1. Completive salary: means a low pay 95% of the time.
2. Salary based on experience : Similar to the first point but used to bait you to apply, just to find out later when they call you ..that they're not even willing match your previous job pay.
3. Job with Initial/Temp tags without duration: they've written a detailed job description of what they want from you and job requirements but could take the time to say how long the job is ... probably knowing most people won't apply if they knew the duration.
4. 3 - 6 months: Too large of gap ... the difference between 3 months and 6 months is big.. made even worse when they say "likely to extend"
5. Might go permeant: 90% of the time its not. Another thing they add to try to bait you into taking the job.
6. Pay shown in hourly but no mention working hours: £20 an hour for 35, 37.5 and 40 hours are all different. Please list the amount of hours.
7. Working hours not listed: similar to the last point but this time please list out the working hours, start and end time, how long the break is ... even for jobs with annum salary listed.
8. Hybrid tag but no mention of WFH days: just write it ... saves everyone's time of you calling me just to discuss the role and tell me that it is just one day WFH.
9. Asking for reference before interview stage: just a red flag.
10. Having more that two interview stage: I have yet to find a job that justify more than 2 interviews .. maybe super upper management roles.
11. Pay base on probation: paying a lower wage during the probation with a promise of an increase after a passed probation is a red flag.
12. 8:30 to 18:30: no ... just no
13. Large salary ranges: this is only okay if they explain in the job description what requirements will be needed to get higher salary offers.
14. No Mention of benefits: is even worse when things like comparative salary is listed under benefits.... No ... basic salary and legally entitled holidays aren't benefits.
15. Vague duties: some of job description are written like spy code. Please just list out clearly what the duties are and please keep the jargon to a minimum

I’ve been in my tech job for around 6 years and whilst I have really enjoyed my time here, gotten promotions and made a real positive impact - I am getting some serious vibes that the discussion to fire me or “let me go” is coming around the corner.

I get the impression that some minor faults of mine have been used to build some kind of pretext to justify this. People are speaking to me differently and I am generally pretty perceptive of when things are changing around me.

They can’t let me go immediately because there’s a major client project which requires my attention - and there’s nobody else around to do it or understand the intricacies other than the potential firing manager. I get the impression that once this is done, I’ll be out the door. I haven’t done enough to be sacked for being bad at my job, but they could certainly justify not needing as many people in the building - AI has already seen to a couple of close colleagues within the last 12 months, who were simply told they weren’t needed and paid off.

My case is slightly different because I’d be leaving with lots and lots of knowledge (which they’re trying to extract from my brain by making me create a bunch of SOPs - weirdly enough).

Part of me wants to get ahead of the game and leave on my own terms.

The other part wants to hold off for a potential gardening leave/lieu of notice and take a few months out, without worrying about where the money is going to come from, and spend some time with the family at home over Christmas.

Safe to say I’m applying for other jobs at a rate of 1 or 2 per day so hopeful of that working out.

Anyone else been in this position where you’ve felt something? Did it happen as expected? Or were you just paranoid?

I got a job offer in retail that’s about a 20 minute drive away (I can’t drive), I expected early mornings but it turns out they’re 3.30am starts. There’s no trains that early.

I don’t have anybody that can drive me in, so my options are just Taxi or a hotel nearby for every shift right? Almost doesn’t seem worth it at that point.

19M, this would be my first job

Edit: thanks for the responses! For further context it is a 20 minute drive but 1.5 hr bicycle. I am learning to drive but am still early in my lessons. Got myself a car ready and insured to help me learn so I can’t really afford a moped.
The role is also a seasonal one over the festive period

Unsure if my title is clear but I think we all feel how terrible the job market is at the moment. I'm hoping it'll get better over time...

The company I'm in used to have a great graduate scheme but they've cancelled it this year with no plan to revive it. There's been no junior roles open up for the past 2 years. God it's crazy looking at it but annoyingly the work being churned out hasn't declined... Maybe because everyone here is clutching their jobs and can't job hop anymore that we all have no choice but to make things work.

Maybe there's going to be a shift in what jobs are in demand? I dunno...

I have 3 interviews for different M&S stores for their christmas temp jobs, and I really want to be able to stay on as a permanent worker - one is fashion and beauty which is in the city centre, and the other two are foodhalls which are both like the same distance from me.

I'm obviously going to go to all of the interviews, but if I get offers from more than one I would pick the one that has the most chance of me getting kept on. Does fashion or foodhall tend to have more employees anyone know?

(btw, they have no vacancies besides their christmas ones atm.)

curious to know if anyone has launched their own business as a result of finding employment for themselves?

I recently joined a company and it’s a hot mess operationally. We have to do loads of reports and the reports format and the questions contained in the report are just not fit for purpose.

