people have been in the **** and gotten out of it.Personally, my reaction is to think 'oh, they must be special, I don't have the backbone or determination they have' but when I think about it - those things aren't necessarily intrinsic. Some people have been on their knees and have managed to get through it and all you see afterwards is the appearance of confidence but for all we know, that was only developed as they got back on their feet rather than before.
I have a 2:1 degree from a good uni and years of professional experience in a well paid job. I also have years of experience of retail, bar and labouring jobs from when i first left school and as i supported myself through uni. From the age of 16 to 28, i was pretty much never out of work except in term time at uni when i survived off grants and loans and short periods where i was too acutely ill to work.
I went through months of applying for hundreds of jobs but didn't get more than a couple of interviews only to be told that I was overqualified or not competetive enough for a job stacking shelves, loading pallets or serving coffee. If only they appreciated how desperate i was for the opportunity to prove otherwise!
Eventually, my advisor forced me on esa since there was nothing else she could see that I could do to get a job and she was right that my mental health was getting in the way. I then ended up in hospital on a psych ward and ended up homeless on discharge. Trying to find work when you have mental health problems, haven't worked in an 'official job' since september and are homeless and don't have good clean clothing is a nightmare. I have trawled the streets and internet applying for work but they just look at you like scum. I don't think they believe someone like me could really have the cv I do either which is a shame because I have people willing to give me references for my last two jobs - a period which covers five years.
So far, the best I have been able to get is cash in hand labouring work. Even that isn't regular and has relied on people having pity and trying to help me out. Because I don't have my cscs or any other ticket - people will only risk letting me work on domestic sites. I have gone out and worked a full day humping heavy gear for as little as a tenner and some sandwiches.
Now, after a month roughing it, I am off to rehab for gambling and they have said that they will help me get back into housing and employment. I spoke to a guy who went through the same rehab and was also homeless and unemployed before he went (and also had a bad alcohol problem) and he is now living in a house and is working in retail and is able to pay his bills. So, I am trying to take hope from that and just think that it is possible to get there in the end. God knows I have been in total despair thinking that I would never get back to 'life' and that it was all over but I suppose the answer is to accept that people have been in the **** and gotten out of it.Personally, my reaction is to think 'oh, they must be special, I don't have the backbone or determination they have' but when I think about it - those things aren't necessarily intrinsic. Some people have been on their knees and have managed to get through it and all you see afterwards is the appearance of confidence but for all we know, that was only developed as they got back on their feet rather than before.
(edited 10 years ago)
Original post by dnaalpha
What kind of retail job pays £20k :O. (let alone £30k, the assistant manager of the large store I work in doesn't even earn that)
Quite a lot of the 'luxury' fashion retail jobs. Most average sales assistants are on £21,000-26,000. Some brands pay even more than this.
Original post by dnaalpha
So more executive search kind of thing? That's obviously more competitive but yeah, much more interesting (and less soul destroying) than the telesales approach. The few interview session things I went to for recruitment consultancies just put me off completely.
Exactly.
Original post by dnaalpha
In my experience they tend to refer to their 'product' in the broad sense, as in their 'product' is the service that they, as a consultancy, provide to the client. Selling yourself to candidates is easy, it's getting the clients that is difficult, and standing out above the hundreds of others just like you. I guess the recruitment consultant themselves are the 'product,' in a sense.
I feel that the whole 'product' model of recruitment consultancy is essentially a telesales-esque numbers game of flinging out as many CVs as possible. These types of firms don't retain big clients as their averages - in terms of candidates placed per CV submitted - are so incredibly poor. Likewise, they send candidates to jobs they wouldn't want or aren't qualified for as they only care for their own K
Original post by dnaalpha
But yeah, best of luck to you. Not trying to put you off recruitment, it's just with so many horror stories about it (I've known so many people try it and hate it, and leave feeling exploited and misled) and with my own experiences (the consultancies which tried to hire me were very dishonest and misleading to me and other applicants) I am very wary of working in recruitment. Going for the higher end of the market is definitely a good move.
It's a very small consultancy with a lot of big clients. Essentially, there's more work than there are consultants to deal with it. Commission gives the potential to earn well, but they don't give the completely unrealistic "100k in your 2nd/3rd year" targets out, as if that kind of thing is standard.
There are a few people on over six figures, but they've been in the firm and industry 4-6 years and have built the knowledge and reputation. Rather than the larger firms' assertions that mysterious 'top earners' have earned a figure of over 250k. They may have one of those people, but in an office of literally hundreds.
It's a Monday today, which is usually one of the worst days in my week.
