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Tamaya
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25 Sep 2025, 11:45 pm

If I only had about 7 or 8 years of working left until I was safely guaranteed a pension and could retire, then I'd stick it out, no matter how miserable I was.

But when you're only 35 and you have another 30 years to go, plus not even being guaranteed a pension at all anyway, then it makes me feel more anxious and resentful of going to work.

I think everyone with a diagnosis should be allowed to retire at 60 if they want. I hate the government.


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26 Sep 2025, 8:35 am

Lost_dragon wrote:
babybird wrote:
They used to call The Jobcentre "The Joke Shop" in my day

I wonder how your interviews went Lost_dragon


I respect joke shops a great deal more.

-

The first interview was a group interview. I never particularly like group interviews because they always feel a bit like a dystopian game show. I was rejected via email on the same day.

Then there was the second interview. A fair bit of travelling was involved for this one. However, I really liked the place. The interviewers were lovely and the office was so neat and organised. I'd mentioned the fact that I'm looking to relocate there on my CV, but I wish I'd gone into more detail on that in my interview as it was probably a concern for them. So far, I haven't heard back yet.

As for my third interview, things were a bit chaotic. I showed up ten minutes early and introduced myself only to discover there were other candidates waiting in the room. Turns out we'd been scheduled roughly around the same time. We asked the lady at the front of the shop if this was a group interview, however she told us that she didn't even know the company was hiring.

I felt a little overdressed as the others were in very casual clothes and I went for smart casual. The interviewers rocked up wearing clothes that were even more casual than the others. Instead of calling us into another room, they interviewed the three of us separately in the same room so I could hear the other interviews as I was answering mine. I found that distracting. Then my interviewer told me that he has fifteen other people to interview and the successful candidates will need to do an unpaid trial shift in another city but that they will pay for the travel expenses.

Which is daft because the job was to sell ice cream. Why would I need to travel to somewhere else to work for free to prove I can sell ice cream? Taking the absolute Mickey.



Oh mate, what a lot of faff

Keep going kiddo


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babybird
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26 Sep 2025, 9:22 am

I'd love to sell ice-cream me
But I wouldn't do it for free. I think that's a bit of a liberty to be fair to you Lost-dragon


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Lost_dragon
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29 Sep 2025, 12:44 pm

babybird wrote:
I'd love to sell ice-cream me
But I wouldn't do it for free. I think that's a bit of a liberty to be fair to you Lost-dragon


It annoys me that it's become very common to receive silence when you're unsuccessful after an interview. Unfortunately, sometimes it even happens after unpaid trials as well. That's why I'm hesitant to do them.

I know the advice I get is that you can't get attached to the prospect of a job. You spend your time writing a cover letter, altering your CV, doing assessments, personality tests and so on then you finally get to the interview...only to hear nothing.

Granted, I know that companies interview a lot of people. I know that they're flooded with CVs from just about everywhere. I wouldn't expect a custom response.

Still, even those email templates where they forget to switch out the placeholder text with your name and just have INSERT APPLICANT NAME HERE are better than silence. I get it though, they don't want candidates potentially challenging a rejection, so they just keep quiet.

I just want a job. :(


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Montaigne
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01 Oct 2025, 3:29 am

Lost_dragon wrote:
babybird wrote:
They used to call The Jobcentre "The Joke Shop" in my day

I wonder how your interviews went Lost_dragon


I respect joke shops a great deal more.

-

The first interview was a group interview. I never particularly like group interviews because they always feel a bit like a dystopian game show. I was rejected via email on the same day.

Then there was the second interview. A fair bit of travelling was involved for this one. However, I really liked the place. The interviewers were lovely and the office was so neat and organised. I'd mentioned the fact that I'm looking to relocate there on my CV, but I wish I'd gone into more detail on that in my interview as it was probably a concern for them. So far, I haven't heard back yet.

As for my third interview, things were a bit chaotic. I showed up ten minutes early and introduced myself only to discover there were other candidates waiting in the room. Turns out we'd been scheduled roughly around the same time. We asked the lady at the front of the shop if this was a group interview, however she told us that she didn't even know the company was hiring.