Since joining I’ve made a number of suggestions which have been implemented and I have received no credit at all. My job is to manage a team and assess their work but the team quite frankly lacks the skill and competency to be able to fill in the reports as they are so the completed reports are always shit.

I’ve been assssing a report this evening and one section had me banging my head against the wall because it is so poorly formatted that I understand why the person completed it did it so poorly… this led me to just reach the conclusion that the entire framework needs to be overhauled.

Now I am not the only person that can see we need a serious redesign. My manager clearly sees this too and I’ve been here a few months and it seems every month there’s a new redesign. However the starting point seems to be how to improve upon the last report not a top down overhaul.

I’ve been brainstorming this and I’ve come up with a completely new framework. It works much better than what we currently have but I am wondering how to present this without my manager going “yes this looks great” then implementing it and not telling anyone where the suggestion came from.

This pattern of them taking credit for my suggestions has been annoying me for a while. I’ve decided to deal with it by not making any new suggestions. But this is actually making my life worse because everything is a pile of crap… we’re really behind on our workload. Everything is inefficient, I’m taking more time to do assessments because I practically have to rewrite my teams work for them. It’s a waste of everybody’s time.

I could possibly go over her head and speak to the director. Say I have some suggestions. Show them what I have so they know where these ideas are coming from. However I’ve noticed that our company kinda operates based on favoritism. Don’t think I’ve been here long enough to become a fave. I think someone at director level doesn’t care about the intricacies of a questionnaire & reports. However if it results in overall improvement they might?

TLDR: how do you present process & framework improvements when the person you report to usually takes credit for your work?

Joined my firm on a grad scheme about 5 years ago with 10 other people. Every single one of them has either been promoted into a senior role or moved on somewhere better. I'm the only one who hasn't moved (neither up, or out). I feel like I am at the same place I started, watching everyone I came in with go past me.

It's making me feel like I'm just bad at my job. Like there's something the rest of them worked out and I didn't.

The other half of my brain kicks in: am I being ungrateful? I get a pay rise every year. A bonus most years. The firm is one of the best in its field. On paper I've got nothing to complain about, and plenty of people would take what I have in a heartbeat. So maybe I should just be grateful and shut up?

But I can't shake the feeling that I should be further along by now, and the proof is just... everyone else. Same start, same time, and they've gone and I haven't.

There are roles upwards - I’m just “not ready” (even though my peers who started with me seem to be - they work in other teams so the workload is different). I've had about 10 interviews trying to get out. No offer yet. Every rejection chips away at it a bit more, and now it's in my head most days. I keep seeing people I'd have said were less experienced than me landing roles and moving up, and it stings more than I'd like to admit.

Not really sure what I'm after by posting this. Maybe just to know if anyone's been here. How do you stop it eating you alive? And how do you tell the difference between "I should be grateful" and "I actually deserve more and I'm right to want it"?

Hi everyone I have finally found my first grad job after job searching for a year. It was horrible and I don't want to be unemployed again. I have been in this job for 6 months and was on track to pass probation.

Unexpectedly last week I was told it will be extended by 3 months. In my company 3 months is considered in exceptional circumstances like sickness. My manager has been useless the whole time. She had one positive interim review with me where she said I will pass if i continue working the same way. I continued working the same way and acted on all the feedback. She kept giving more feedback and I again implemented it all, despite it sometimes seeming excessive/critical or it increasing my workload substantially. I genuinely believed I was going to pass. She was mean often sarcastic, doesn't have any emotional intelligence or empathy, but nevertheless I acted on everything I was told to do.

Then during a regular catch up only 2 weeks before probation end date I was told my people management and operational standards need improvement. I now have to fill out a weekly diary of everything I do. I have to carry out 1:1 with every single person in the team and document it (despite me already knowing the team well as I have been in post for 6 months). And I was given some checklist I am meant to complete daily that I cannot access the document for. I was put on an 8 week plan without any SMART goals, or clear purpose. Just micromanagement and new starter tasks (get to know the team, learn the basics of retail etc). As someone who has been in post for 6 months with basically no support I had to figure everything out on my own in a very chaotic and understaffed shop, I was shocked when I was given an excessive amount of paperwork that I... don't have time to complete because the environment is so chaotic.

My union is challenging this, and I asked HR to clarify whether policy was even followed in this decision. However in the meantime my union rep advised I just fill out the forms. However my question is why was I given all of this paperwork? Wouldn't it demonstrate that I actually do my job and know what I am doing instead of making me seem incompetent?

Obviously I am looking for a new job but I have had little luck.

We need to talk about how organisations sometimes use vertical movement as a substitute for meaningful financial investment.

A new title (Senior, Lead, Principal, Director) can cost an organisation considerably less than a substantial, permanent salary increase.

And when employees start expressing stagnation, disengagement or an intention to look elsewhere, it's worth asking whether the response is genuine investment in their development or simply another promotion cycle.

