keeping it all in order..keeping track

In previous postings I have quite often mentioned that one of the most important things to help you end up with a successful job search is to stay organised..the reason I stress this is because there are just so many issues when you are unemployed which can hinder the job search, and make you not be in the best place mentally for job hunting. Money issues are one of the very worst because of the effects like possibly losing your home, naturally if you are trying to save your home from being repossessed or trying to prevent yourself being evicted, you won't be filling in job applications...It is also very important to make time for family and friends, and remember that my blog is going to explore quite a lot of links to ideas for doing things with family and friends, which do not cost a lot of money, or are even free.

 The problem is that it is an acknowledged fact that job seeking is a job in itself, and it can become so easy to be so swamped with CV's...chronological ones. skills based ones, a different CV for different jobs, covering letters and applications, while maybe also trying to deal with the endless requests for information and forms to be filled in from the DWP if you are claiming benefits, and perhaps trying to negotiate restructuring of payments and things like standing orders if your normal budget has been badly affected by being unemployed.,,,all of these things will have deadlines to fill in forms and supply information.

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The idea behind my blog was to create a sort of Holistic approach to the issue of being unemployed when over 50 and it is far from easy to get a job..the reason for this was because, especially if you are having to sign on for Job seekers allowance at the jobcentre, the entire focus is on fulfilling the legal requirement of your entitlement to benefit...IE that you look for work, but there are so many issues which can and will affect whether or not you are in a good state to look for and start a new job. Debts can have a serious effect on your health, not being well enough to go and sign on means that you lose your money..if you are sick it is now more sensible to assume that you will not get sickness related benefits from the state and will still be deemed fit for work, even if your GP is issuing medical certificates. The problem is that since the Coalition came to power in 2010 and Incapacity benefit was replaced by the new benefit ESA. Employment and Support allowance, in most cases even if your GP does state on your fit note ( what used to be a sick note) that you are not fit for work, you will not get ESA, or will at best be in the work related activity group and will have to look for a job. You might well have limitations on the type of work that you can do , buildings that you can physically access and this will limit your job search, most out of work benefits now have some sort of attendance at a work programme as part of the qualifying conditions.: meanwhile, bills have to be paid...

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While taking a sort of holistic approach to all of the many different issues which arise in the life of someone job hunting when they are older, so many different issues can arise that it is so important to to keep track because it is so easy to get deluged with information and resources to try out...there are 101 ways at least to write a a  CV !!...I have decided today that my blog needed a new page and so now there is a Links page where a list can be found of the sources of information and sites used in the blog ...with details picked out of what I have been most impressed with and found most helpful...and perhaps best of all....if the advice has actually worked for me and owning up to whether or not I have even tried it !!

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 "Out of clutter, find Simplicity. From discord, find Harmony. In the middle of difficulty lies opportunity."
-- Albert Einstein, scientist

  photo credit: Grzegorz Łobiński via photo pin cc

In future blog posts I will be trying out some To do lists from simple pen and paper to online ones and giving some feedback..a wet and cold weekend is a great opportunity to start to get organized....


Valerie