675.

I might get a chance to flex my photography muscles at Ink on Monday. Hopefully anyway, we're going to a restaurant to get some nice shots of these cookery books for one of the magazines.

I had to do a (terrible) test shoot yesterday to display them but it was a bit flat in terms of lighting, if I am photographing I hope there will be a bit more depth and control. But the test was just to get an idea of how to lay them out, it was all quite exciting, I got to move from my desk and use a sexy Canon, secretly nerdgasmed, but it only took about 10 minutes.





Currently waiting for Moon to get here, my driving lesson today went really well, I think I definitely need to open my ears a bit more though, to avoid getting unnecessarily flustered at roundabouts.

While I'm here, it would appear that the JobCentre need further complaints made to them as within the last few days I have received both my P45 and a letter letting me know that my claim had been closed and what I can do in terms of additional funding, which is great and all, if I didn't only have three days left with Ink. Morons, it's as though they've done it on purpose and know there is no point in me doing anything about it... funny that..

Job Centre casually letting me down again.

Good job as always...

21st November 2011

Dear Kingston Jobcentre Plus,

I am writing to make a formal complaint about how my claim has been handled within the last few weeks. Since the lead up to and beginning my unpaid internship with Ink Global Publishing, I believe that Jobcentre Plus has been both incredibly unhelpful and unsupportive.

Having attended a meeting with my advisor today, it was only then that I was alerted that my claim had been closed, with no prior notice at all. Perhaps the first thing that has annoyed me is the fact that I was allowed to attend the meeting and had made the effort to travel to the centre and missed almost the entire morning that day at the internship – which affects how I may appear to my employer and therefore what I may get out of the experience, which is the whole point of carrying out the internship in the first place!

The only statement that came close to meeting a real explanation for essentially wasting my time was that I was aware that my claim 'might' be closed. However, my response to this is that 'might' does not account for official confirmation and does not allow me to know where I stand with my claim at all. In fact, I was even allowed to assume that I was able to carry on as normal.
No effort was made to contact me prior to the close of my claim and it must be understood that first and foremost, I rely on the income that Jobseeker's Allowance provides to continue the internship, which was only carrying on for a further week and a half anyway.

Before beginning the internship I was asked to provide many different vague pieces of documentation, which never seemed to be correct or satisfactory. This meant that on the first day of the internship, before I had even settled in, I had to ask my supervisor to write me a letter outlining the internship for Jobcentre Plus. In terms of common sense, I hope you will understand why this would have been awkward for me. Too many people were involved in the process of how we would go about dealing with this situation and I find it hard to believe that I would be the first Jobcentre customer to come across these circumstances. This is of a particularly poor standard considering that there was no ultimate resolution despite what should have been arguably combined knowledge.

The internship will go on to finish at the end of this month, in this time I would have only visited the Jobcentre twice, and my job search has been ongoing while on the internship. Ink provided me with a lot of flexibility which would mean I would have been allowed to attend meetings outside of the internship if I had needed to. The lack of communication and overall bad organisation of this situation has resulted in me believing that I would have been better off not informing the Jobcentre of this internship at all, particularly regarding funding myself during the process.

Ink's system for internships is structured and I think it was inconsiderate to try and make them change it when I already had a guaranteed month of work experience with them. I think it is disgraceful that I was allowed to continue thinking that my claim was still open as well as attend the meeting this morning. I am unsatisfied with how the Jobcentre has supported me both within this internship and overall during my Jobseeking process. This internship with Ink has been more beneficial to my current training and work experience than any alternative that has been offered to me by Jobcentre Plus could end up being (Admin assistant roles/banking etc). I understand that my creative background is particularly competitive but therefore think that I should be nurtured when I do find work experience rather than shunned and let down.

I will be making a rapid reclaim as suggested but would ask that more careful consideration be taken to my case as I feel that I have been dealt with very unsympathetically. I would also hope to receive a higher level of communication both between myself and advisors and those advising them; something I believe to be the root of this complaint.

Thank you very much for your time and I hope to hear back from you shortly.

Yours sincerely,




Ruth Johnston

634.

Last week I felt really motivated and I was posting a lot and taking a lot of photos, this week, I just feel kind of flat. It's becoming increasingly difficult to maintain the get-up-and-go required to sustain a job hunt of this length.

I understand the need to possibly settle for less than I want but I also wonder how bad of me it is to not want to settle. I have begun to wonder what those who are perhaps following my ongoing job hunt think of me, Boots won't even call me back. I haven't even been able to get any freelance work, but I have tried less and less as time has gone on. I don't even know where the time has gone and despite my summer travels, everything just feels like one massive, rude reality check.