You get a more impressive title, a broader scope of responsibility and perhaps a modest pay rise. Meanwhile, your contribution increases, but your purchasing power and personal time may not.

That's the strange illusion of career progression: you feel like you're climbing, even when the material benefits of moving up don't quite follow.

Of course, titles can have genuine value. They can open doors, strengthen your CV and create opportunities for future growth. But that doesn't make them a substitute for fair compensation.

At what point does career progression stop being genuine professional development and start becoming compensation theatre?

Have you seen a promotion used as a substitute for paying someone what their role or the market actually demands? I'm curious to hear how this plays out across different industries.

I have reached breaking point in my current job, just perpetually stressed, anxious, feeling like I am failing everyone. I am 0.8WTE working in the NHS but feel like my workload is more than would be achievable in 1.2WTE. I also feel fundamentally quite ill-suited to the job and think trying to stick at it is harming my self-esteem. I work only part time as I have two young children, ages 5 and 2. My wife works also around 30 hours per week and earns significantly more than me.
As I recently became quite unwell with the stress, I saw a GP and am currently off work with a fit note for 2 weeks.
I think a primary cause of stress is feeling like I am becoming a bad dad, constantly irritable and angry, not much fun anymore and also not often around for pick-ups, homework help etc. I have realised I care much more about being there for the kids and ensuring they get the best start in life possible than personal career ambitions.
I would really like to take the next approx year off work to focus on the kids, domestic chores etc, as well as hopefully explore other options for work long term (do some training courses etc). We have enough in savings to allow this and my wife is supportive of it. Only stumbling block is I am quite fearful that when I feel ready to go back to employment it may not be as easy as I think, and a year out of work could put employers off. I think my employment record has been pretty good up to now, 12 years in the NHS across a couple of trusts, progressed through a few different job titles, stayed at least 2 years in each.
I think I will try to request a Career Break for 1 year to give the security of returning to my current job if needed - this is offered at my work, but subject to whether the employer thinks it beneficial. But I guess I am interested to hear others’ perspectives on if I were to just resign and then try to find something in a year, how difficult I am likely to find that?

A sense check would be very welcomed!!

Long term would be amazing to get out of hospo and have a bit more of a life tbh. There’s things I do enjoy about it but don’t see myself going into the management game for progression and would love to just have more of a standard daytime and consistent working pattern. I’m already in the “just take any job” job, but I do need my immediate next move to make sense overall.

Currently working in a 4\*, just over 200 rooms, big leisure resort type place, it’s a mix of leisure guests individual and tour groups (boomer American tour groups feature in my nightmares), business travel, MICE, social events and weddings. My title is Guest Relations/Duty Manager. I get good feedback from management but honestly don’t feel like I’m doing much AT ALL and struggle with my confidence. Feel like I’m the last one to know things and there’s a big “stay in your lane” vibe, not full of opportunities to get very involved. Been here about a year and TBF definitely feel I’ve learned a lot and become more independent in what I’m doing. Enjoy the hotel itself and a lot of the people I work with. This role feels really fixed, I do support other areas somewhat but there’s not much depth to what I’m doing at all. The bar feels like it’s basically on the floor with what’s expected of me and I’ve exhausted what I can even think of to try and get opportunities to learn anything else (with anything I’m even “allowed to” be aware of I’ve surmised that I’m basically expected to mind read and know what I don’t know, in order to directly find anything out beyond my immediate job role of smile and wave, it’s all just oddly gatekeepy and for nothing because it all turns out to be basic AF), or just to try and get anything else to do. Few other reasons I’d want to move on but don’t want to get too close to identifying the place.

Potentially could have the opportunity to move into a 3\*, 30 ish rooms, more of a focus on social events, regular business events, weddings, business travel, locals coming in to the bar/restaurant. A big benefit is it’s a lot closer to home so would significantly cut down my commute. Title would also be DM and still based with the Reception team like my current job is, but a bit of a wider role due to the place being smaller, including an active role in events coordination (they don’t have a dedicated role for this so it comes to the management and reception team - in my current place this is very self contained). Also discussed more possibilities of getting involved in more of like operations management side of the business. Much smaller team and seemingly less of a bureaucracy in terms of ownership than my current place so can see me being much more actively involved and feel like my contributions could be a bit more clearly demonstrable. I have a 2nd interview coming up for this so also appreciate any suggestions for what to discuss to make sure this is the right move.

Aside from the benefits of a shorter commute I would be hopeful that the broader and more chance to learn operational aspects could lead into either more opportunity to develop in the hotel itself or be a bit more translatable in looking to move outside of hospitality. Thoughts on this very welcome…

So mine is a medium sized company with around 300 employees and out of blue they decided to make 15 positions redundant last month from a redundancy pool of 20 people as part of cost cutting. Fortunately or unfortunately, I was in the 20, but somehow managed to not get fired this time. The team I was working with for the last 2 years, they sidelined it saying there wont be more funding to that initiative and 8 out of 10 got fired from my team alone. Me and another person, we were technical people (data) somehow managed to keep our heads this time.

