Unemployment

[David Johnson]

You are probably doing this already, but as a self employed person I always tried to work out what the company were looking for and then "massage" my CV accordingly, by playing down or omitting the bits which I reckoned would put them off and highlighting the bits that they wanted. Obviously if an employer goes into your CV to the nth degree this could be high risk, but on the other hand...

Not always easy to do if you have no access to the employer/HR company but it might be worthwhile trying to put a phone call into prospective employers on the grounds that you don't want to waste their time so could you please give me a run down of the job requirements etc etc.

[Gentleman]

Obviously he just wanted to live the life of reily on the dole, after all the government wouldn't lie to get morons to vote for them would they?

In all seriousness I wish him all the best.

[thealtruist]

I worked at Blockbuster but was an unfortunate victim of the closures.

[sparky]

' thealtruist ',

I too suspect they will choose someone who

a.
is just 18 so they can pay them less for almost 3 years

and

b.
they consider has very limited prospects so is highly to stay for some time

I feel for you. Job hunting is difficult and demoralising particularly when you ' tick all the boxes '.
Again as already posted being overqualified / experienced certainly can count
against you and at times it can be advantageous to be ' economical with the facts '. Withholding information is not lying.

[Gentleman]

I know its easier said than done but try to keep your chin up.

[Arginald Valleywater]

Odd as my local Lidl is almost fully staffed by young people from the local halls of residence. They are most polite and helpful.

[David Johnson]

As I have pointed out if they are under 21 a lower minimum wage applies so that could well be the reason why students are being employed.

[thecocker]

Depending on age / experience, etc. they may also see you as a 'threat'. You are obviously your own person and can think for yourself. They probably want people who they can tell what to do and won't question it. Tell a young kid to do something (make the tea, run errands, etc) and they will do it. Tell someone who is more mature and has experience behind them, and they're going to tell them where to get off. I know, I've had this myself.

When i was 36 I applied for a job in NEXT. I was told I didn't have enough experience. Excuse me!!! You go in there and it's staffed by kids. I was working in shops / bars before these kids were even born.

Good luck, Mate, and as one of the guys here already said, keep your chin up.

[Dave Wells]

I got advised by someone who knows that the real figure of people without work is about 7 million so double Thatcher's all time high of 3.6 million.

[thealtruist]

I had to laugh. I was turned down for a job on the grounds that I couldn't prove that I was legally entitled to work in this country! (I can). And who turned me down? Several Polish people working for a British company.