I've just found out I'm now not eligible for a load of things I had hoped to apply for in America, following recent advice on here to try and travel abroad, which I think might be a very good idea. But the fact that so much of it is now only for those in full time education means that I essentially can't do it. It's so ****ing depressing, it's like I'm past the part of my life where I had a chance to 'make it' but the boat has sailed and now I'm just stuck here, waiting to get old and die.
Anyway, does anyone know of any ways that a 22 year old can travel abroad (ideally to the US, but anywhere would be cool) for a few months, which doesn't cost too much money? (Given that I can hardly afford to live at home, let alone splash out thousands on one of these 'volunteering' things)
I've just found out I'm now not eligible for a load of things I had hoped to apply for in America, following recent advice on here to try and travel abroad, which I think might be a very good idea. But the fact that so much of it is now only for those in full time education means that I essentially can't do it. It's so ****ing depressing, it's like I'm past the part of my life where I had a chance to 'make it' but the boat has sailed and now I'm just stuck here, waiting to get old and die.
Anyway, does anyone know of any ways that a 22 year old can travel abroad (ideally to the US, but anywhere would be cool) for a few months, which doesn't cost too much money? (Given that I can hardly afford to live at home, let alone splash out thousands on one of these 'volunteering' things)
Original post by zjs
It's a very small consultancy with a lot of big clients. Essentially, there's more work than there are consultants to deal with it. Commission gives the potential to earn well, but they don't give the completely unrealistic "100k in your 2nd/3rd year" targets out, as if that kind of thing is standard.
That should be an instant warning sign to anyone really. During the application process I have seen them repeatedly call it a '£100k job' when in reality it is a £13k job, with most making that £20-30k on commission, after a few years, working 12 hours a day.
When there are people who are desperate like myself then it I can see how easily people get sucked into it.
Original post by dnaalpha
That should be an instant warning sign to anyone really. During the application process I have seen them repeatedly call it a '£100k job' when in reality it is a £13k job, with most making that £20-30k on commission, after a few years, working 12 hours a day.
When there are people who are desperate like myself then it I can see how easily people get sucked into it.
When there are people who are desperate like myself then it I can see how easily people get sucked into it.
With London weighting, it tends to be an £18-21k job, but I take your point all the same. With the smaller, boutique, approach there's an actual focus on training you up. During the few months I'll spend training, it's a flat fee per placement at £500 (rather than 20 - rising to 30 - percent of their salary, as it is afterwards), but that's extra onto a liveable basic. The target is two of these per month, but they say 4-5 is achievable. It's decent extra cash on top and means I'll actually have a good grounding when I complete it.
The telesales approach fails to take into account the fact that flinging CVs until they stick might earn you a placement eventually, but if the candidate leaves before the period's up, you won't get your commission anyway. The more tailored approach minimises this. Likewise, as you say, the office hours can be brutal. They say most don't see a need to work beyond the 8 - 6.30 (still long hours), as they're focused and efficient rather than blanket spamming applicants and clients.
If you're good, do extra hours when required and keep at it, I think doubling your basic within the first 18 months through commission isn't unrealistic.
Original post by dnaalpha
It's a Monday today, which is usually one of the worst days in my week.
I've just found out I'm now not eligible for a load of things I had hoped to apply for in America, following recent advice on here to try and travel abroad, which I think might be a very good idea. But the fact that so much of it is now only for those in full time education means that I essentially can't do it. It's so ****ing depressing, it's like I'm past the part of my life where I had a chance to 'make it' but the boat has sailed and now I'm just stuck here, waiting to get old and die.
Anyway, does anyone know of any ways that a 22 year old can travel abroad (ideally to the US, but anywhere would be cool) for a few months, which doesn't cost too much money? (Given that I can hardly afford to live at home, let alone splash out thousands on one of these 'volunteering' things)
I've just found out I'm now not eligible for a load of things I had hoped to apply for in America, following recent advice on here to try and travel abroad, which I think might be a very good idea. But the fact that so much of it is now only for those in full time education means that I essentially can't do it. It's so ****ing depressing, it's like I'm past the part of my life where I had a chance to 'make it' but the boat has sailed and now I'm just stuck here, waiting to get old and die.
Anyway, does anyone know of any ways that a 22 year old can travel abroad (ideally to the US, but anywhere would be cool) for a few months, which doesn't cost too much money? (Given that I can hardly afford to live at home, let alone splash out thousands on one of these 'volunteering' things)
My friend went to work in Australia on a work permit. It was issued for six months on the basic of him moving from his retail job in the UK to the same job over there. Applying for something similar might be possible. A lot of people I know saved for flights to Australia or America and went over on working holiday visas. While there, they travelled and worked jobs along the lines of bar/retail to finance the travel and expenses whilst out there.