But after relief, came another round of uncertainty and anxiety. The company is going through restructuring at the moment (related to the positions made vacant) and I literally had no work since last 2 weeks. My manager is away on vacation for the next 2 weeks, so I wont be able to get any direction/help from him. At the moment, I am making myself useful by picking up some random work. I dont feel going and asking around for help from anyone else in the company as I am not sure how it will get perceived after the recent redundancy fiasco.

This is the first time in my life I have gone through something like this. So I am little curious/anxious on what happens next in most cases - will there be another round of redundancies soon? will I be the first to go as I was already included in the redundancy pool once? What will you do if you were in my situation? Wait for my manager to be back from vacation or already start looking for other jobs?

Please be kind in the comments, already going through a very stressful phase. :)

genuinely what is it with customers who think it’s okay to touch me? I work in boots so I deal with customers every second, and it’s mainly the older women who touch me and I try to play it off as they’re older, but I don’t even let my family really touch me as idk it just makes me uncomfortable. literally even had some 40 year old man touch me cause I helped him likeee.

Hi, my job contract ends on 30th oct.

I have managed to secure a new job but that starts on 23rd Nov.

Can I apply for JSA for the 3 weeks I dont have a job?

Does anyone else have colleagues who just don’t listen to you and think they know best, even thought they’re wrong? It’s driving me nuts.

If you’re paying minimum wage you’re going to get minimum skill. You’re literally paying for the lowest level of ability. You cannot expect someone to have previous experience, these jobs are literally meant for people just entering the workforce and some people who are happy in the jobs and have no desire to “climb the ladder” and don’t upskill which I completely understand. Some jobs have you fill out a questionnaire and do scenario based assessments on the application, and then at interview they ask a series of scenario based questions “tell us about a time….” These people have nothing to tell you because they probably have no previous work experience. The interview questions should simply be are you willing to learn what days can you work and when can you start. I understand you need people to be able to do the job so a few questions relevant to the role are fine, but for example if you’re applying for a warehouse job and they’re asking questions about a time you’ve worked in a team or a time you’ve shown leadership skills these questions are simply irrelevant. The interview for a minimum wage job should include at most be a basic literacy and numeracy test and a FEW job specific questions, most jobs you just have to learn… on the job.

I understand employers want the best candidate of course they do, but people are being hired after all of these tests and still can’t do the job, I just think the interview should be in person with a practical element, actually trying the job, and this will tell you more than asking 30 questions which someone can just lie about on their computer.

I’ve been offered a job and asked to supply two references. I’m not due to start until December and I don’t want to let the cat of the bag too early.

The reference document asks for the contact details for my current/last employer, it doesn’t specify that it should be HR. My two previous mangers have been made redundant. Technically one’s still on the books as they’re on garden leave. However I’d need to provide their personal email addresses, which won’t include the company name. Would this still be acceptable?

Hi everyone, I am 34 and I live in the east midlands, its been a rough ride this year and I've realised after taking redundancy for a large telecoms company that the job market is very tough rn and there arent many entry level roles going to get a foot into a new industry.

I say this because after 10 years of service as a customer service broadband engineer with over a decades experience in copper and fibre tech I am lacking in recognised qualifications and certs. I do not have a degree, only training NRSWA, SA001, 002, 008. I managed to land a self employed role as a fibre installation engineer but it's a real graft for not great money and I really fancy moving away from telecoms and braving the outdoors and the varying weather all year round.

Whilst I remain optimistic about finding a new job thats permanent and pays decently I feel quite lost and under great pressure to keep working a temp job I'm not enjoying, to invest in myself and obtain some new skills and qualifications but in what industry? Sales, class 1 driver, data center tech, where is hiring right now where I can use my skills and experience or start anew and develop new skills for a new career?

I am open to new possibilities!

I have savings left from the redundancy I can use for a course or training.

Thank you

There's literally been zero jobs for over a week. Zéro jobs of any sort. What's going on?

I have been offered a new job but currently work on a long term agency contract at a school I like. I don't have a noticeperiod for agency work - I can leave at any time. However, since I like the school and would like to return on odd days where I can, I want to be courteous and give a heads up.

However, I'm worried giving too much notice could mean the agency or school want to remove me much earlier to get someone new in to fill my role for "consistency" purposes.

What should I do?

This condition doesn’t affect my life whatsoever as it’s well-managed through a sort of treatment I do (just something I can do at home). But technically the law says to disregard effects of the treatment when considering the condition, so this does count as a disability.

I just wanted to know if putting this down actually does increase my chances of getting an interview or does it actually hamper my chances as it might be seen as an invisible cross on my application?