Dole woes.

I signed on in April. It was far less painful than I had envisaged and much improved from my last 'first interview' a year ago.   Credit to DWP for improving that part of the process (yes, I really did write this).

I am very pleased to have my last personal advisor as my personal advisor this time.  I think the rest of the staff there were sick of me complaining about them and as he was the one who treated me like a human being I got on with him.
The interview was far more pleasant and my job search was discussed with me in more detail and in a far more interactive way.  Another change is the way search history is captured.  Previously applicants had to record it on paper and take it in once a fortnight.  I kept mine on an Excel spreadsheet, and was allowed to print that out and take it in, but I felt it was rarely read.  The system was open to abuse with applicants literally putting down mickey mouse job searches.  I did once hear a dole officer admonish a claimant who had put down a contact with a company that had gone out of business a year before, but JobCentre staff didn't have the time or the resources to really check claimants were seeking work.

The online capture of job-searches, via DWP 'Universal Jobmatch' site is designed to alleviate this problem and to provide claimants with potential matches.  In all honesty it would be more accurate to state that the website should have been designed to do that, but it has not been designed well, is not user-friendly and potential matches are very frequently only a match in that they may refer to a vacancy and I am seeking a job.  In terms of career level, skills and geography, many of my 'matches' are out of the question - they want an apprentice, they want a senior manager or they want someone just like me .... but 400 miles away, I suspect that is where the 'universal' part of the jobsearch comes in.  The filters don't seem to be very sensitive.  Application history only applies to jobs I have applied for via DWP's website.  Other jobs I apply for have to be captured in the section marked 'activity history'.  I am tasked with using this website five times a week, i.e. every week day.  Because it isn't that useful, it quite often means I log on, check a few unsuitable choices to avoid having an 'alert' sent to me, add a couple of lines about my real job search and log off.

I therefore now have two job searches, my own proper job search and the pretend one to show I have ticked all the boxes.  They two bear little resemblance.  This being the case, it suggests that ticking DWP boxes is not the best way to carry out a job search, it is just the best way to keep being eligible for benefits.  DWP targets do not seem related to getting people back into work, just to cutting the benefits budget.  I telephoned DWP and asked them about job clubs in my area.  The person on the other end of the phone was very excited that someone wanted to know about them, but although the number I called was listed as the job club number on DWP's website for job clubs in the south-east, there was nobody present who could help me.  The clerk took my number and told me the local coordinator would 'be in touch'.  A month went by and nobody returned my call.  I don't think job clubs cost DWP anything.  They are set up mainly by individuals, charities or groups of individuals,  but registered with DWP to provide potential attendees with information.  A resource for jobseekers which may be useful, sociable and lead to a job and probably doesn't cost the taxpayer anything - and DWP can't be arsed to keep a list or return a call.

Maybe I can apply to be their 'person who returns calls'.