Original post by dnaalpha
Anyway, does anyone know of any ways that a 22 year old can travel abroad (ideally to the US, but anywhere would be cool) for a few months, which doesn't cost too much money? (Given that I can hardly afford to live at home, let alone splash out thousands on one of these 'volunteering' things)
You are free to apply for jobs all over the EU. Without visa applications, without any restrictions. Wether this will turn out to be cheap or not, depends on the area you go to and the jobs you are looking for. The poorer countries in the EU tend to be cheaper.
I was housebound for nearly two years with chronic anxiety and depressions. It was near impossible to get monetary support via ESA (****ing ATOS) so was surviving on £21 per week DLA (which I had to appeal just to get). Eventually as I started to recover, I started volunteering-this reallllllllllyyy helped boost my confidence and helped with my anxiety, I'm still there today (been 1 1/2 years now). Ive finally managed to land a paid job in a nursing home though, I'm just waiting on my references before I start. Im nervous but excited about the prospect of starting though
Original post by jefferz
I was housebound for nearly two years with chronic anxiety and depressions. It was near impossible to get monetary support via ESA (****ing ATOS) so was surviving on £21 per week DLA (which I had to appeal just to get). Eventually as I started to recover, I started volunteering-this reallllllllllyyy helped boost my confidence and helped with my anxiety, I'm still there today (been 1 1/2 years now). Ive finally managed to land a paid job in a nursing home though, I'm just waiting on my references before I start. Im nervous but excited about the prospect of starting though
Well done for managing to overcome chronic anxiety and depression, I have seen the effect of this on a friend firsthand and it is incredibly difficult to beat. How on earth did you manage to live on £21 per week? Also where did you volunteer out of interest?
Original post by dnaalpha
Well done for managing to overcome chronic anxiety and depression, I have seen the effect of this on a friend firsthand and it is incredibly difficult to beat. How on earth did you manage to live on £21 per week? Also where did you volunteer out of interest?
I was living on my parents, I wasn't exactly going out much so I didn't need it. I volunteer at my local branch of MIND and another local arts mental health charity.
Original post by dnaalpha
Where did you travel to?
And I disagree, immigration is not to blame for unemployment.
So how did you use your pain to better yourself or others?
And I disagree, immigration is not to blame for unemployment.
So how did you use your pain to better yourself or others?
i was working in France on a farm.
It's like that Smiths song.
"I was looking for a job, and then I found a job
And heaven knows I'm miserable now
"
Well, I made myself "better" by trying to understand why I was depressed. The website eqi.org helped me understand emotions, even though the website is not very scientific.
Original post by jefferz
I was living on my parents, I wasn't exactly going out much so I didn't need it. I volunteer at my local branch of MIND and another local arts mental health charity.
I also live with my parents. I don't know about you but that's one of the worst things about all this because it just prevents me from having a life really. They (and I) live in the middle of fecking nowhere which doesn't help.
Original post by dnaalpha
It's a Monday today, which is usually one of the worst days in my week.
I've just found out I'm now not eligible for a load of things I had hoped to apply for in America, following recent advice on here to try and travel abroad, which I think might be a very good idea. But the fact that so much of it is now only for those in full time education means that I essentially can't do it. It's so ****ing depressing, it's like I'm past the part of my life where I had a chance to 'make it' but the boat has sailed and now I'm just stuck here, waiting to get old and die.
Anyway, does anyone know of any ways that a 22 year old can travel abroad (ideally to the US, but anywhere would be cool) for a few months, which doesn't cost too much money? (Given that I can hardly afford to live at home, let alone splash out thousands on one of these 'volunteering' things)
I've just found out I'm now not eligible for a load of things I had hoped to apply for in America, following recent advice on here to try and travel abroad, which I think might be a very good idea. But the fact that so much of it is now only for those in full time education means that I essentially can't do it. It's so ****ing depressing, it's like I'm past the part of my life where I had a chance to 'make it' but the boat has sailed and now I'm just stuck here, waiting to get old and die.
Anyway, does anyone know of any ways that a 22 year old can travel abroad (ideally to the US, but anywhere would be cool) for a few months, which doesn't cost too much money? (Given that I can hardly afford to live at home, let alone splash out thousands on one of these 'volunteering' things)
I'm the same age as you and I'm also not in full time education, but I've managed to get a summer camp job this year in the USA. So if working with kids at camp floats your boat, maybe consider that?
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