Read our top tips on employment and jobseeking

Chris_Scope

We're currently revamping our tips pages to make sure we're bringing you relevant and high quality information drawn directly from the collective intellect and experiences of the online community. And so we're pleased to say that we've just published the latest one of these, tackling the issue of Employment and Jobseeking. We hope you find it useful and if do share it if you know someone you feel would benefit from these tips.

Read our tips on Employment and Jobseeking.

salwil89

@Chris_Scope Thank you will take a look

iza

Hi @Chris_Scope, thank you  for posting the link. I just visit briefly look at the information and took few notes for myself. But there is one things  I cannot agree too. From my perspective the  Disability Advice Workers in Job Centre Plus are useless. They do not perform their  job  their are paid for well enough. Sorry, for saying that but they disrespects people, do not understand medical conditions people suffer from. What they do is only  thick boxes into their softwares in the  computer, they do not communicate well enough with work coaches. I wonder why they are really there for? I guess only to make a good impression that the Job Centre Plus fulfil the guides of UK law. This is my personal opinion.

iza

Hi all again, I went  briefly through  most of recommended guides for disable people looking for employment  and noticed that Future Ambitions Project is for people ages 16-25. From time to time I follow post and  news for disable people and everywhere there are project for people up to 25 years old.
What about the disadvantage 25 +? Does any of governmental organisation is  not thinking  about mature people ?
So far I did not come across projects for 25+. 
Does any one had the  idea why?
Please advise  to post, write  what you think or what is your experience in life? 

Thanks for reading. 

Have a great day. 

Iza

salwil89

Hello @iza - I think the biggest frustration for a disabled person is that people do not understand what it is like to be disabled.  The endless feeling of frustration at not being able to do things in the usual way has a knock-on effect with other people. I did volunteer last year and it did not last very long but whilst I did, I experienced an element of colleagues not fully comprehending what the implications are of being disabled and at times found their expectations of me totally unrealistic.  I  think it is very important that enabled people are educated more about disabled people in terms of knowing how to handle them psychologically, mentally and emotionally  and perhaps then there would not be as much discrimination towards disabled people.  

APOV

Thanks for putting this together, Chris. Employment for disabled people is a huge issue. Years of policy have created a dependency culture around disablity instead of an enabling one and that is tragic. Helping people in to work - "a hand not a handout" - is an important mindset shift for many potential employers. The terror of whether one should "tick the box" on application forms - self identifying as disabled is also an issue. Do you consign your application to the bin when you tick the box? Will you ever know that's what happened?

You item number "5" presents a conundrum:  Only 7.8% of Scope's staff are disabled. I would be interested to know how many of the policy and administrative staff at Scope are disabled? Does Scope really interview suitably qualified candidates? From reported experience I would say "no". I don't think they do. A case in point: A disabled candidate for a job in policy asked for feedback as to why they had not been offered an interview. This was a young man with spastic diplegia who had overcome great obstacles to graduate from Oxford University, win prizes at Oxford, find employment with an MP. With this background he  applied for the entry level policy research job at Scope. He was not asked to interview. He decided he would ask for feedback - "How had they determined he was not suitably qualified?" The feedback the young man received was a cut and paste of the job's advertisement - with no other illuminating commentary. From the criteria in the advertisement he appeared eminently qualified. There was no interview. No feedback. Disgraceful treatment of a disabled candidate by a charity which is meant to be advancing the interests of disabled people. It would be hard to feel comfortable giving money to an organisation that behaves with this level of apparent hypocrisy. 

The chance to work is something to cherish. The right to work is something to fight for.  Your tips and suggestions are important and useful. Scope needs to take a good look at itself. 7.8%. Not good enough. If you promise to interview suitably qualified candidates you need to walk it like you talk it.

iza

Hi All, I can see @Chris brought strong discussion topic on the board. 
It is nice to hear different opinion. 

Have a good evening everyone. 

Iza 

salwil89

I agree with the comment by APOV that organisations and companies but not only talk the talk, but also walk the talk ......

