Who Will I Be Working For Again?
@arthurchappell (45002)
Preston, England
January 12, 2016 7:44am CST
Would you apply for work with a company without even knowing who they were?
In the UK unemployed job seekers like myself are expected to do this.
Job centre managers get commission for getting people into jobs, so they dislike it if we find out where the hiring companies are and apply directly to them. It cuts out their commission if we cut out the middleman, so we have to apply on a job description, but without specific job location details.
This means we can end up applying for jobs in locations we can't reach, applying to firms we know to have a bad reputation or even to firms we have applied to before unsuccessfully, which wastes our time and theirs. It is possible to even end up trying to apply to a firm who fired you.
It can be awkward when I get a call directly from the employers asking if I just applied to their firm. I now just say yes without knowing if I have or not, and try to wing it from there but the very limited knowledge of the company can seriously handicap the job search, all just to give a civil servant a bonus if I do get the job.
Arthur Chappell
15 people like this
14 responses
@celticeagle (158958)
• Boise, Idaho
12 Jan 16
This must be happening a lot for you cause you have been looking for what seems like a long time. And, you often have some excuse for not wanting the job. It must be so frustrating. Aren't there very many jobs where you are?
3 people like this
@scheng1 (24650)
• Singapore
12 Jan 16
It happens here too.
Most agencies will tell you the nature of job, and the business without telling you the name of the company.
it will say that a company in the finance sector or a certain area is looking for a person to do this or that.
They have to keep the name secret until you are selected to go for an interview.
3 people like this
@Jessicalynnt (50525)
• Centralia, Missouri
12 Jan 16
wow, that's..... really wrong. Sounds like a law really needs to be changed.
2 people like this
@arthurchappell (45002)
• Preston, England
12 Jan 16
@Jessicalynnt I wish that was the case here
2 people like this
@arthurchappell (45002)
• Preston, England
12 Jan 16
it has gone on for years here sadly
2 people like this
@Jessicalynnt (50525)
• Centralia, Missouri
12 Jan 16
@arthurchappell pretty sure that's not allowed in america
2 people like this
@ria1606roy (2797)
• Kolkata, India
12 Jan 16
The middleman is often not to be trusted, that's like everywhere in the world. They say one thing, then do another, ultimately the job searchers pay the price if that doesn't suit well.
2 people like this
@arthurchappell (45002)
• Preston, England
12 Jan 16
yes it is often middle management who let a company down rather than the workers or senior managers
2 people like this
@arthurchappell (45002)
• Preston, England
12 Jan 16
@ria1606roy managers depend on the middle men to run things so the middle men often give them a false picture to create the impression things are better than they are and get ugly with the rank and file staff too
2 people like this
@ria1606roy (2797)
• Kolkata, India
12 Jan 16
@arthurchappell very true. The middle persons of EVERYTHING, not only jobs, let both sides down, more than often.
2 people like this
@arthurchappell (45002)
• Preston, England
13 Jan 16
bad news @cacay1 as Xmas is usually the peak time for Xmas bonuses - hope it didn't spoil the holidays for you
1 person likes this
@fishtiger58 (29823)
• Momence, Illinois
12 Jan 16
Well that doesn't even sound right. What if it's too far or not the kind of work one wants.
2 people like this
@arthurchappell (45002)
• Preston, England
12 Jan 16
That frequently happens @fishtiger58 - I get a call from an employer and when they tell me where they are I just have to say I can't possibly do their shifts. It wastes everyone's time
2 people like this
@fishtiger58 (29823)
• Momence, Illinois
12 Jan 16
@arthurchappell And once again it's merely a money grab.
2 people like this
@arthurchappell (45002)
• Preston, England
12 Jan 16
@fishtiger58 a costly one as it actually slows down getting the unemployed back into work
2 people like this
@CaptAlbertWhisker (32507)
• Calgary, Alberta
13 Jan 16
I had been there and I have done that. I will only work to a company from a far location if they can give me free housing.
1 person likes this
@ScribbledAdNauseum (104632)
• United States
13 Jan 16
I am not sure, but I think the temp agencies here? You have to go through them to apply to certain places. I do remember going around to one place and being told I had to go through a temp agency to get hired. I can't think of the place off hand but I believe they dealt in food prep.
I would think it to be illegal to withhold information pertinent to the job. One would need to know if it was in a location that they could get to afterall.
1 person likes this
@Drosophila (16573)
• Ireland
12 Jan 16
I have never liked job centres, and I can honestly say I felt they hindered more than helped. But that's based on my own person experience.
1 person likes this
@arthurchappell (45002)
• Preston, England
12 Jan 16
@Drosophila very much my experience with them too
1 person likes this
@Drosophila (16573)
• Ireland
12 Jan 16
@arthurchappell I am sure something will work out for you soon!
@arthurchappell (45002)
• Preston, England
13 Jan 16
yes much of it would do - no idea how such incentives work though
@Erlinda2017 (6)
• San Antonio, Texas
12 Jan 16
It's very frustrating for all the reasons you stated. Job coaches say to research the company in order to have a successful interview. That's impossible to do if you don't even know which company you applied to.
1 person likes this
@arthurchappell (45002)
• Preston, England
12 Jan 16
exactly - I have been confronted by that in telephone interviews where the interviewer still expects me to somehow have researched them when it hasn't been possible
