Quick update

[avevale_intelligencer]

Yesterday I took Jan to the eye hospital in Bristol for a checkup. Her sight's improved, but there's a problem which will need looking at again in three weeks.

Today I go to the Jobcentre, to get some advice on getting back into work despite my condition. Money's too tight not to. How we'll manage I don't know, but since we're not managing now, I think I'm going to have to try.

In ten days time I go to the doctor to see if anything can be done about ameliorating said condition, since the time-honoured "get well or else" approach isn't working, and in fact seems to be making it worse.

In the meantime, we go on.

Comments

[pickledginger.livejournal.com]

Best wishes.

[the-magician.livejournal.com]

Hugs and best wishes.

[janewilliams20.livejournal.com]

"sight's improved" sounds good!

Jobcentres often like the idea that you're trying to get back into work, even if both you and they know your chances of actually doing so are low. It keeps them from doing silly things like cutting how much money you get.

Remind me what your CV looks like, and what sort of limitations you're under? I'd guess something working from home would be ideal?

[zanda-myrande.livejournal.com]

Five Os, three As (just), failed BA in German and Latin. Two years unemployed, five years in a mail order bookshop, seven and a bit years at Titan Distributors (specialist sf&comix wholesaler), ditto at Mole Valley farmers (retail co-op), ditto at the Benefits Agency/Pensions Service, six years unemployed and sick. It's not promising.

Something working from home would be ideal, but there won't be anything like that, I expect. That kind of job is for real people with marketable skills and a proven track record and so on. Still, we'll see.

[janewilliams20.livejournal.com]

At your age, those qualifications are almost irrelevant, it's experience that matters. You've said who you were working for - what were you doing? That matters much more than who was paying you.
Sounds like getting the Job Centre to help you write a CV would be good.

[zanda-myrande.livejournal.com]

http://nyrond.altrion.org/cv.htm needs updating, but I think it's fairly proper....

[janewilliams20.livejournal.com]

A professional CV writer will improve it, but yes, that's the basics. From the look of that, data entry, or translation from French/German into English (but not vice versa) are the obvious openings. Shame the languages aren't a bit more exotic, there's no rare skills there (well, apart from the ability to write correct English, which is sadly much rarer than one might hope).
I'll start taking note of the "work from home" spam that might be relevant, and passing it on.
One area where "old and past it" (i.e. over 40) is a bonus, surprisingly enough, is part-time supermarket staff. They tend to prefer reliability and a work ethic to younger people with a tendency to leave when they spot the next butterfly.

[pbristow.livejournal.com]

Echoing what Jane said: Under each employer name and job title (if you had a job title), list two or three specific things that you were expected to do. Try to highlight the ones you'd be happy/comfortable doing again, and/or talking about in more detail at an interview.

Avoid mentioning the activities you wouldn't be seen dead doing again (Unless it's something you talk about with a sense of humour, e.g. "Well, I worked darn hard at that for six weeks and we got the job done, but you won't catch me doing it again!". This shows you in a good light as someone who'll do what's necessary despite not enjoying it, but also not a doormat or dogsbody.)

[janewilliams20.livejournal.com]

Also, that's the basics of a "generic" CV, but you'll need to tune one for each job application. What I did was set up a CV document that had LOTS more than I'd ever send out, each paragraph nicely written in itself, and I'd pick and choose the right parts for each application. Want to emphasize a certain skill? Pick those parts from each job, order them to call attention to the good bits. Think of "stories": "once upon a time there was this problem, and due to my brilliance/attention to detail/hard work/expert knowledge I solved it, thereby saving the company ten million squid/from a legal case."
That gives the interviewer something to expand on when they're talking to you, so make sure you do remember more detail than you've written down.
You're a good writer. Make the most of that when crafting each CV.

(Back when I was made redundant, I threw part of the lump sum at some rather expensive training on how to job-hunt. It was well worth it, and I see no reason why others shouldn't benefit.)

[legoline.livejournal.com]

*sends hugs*

[lexin.livejournal.com]

Hugs to you and Jan.

[the-changeling.livejournal.com]

*hugs* All I've got, but I have a lot of them, and they're free. No paperwork either! :-)

[donnacat60.livejournal.com]

Don't forget the Caring!! That is something you need to include in your CV.

Lots of Hugs, and great to hear the sight is improved for Jan.

[pbristow.livejournal.com]

Indeed! Caring for a loved one is a legitimate and responsible time-consuming activity, and should not manifest in your CV as a mere gap. (Of course, you'll still get some twits who will read it as "doing nothing", but at least any non-twits will see what you've been doing with your time and respect it.)

[janewilliams20.livejournal.com]

Yes, very good point! You haven't had "six years unemployed" at all, that was six years as a carer.
My own CV, as seen on LinkedIn, has no unemployment gap. That five months gets referred to as "freelancing", with a description of "Taking a break, updating skills, and reassessing where I want my career to go next."
and "2 visible recommendations for this position" because I really did get some "work" done, even if the employers were family members and payment was in coffee.

Carer and professional author and musician, isn't it, for you? You do charge for your books, and your CDs?

[pbristow.livejournal.com]

Good to hear something's improved for Jan, even if with a caveat.

I'd say "good luck at the Job Centre", but given the time I should probably instead be asking "how did it go?"

Do you know what it is you want to say to the Doctor? I find that quite often half the things I go in intending to mention get pushed out of my head by whatever conversation develops about the first thing I bring up, so it can be handy just down a little "shopping list" of questions, concerns & suspected symptoms. Either sort it in priority order or number them, or something, so that you can start with the biggest and work down them until your 15 minutes are up. (Usually, by the time you get more than halfway the Doctor is nodding as if to say "yep, that's consistent with what we've already discussed", but just occasionally something you would have forgotten to mention gets them thinking again.)

As for the last line, I'm with Churchill: Keep On Buggering On. =:o\ [HUGS]

[dickgloucester.livejournal.com]

Good luck with both job and doctor. *hugs*

[valydiarosada.livejournal.com]

*Hugs*

[zanda-myrande.livejournal.com]

Incidentally, I invited you to the cosmic_trifle community...