I’m in London with nearly 20 years experience in marketing in financial services, last 4 years as a contractor.

According to the news, the economy is good, jobs are increasing, financial services is ok, UK consumer is spending and contracting is the way forward – and I can’t even get an interview – I’ve had one in two months of looking… I’ve never found this before, in 20 years… there’s always been vacancies and I’ve got interviews fairly easily.

Talking to other people in London I’m gathering things aren’t too rosy for them either – people in work are stressed as hell (described to me at the weekend as ’employers are trying to find peoples’ breaking points’) and other people looking can’t find anything either… employers will only take people on who 100% match their requirements – being really picky…

Anyone else finding this, or is it just me? Maybe it’s karma for working in financial services marketing 🙂

Welcome to Tory Britain.

This man thinks that if you’re working less than 25 hours a day, and demanding to be paid more than a bowl of rice for that days labour then you’re a slacker!

Quite the opposite looking for an apprentice in Peterborough to do a Chartered Institute of Legal Executives Apprenticeship – can’t find anyone to fill the vacancy. My last ‘Apprentice’ lasted 3 weeks 4 days work, 11 days ‘sick’.

employers will only take people on who 100% match their requirements – being really picky…

I’ve thought this for years when I look at engineering adverts and the requirements are often really difficult, like people MUST be proficient in using an obsure software package in a niche sector.

Seems like the only person who’d really be applicable is the one that’s being replaced. Companies don’t want to spend time or cash doing the training.

employers will only take people on who 100% match their requirements – being really picky…

I’ve thought this for years when I look at engineering adverts and the requirements are often really difficult, like people MUST be proficient in using an obsure software package in a niche sector.
Seems like the only person who’d really be applicable is the one that’s being replaced. Companies don’t want to spend time or cash doing the training.[/quote]

I think some engineering job specs are often a wish list rather than ‘must haves’. They’re often worth applying for if you meet some of the spec

I think some engineering job specs are often a wish list rather than ‘must haves’. They’re often worth applying for if you meet some of the spec

FTFY. I’ve been looking off and on for 6 months and rarely does anything come up that i have everything they ask for. But like Brian Mills, I have a very particular set of skills, skills I have acquired over a long career. Skills that make me extremely valuable for people who can look beyond ticking off lines in a job spec.

My mate has been looking for best part of 12 months and finally has an offer on the table he’s happy with. There is stuff out there, but i do wonder whether in the computer age tick box recruitment is becoming too prevalent.

I think some engineering job specs are often a wish list rather than ‘must haves’. They’re often worth applying for if you meet some of the spec

Totally agree. Often written by agencies that don’t know the difference between a plant fitter and a maintenance fitter for example.

I’ve never found this before, in 20 years… there’s always been vacancies and I’ve got interviews fairly easily.

This was me back-end of last year – for three whole months. I imagine it will happen again too. Hang in there though – there is hope. After the drought, I had 3 offers in one day – in fact 3 offers in 2 hours…

Cant offer any advice at all, apart from try and stay positive (Which is tough to do).

Jay

Yep was made redundant almost two years ago, applied for loads of jobs had a few interviews but no joy, which for someone who at one time had a 100% success rate with interviews was a bit hard to start with, a small percentage give feedback, I’ve asked for feedback from a few others and the responses are normally silly little things. Over/under qualified, they don’t think I will stay in the role for long based on the salary on offer etc

I managed to secure a bit of part time work on a zero hours contract, the clients thing highly of me, but budget constraints have restricted the number of hours, plus where they can a volunteer is now covering the shifts I was once offered so I’ve not been in for a few months.

I do a bit of work on a self employed basis, but to make this in to full time would require a reasonable capital outlay which I’m not in a position at the moment to make.

I’ll keep looking but it can get very depressing for someone who until 2 years ago had no problems finding work to now not even being able to get jobs I could do in my sleep.

Other way for us – can’t even get people to respond to job adverts, big players snaffling all the talent by offering above average salaries and packages.

Finally managed to get someone to second interview and offered him a job on Friday. On Saturday he came back to us saying he’d decided to stay freelance….

Sorry to hear about your situation. It must be stressful and unpleasant. I was also unhappy to find myself effectively unemployable (though in a job, trapped abroad) until I realised I didn’t actually need an employer any more and just walked out. But as a marketer for financial services, doesn’t that make you a parasite of parasites? I can’t find myself too upset that these sort of jobs are scarce, they don’t sound essential or even useful.

We’re looking for software devs + dev managers in various languages (mostly C# or c++), based in the east mids. Let me know if you want more details

But as a marketer for financial services, doesn’t that make you a parasite of parasites? I can’t find myself too upset that these sort of jobs are scarce, they don’t sound essential or even useful.

Well I’d rather be doing something else, but what is it you think I actually do? Punch people in the face until they get themselves into an unmanageable amount of debt?

I’m no apologist for the nastier side of finance or marketing but like it or not, we all have a need for financial services of some kind or another – a mortgage, a bank account, a pension, life insurance, car insurance, investment etc etc and for those needs to be met someone has to be able to provide the supply, provide the products, distribute them and provide communications to potential customers, and then to existing customers to help them manage their finances…

e.g. if you’re starting your own business and you need to get a loan and a company credit card to be able to by a computer and rent an office, employ some staff, pay your rent, invoice your customers, how do you think you’re going to even start creating wealth if some banker somewhere isn’t willing to provide you with financial services?

Sorry for the rant but calling me a parasite of parasites is just naive and childish… I take it you live some kind off off-grid life where you never buy anything and have zero debt, no savings and no pension…

I’d ignore him broess – it’s just typical of the kind of response that we get on here sometimes – keyboard warriors…

I gave up looking about 4 yrs ago, too old it seems, chug along doing my own thing riding when ever I like.

Two months unemployed. OP, retrain to be a mechanical engineer. There’s lots out there atm

If you’d rather be doing something else, then why not retrain as others have suggested? If life’s too short to waste doing something you don’t like, it’s surely even more too short to spend your time struggling to find a job you don’t want to do even if you get it.