I felt a little overdressed as the others were in very casual clothes and I went for smart casual. The interviewers rocked up wearing clothes that were even more casual than the others. Instead of calling us into another room, they interviewed the three of us separately in the same room so I could hear the other interviews as I was answering mine. I found that distracting. Then my interviewer told me that he has fifteen other people to interview and the successful candidates will need to do an unpaid trial shift in another city but that they will pay for the travel expenses.

Which is daft because the job was to sell ice cream. Why would I need to travel to somewhere else to work for free to prove I can sell ice cream? Taking the absolute Mickey.



Group interviews I don't do. I work in sales and group interviews don't play to autistic strengths. I'm actually very good at sales but you put me in a room with a bunch of extrovert alpha males or females with something to prove, I'll retreat and watch what they do. This type of interview process doesn't actually do what people think it does. It just follows a very narrow band of what is deemed capable in a person.

Good luck re: the second job. If you don't hear anything back after a certain amount of time, give them a call and ask e.g. "Hi, my name is [whatever your name is]. I had a interview with so and so last week. I was just wondering if you had made a decision yet?"

That way you're not hanging on, if they're still deciding it shows you're proactive and if you weren't successful you can ask for feedback to improve for the next interview. They may not provide it or say they will and not get around to it, but I find that this is normal.

The third interview is just an example of terrible management practices. Take that experience as a useful message not to work for such a company. If that's how they treat the interview process consider how badly they must run their company!



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01 Oct 2025, 1:48 pm

^ I sent the second lot a follow up email today. I'll leave that a couple of days and see if they respond before I phone. I'm always hesitant to ring places because I've had some very rude responses before from companies that wanted me to take the hint. I'm not really sure what the common practice even is these days. Not that I think the second place would be rude to me.

Anyway, I have another interview next week now. So, even if I don't get through to the second place, at least I have the next company / interview lined up.

Keep calm and carry on and all that jazz. :P


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Tamaya
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01 Nov 2025, 6:48 am

I really don't feel like going to work later. It's just so repetitive and uncreative. I just want to be a writer and spend my life at home writing books, but it's not that simple to get into. I feel I don't really have the mindset for employment. I just want to be my own boss. My mother was the same. She was not lazy at all, but she really did not want to work. She preferred being the family "assistant" or "gofer"; running errands for us and tending to her mother who had Alzheimer's. But you don't get paid for that kind of work, and if you do then you'll most likely be under more pressure and expected to do more than humanly possible, which just causes stress rather than enjoyment.


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07 Nov 2025, 11:42 am

McDonald's faces new crackdown on sexual abuse

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cpwv01r2wj5o


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babybird
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08 Nov 2025, 9:23 am

Its no wonder young people go on long term sickness if this is their first experience of the work place


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Lost_dragon
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08 Nov 2025, 12:06 pm

It feels very bittersweet to have a job with such a short contract. Not long after I welcome the new year in, I'll be back to being unemployed.

Unfortunately, due to the hours being under sixteen, I still have to attend appointments with the job centre. I know all their feedback is just going to be to get overtime but I can only get overtime if it's an option. I can't force the company to give me more hours.

I wish I could find something permanent but it's harder than you'd think.


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babybird
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08 Nov 2025, 1:20 pm

Is this temporary job a new development Lost_dragon


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Lost_dragon
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08 Nov 2025, 7:48 pm

babybird wrote:
Is this temporary job a new development Lost_dragon


Relatively new, yes. I start next week.


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babybird
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09 Nov 2025, 3:35 am

Oh well all the best with that then


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Lost_dragon
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09 Nov 2025, 2:25 pm

babybird wrote:
Oh well all the best with that then


Thank you.


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shortfatbalduglyman
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10 Nov 2025, 11:02 am

If it's just licking envelopes, you could use a sponge

Besides plenty of worse jobs

And nowadays I would just be grateful to have a job in the first place



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11 Nov 2025, 2:46 pm

I sometimes sit and giggle to myself about some of the characters I've worked with over the years


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