I don't know how difficult it is for companies to simply respond to emails with a 'we got this' confirmation, a real one, just so you know that you're actually getting through to someone. I may have applied to my dream job this week, but they won't even answer the phone to confirm. I'm much better on the phone than I am in emails.

I just want a break and I want to be happy.

I promise I'll stop being 15 soon and post something nice.

Another weekend post.

Because at the moment I've been spending nearly every weekday applying for jobs and trying to keep myself busy, I very rarely feel that I should be allowing myself time to get out there and take photographs. It's kind of a sad opening sentence, but I believe it to be very true anyway. It does feel quite silly to tell people I'm not really looking for 'photography things' anymore and I can tell people think it's unimpressive that I still don't even have a normal job so it's no wonder that I'm really finding the whole job hunting experience both depressing and repressive, not to mention pretty stressful.

I have been seeing the weekends as my down time (as though I was a normal person who has a job), no one replies to application emails at weekends anyway. So, I took this weekend to spend some time with Moon in Beare Green. He is feeling equally downtrodden about being lacking in the job department, but he has the added pressure of a dissertation still to do! I got round to finishing 'New Life Stories', the David Attenborough book that Moon bought me for my birthday, I even brought my scrapbook thinking that Moon would have his face in his laptop. It turned out to be quite a good weekend though, we met up with some friends at the pub, had a nose around Crawley and went to a carboot. We also baked the most amazing cookies!

It was just really nice and I enjoyed myself, after probably one of the most boring/frustrating weeks so far, it really does suck not living with each other anymore.

Here are some photos both from last week which don't really fit anywhere else and some photos from the weekend, which is what this post is meant to be about.

This is my Job Seekers booklet, I hate how meticulous it is and basically everything it stands for. I thought I would share it with you in this post because I was unsure when I would have the chance to do so again. I signed on again today, but due to being early (which is meant to be good), it was another wasted appointment, so that was good...

From a passage in 'New Life Stories', it brought a smile to my face.

On the way back from Crawley we passed the road leading up to my old house. We did a creepy thing and drove up it so I could show Moon where I used to live. It was probably the best place I've ever lived and where I remember being happiest in my childhood. There are so many surrounding fields and it's beautiful - I lived in the house on the left, the one of the right used to be a manor house but is now posh flats. It was nice to see that nothing had really changed much.

This is the carboot that Moon took me to on Sunday, it really was great. I think it will be really useful when it comes to furnishing our first place together because everything was so cheap!

There was a lot of character there, which is why I got my camera out, obviously not because I generally love carboot sales. It was nice to document the area, even if I only had my 35mm lens on me.

I thought this black cab being there was quite intriguing, doesn't Stephen Fry drive one of these?

We didn't walk away empty handed either! We stumbled across a pitch that was selling some really cute Scooby Doo and Simpsons glasses that had been collected with Nutella. They were only 30p so we got three of each, you know, just for our someday home.


I think I enjoyed the carboot best, I also think that if I hadn't have been so ridiculously hungry (I don't even know), I would have enjoyed it more. I was also in a hurry because I wanted to have a quick chat with my Gran before I left back for New Malden. I think when I go next time I will try and be in less of a rush.

I've got a face-to-face interview tomorrow, first one I've had in a while, I hope it goes better than the telephone interview I had last week, I didn't get that job because they wanted someone who knew less...

Favourite recent links

Kaylah from The Dainty Squid posted a DIY Stawberry Nails tutorial, which I'll definitely be trying out when I get bored of my current manicure.

Gem Fatales London Fashion Week Vlogs are nice.

Signed up to Hello You Creatives by accident after a mistake while taking referrals from a graduate recruitment agency, but they actually post some really good stuff both on Tumblr and their Facebook. They also have Twitter, it's more fun and less serious but they do have a few opportunities available for creative people if you really look.

Wednesday 14th September.

Day 10 of 'keeping myself active', it certainly is weird to be home while knowing that in a week's time students will be returning to University and I won't be, probably ever again.

Thorpe Park yesterday was good, and it was great to catch up with my friend Laura too, who I haven't seen in ages. I think my favourite ride was 'Stealth', which I forgot was so fast. Probably the best freebie, I've had all year.

It was Mid-Autumn festival a couple of days ago and the moon looked beautiful, so I took the opportunity to get a snap. I don't think that it's quite as good as what I got when the moon was really big (Supermoon), but I like the result, especially as there was no tripod involved and I just took it from my bedroom window.

I've noticed more and more that a lot of bloggers seem to be posting photos taken with their phones, so here's a bit of a weekly digest. It's quite useful to have a camera on your phone, I used to hate the idea of it, but since I now have a decent camera on my phone I tend to use it a fair amount when out and about. Although an actual camera/my SLR (when I'm feeling strong) is obviously preferential.