bendigedig

I didnt even know I had a life long disability (Aspergers Syndrome) until a few years back. After being a complainant about a corrupt Housing Association I was assaulted by a senior member of the Housing Association Staff. He and his colleague turned false wittness against me, called the police and had me arrested! I found myself in a situation that had been constructed for me. The police were complicit as were other local organisations. The duty solicitor even said to me in a very unpleasant and intimidating manner "isnt it time you moved away on from here"! Myself and my wife had worked here in the infrastructure for years and had not encountered any problems until I opened a complaint with our Housing Association! A complaint, that had it been investigated would have caused embarrassment and significant financial problems for them. The complaint was made to not only try and sort out the problems that they had caused for us but also for the other hundreds of householders on our new estate. The little I have said here in no way fully describes the injustices we have experienced at thier hands. I had been employed as a supply teacher by my local authority and had been employed in that capacity for years. As soon as I complained to the Housing Association about the build of the new house we had bought from them as part of a shared equity scheme my work was taken away. It turned out that the guy who runs the housing association (a multi million pound business disguissed as a charity) was a depute Lord Lieutenant. Meaning that he has ties to the crown and he just so happens to have influence with our local authority. He even got Princess Anne to come and open his new housing estate. She even personally supported the defective (supposedly green) heating systems placed there in. I went to every government and non government organisation under the sun trying to get justice on the matter of our house and them taking my work off me and trying to criminalise me. I even wrote to princess Anne and The Queen at St. jamess palace/buckingham palace. It seemed that the man who runs our local housing association could do WHATEVER he liked, even if it meant breaking the law! I went to the local freemasons to express my concern with what this guy and his cronies were doing to me and my family. I got no suitable response from them. Hilarious as I know for a fact that Freemasons were involved in what had happened. Laughable! A bunch of "men" who supposedly value brotherly love truth and relief above all other things were happy to seethier membership embroiled corruption and criminality! I wouldnt go to our local CAB if you paid me. At the time I was assaulted and had my work snatched off me the CAB directorship here contained ; my Assailant, The Head Teacher complicit with the ending of my work and a Provincial Freemason Who I know was feeding information on me to the two aforementioned conspiritors. I have no hope of getting work any more I think.... My Teaching Registration has lapsed due to absence from service. I have been black balled by the freemasons and I also now have an Aspergers diagnosis. Not satisfied with crippling me alone they have also now destryed my wifes Teaching carreer and they have attempted to affect my sons primary schooling which they have made a very good job of. Do I think the Establishment of the UK is CORRUPT? Er, yes I do. I have direct evidence to support my statement. Would I care to trust the establishment in the UK to police and govern itself? Er, NO! All the UKs infrastructure is riddled with establishment yes men and apologists many of whom are freemasons (thier are female freemasons too, dont assume its closed to women because it isnt). Most Freemasons are good people. Unfortunately one of the teachings of Freemasonry is obedience. Sadly like the Nazis some people just dont know when to dissobey an order or they fail to understand howfar an oath should actually affect thier own moral compass! I am here to honestly discuss what I have experienced and all that I know about Establishment corruption in the UK. I know that my experiences are pertinent and aredirectly relavent to the cause of dissability rights. I will probably never work again. Why, because it suits them that I remain unemployed and without a voice. I am a marginalised individual that the local gossip machine has branded as an odd ball etc. In truth, I am a whistleblower who has been punnished by some establishment cronies who were in fear of being exposed as criminals. Sadly, it is they that "hold the conch", I am never likely to be heard on this matter or to get the justice that we deserve. Inapropriately appointed Jobcentre Disability advisors are the leadt of our concerns! Employment. Lol. Has anybody got any employment advice? Our lives have been ruined. If anybody wants to engage with me on the issues I have raised please do so. Please do not remove this post! If people complain, they are likely to be freemasons. Just tell them to talk to me about the matter, in open forum if they wish?

bendigedig

Ive looked at the employment advice.  There is as much there as is available to be fair.  I spent a while filling in an online CV for disability jobs (?) only to find that somthing went wrong because I was using my Ipad. Not until I'd reached the end of the process though.

I thought then that Id spend a bit of time finding out if id been a victim of dissability discrimination. I rang up the people suggested and they were a bit "computer says no". It seems that Id simply been a victim of discrimination?  But not disability discrimination as I didnt recieve a diagnosis until after my work was taken away?  If that makes sense to you than your a better man than me.  Either way, they couldnt tell me if there was any point pursuing a grievance with my former employer.  So that was useful.......... Er not.

I then rang up the careers advice service only to be told that they dont really give careers advice. (Hmmmm). Not to be put off, I rang a more regional organisation that they suggested.  They said they would call me back tommorrow at 2pm.

All in all, I tried the organisations suggested and it seems that Im still on the starting blocks.

Who knows though!  2pm tomorrow could be the beggining of the rest of my families life!  Im not holding my breath.

On a brighter note, it would seem that there are lots of teaching supply agencies that are desperate to get hold of people who can teach. After all Ive experienced though, i dont know if I want to teach anymore?  Whats the point in being a cog in an establishment machine that churns out lies to everybody on a daily basis? Im not sure Im up for that any more.  Not unless I'mworking for the right people.

Ive yet to speak to REMPLOY but im afraid though that they might be a bit too local to us.  Im not keen on local because the establishment is as bent as a three pound note here where we live.

davidstep

hi, I am 59 years old, registered disabled, unemployed for two years, but really keen to work. I have been applying online for many different jobs in an admin /customer service environment, but although I have had some interviews, am constantly fed up by the lack of response to my applications. I have 4 o grades and 5 elements of the ecdl certificate as well as other qualifications as well as 21 years experience as (relief) receptionist / proofreader/ reader to a transcriber (with the Scottish Braille Press). I aqlso have 7 years experience as a porter with Asda. my disability comes from my being born with External Hydrocephalus, Asthma and Arthritis in my left hip and left shoulder. can you give me some advice

telscope

Hi David, I am 52 & have Epilepsy. I haven't been able to find work since being made redundant in 2002 from Rolls-Royce. I tried for similar roles, I had with Rolls, at the MoD, Airbus & BAe Systems, without success, getting told I was too experienced. I have had temporary jobs, getting told they were going to be 3/6-month contracts & only lasting no more than a week. I gave up with employment agencies. I believe companies were just making up reasons not to employ me to get around taking my Epilepsy as a reason.