Ed Sheeran paw prints outside Banquet Record Store, Kingston

Cute prizes at Thorpe Park that reminded me of Moon's drawings.

Sadly, despite being out all day yesterday, I had no replies from any jobs, but I do have a 'professional' blogging opportunity in the works, which I'll link to if I'm successful.

My second driving lesson went much better than the first one, which I'm very pleased about, I actually can't wait until I've had enough lessons and can drive off and around all over the place. I know I've still got a while to go yet, but it's still exciting, even though there's still things like parking to learn and the actual proper rules when it comes to the test.

---

What I wore 14/09/11:

Cardigan: H&M
Dress: Primark
Belt: Primark
Tights: New Look
Nails:

Stripes: Models Own, Sophie's Pink
Models Own/WAH Nail Art Pen, White
Leopard Print: Models Own: Peach Puff (My new favourite colour)
Models Own/WAH Nail Art Pen, Black
It's back to the grind of the job hunting this afternoon, which of course I must write down in my Jobseeker's 'diary'. I just received a rejection for my application to Kingston Disney Store, darn, there goes my post-degree hopes and goals down the drain...

One day I'm going to be really good at this.

Eventually, I'll actually stop taking 'mirror' photos of what I've worn, it looks so rubbish. However, due to being a Photography graduate and having studied all sorts of photographic genre's, I could probably whip something up about mirrors, wardrobes and clothing pretty quickly if it was required of me.

I was going to post these and a bunch of others at the end of the week, but I need to unwind a bit after a slightly frustrating day. I really, really should start wearing shoes in these.

06 September 2011:
Cardigan: H&M
Shirt: H&M
Scarf: Primark
Dress: Etsy
Tights: Marks & Spencer.
Going to London Bridge to have some lunch (I also wore lipstick for the first time today, like a grown-up).


07 September 2011
Cardigan: H&M
Shirt: Etsy
Belt: eBay
Skirt: Dorothy Perkins
Tights: Marks & Spencer
Sign-up interview on Oxford Street and signing on at the Job Centre (but not really the second one).


I bought this shirt to take the postage and packaging cost down for the dress (above) as they're from the same seller on Etsy, but I think I actually love it. Especially in this combo, it's so bright and happy.
I've been having a pretty busy week so far, I went to have lunch with Moon and my old friend Tom in London Bridge yesterday and today I had both a sign-up interview with a Digital Media Agency and I went to the Job Centre to file a reclaim for Jobseeker's Allowance.

Yesterday was great, it's always nice to see old friends because things are rarely different and usually just easy. We had a nice lunch at a pub opposite Borough Market. Moon had an interview around London Bridge and that's where Tom works too, I had nothing to do so I just tagged along. Moon got the job by all accounts but it turned out to be quite demeaning and rather insulting when you consider that he is already a graduate and soon to finish a Masters degree, so he left during the trial this morning.

Today was a bit different. The sign-up interview went well I think, but I need to do a bit of research into Digital Media Planning/Buying to be considered a more serious applicant. It seems quite promising though and the roles that are potentially on offer are intriguing so I think I could definitely get into it.
After that I had a quick wander into Urban Outfitters and Topshop, it would appear that my more thrify lifestyle has meant that I've ignored these shops for a while and I don't think that it has actually made a difference, I saw nothing new or exciting. Which is not only quite good because it means that I get to keep some money in my purse, but it also doesn't really matter because I'm actually quite liking my wardrobe at the moment, especially since I've been losing weight. I did see a dinosaur t-shirt though that I could have gone for, but not for £20, sorry.

< prepare for a rant about the job centre >
Then I headed over to the jolly old Job Centre Plus. I officially hate it! It is such an uninspiring place, the people that work there are horrible and rude and nothing is on time as it should be. I arrived five minutes early but still had to wait 20 minutes, and I can bet that had I arrived 25 minutes late, I would have got it in the neck, it's idiotic. The whole process didn't take very long though because I was only making a reclaim but I'm dreading follow-up meeting on Monday. Basically being on Jobseeker's Allowance means using DirectGov (which is a terrible website most of the time) to search for jobs more often than searching for jobs through other platforms, you also need to put aside unrealistic (but not actually unrealistic) goals in order to be in work but unhappy for the rest of your life, just like the people who actually work in the Job Centre.

Second point on the 'Jobseeker's must' list:
- Have reasonable chance of finding work if you limit:

the kind of work you are willing to do.

where you are willing to work

the hours you are willing to work

So I may have potentially sold my soul for £50 a week, but maybe something will come up instantly and I can just leave it. I've sought out nearly 30 jobs to apply for this week, so something should come up soon. I do feel a bit more stable now that I'm signing-on in a way as it means I won't have to ask my Mum for things like train fare, but I'm not a fan of the bureaucracy that I already appear to be a part of despite the fact that I'm doing nothing much different than I would have been doing before, but I'm now reporting to someone... urgh. < / rant >

Disgruntled Jobseeker now apparently seeking Admin work.

Just for the record, I have zero experience in "Admin". I recognise that it is unlikely to be a difficult job, but I would imagine that there are certain procedures you have to go through and certain things that have to be done a certain way. It's one of those jobs that someone has to do but you never really think about it. I am in no way ragging on Admin people, it's a respectable job and it's better than sitting at home and applying for job after job.
I think I could handle being an Admin Assistant, but it isn't my overall goal in life, I mean this in terms of what I would imagine the Job Centre would offer, so many companies that I want to work for offer Admin roles. I'm not sure how I can stress this, I hope you recognise what kind of job I'm talking about here. It's very hard to convey this through writing but, I'm thinking in a certain Slough paper merchants direction.

I had an interview with the Job Centre today to make a claim for Job Seekers Allowance, it is not something that I am proud of or something that I have the desire to do again. It is unlikely that I will actually be able to "go" on Job Seekers because of all the holidays that I'm going on. However, applying for it is something that I believed to be the right thing to do considering that my current life-goal is to gain employment. This is not something that Job Centre Plus makes particularly easy for you though. I already had to cancel my initial appointment with them due to being down in Portsmouth for Graduation, it appears to be a reasonable explanation, but they still put a little cross by my name.

Now I have to bail on my next appointment due to going to Hong Kong (something that has been planned for months), and will have to restart the whole process again when I come back. Although I understand why this has happened, I think it is incredibly inconvenient, not to mention stupid, due to to the fact that they ask when the applicant is available and take little notice of these dates at all.

The whole experience of having to apply for JSA in the first place, was not something that I wished to take part in, but as I have discovered, jobs don't generally fall in your lap, so a bit of extra money while you're taking the time to apply for several different jobs a day doesn't go a miss — particularly when there are obviously thousands of people cheating the system and gaining the same thing. I feel I must point out how easy it would be to cheat, I don't care because I am a lawful and honest person, but the system is only slightly short of idiotic. No proof needs to physically be provided that the applicant has made headway in seeking employment, all that needs to be done is that the applicant writes down what they have done that week to forward themselves, HANDWRITE IT! This includes telephoning and emailing potential employers as well as reading newspapers and searching online. I was pretty appalled, particularly when in terms of the regulations, there is a lot of bureaucracy to overcome.

What I was most appalled by, and this may not be due to Job Centre Plus overall and could just apply to this particular centre or the individual interviewing me, but the way that they communicate with you is definitely not up to scratch. They throw around a fair amount of 'Job Centre jargon' and do not appreciate it if you deviate from proceedings by asking questions, seriously.
When asked what kind of jobs I was looking for I said, 'Photography', and despite the fact that I have carried out numerous roles as a photographer, this was only my second 'choice' because it wasn't 'realistic' enough. When I composed myself and said perhaps anything media/creative based instead, I was shot down and told that, 'the Job Centre is only interested in getting you into employment and is not looking at the long-term'. And that is where my issue stands right there, although currently Job Seeker's Allowance is a short-term fix, surely them seeking out short-term unambitious roles for me only leads to me returning to receive Job Seekers Allowance again?
So top of my list in terms of 'what I can do' is now Admin, despite not having a clue about the ins and outs of it and having never carried out an Admin role in my life.

So, congratulations Job Centre Plus, you have managed to thoroughly fill me to the brim is pessimism over any chance I have of gaining employment within my discipline, I look forward receiving payments from you in the future. Also, thank you for telling me I would need a CV this afternoon just so I can be practically shouted at to put it away when I suggest that we take a look at it.
There is a very good post on The Guardian talking about how the Job Centre is failing graduates, in case my style isn't up to scratch.

Despite all the angst held within this post, I have actually got an interview tomorrow. It's for a Fashion and Marketing Internship, it's unpaid, but it's only round the corner, so we'll see how that goes. I hope everything starts going up from here because if I have to go back to the Job Centre I will be sad. I also have high hopes riding on another job; I received a rejection email a couple of days ago but have not heard anything from the same company about a different position I applied for on the same day, so it is looking slightly promising. Sorry for posting such a long rant.

TL;DR: Job Centre Plus is just a terrible place with ridiculous bureaucracy and rude staff.