My unemployment saga! [Archive]

SidewinderINC

15-11-2007, 17:11

So, I graduated in july this year with a 2:1 in biotechnology with no thought of what I wanted to do with my life.
I applied to several PhD positions that interested me a lot but didn't get them, in hindsight it was stupid pinning my hopes on them with a 2:1 from Portsmouth Uni.

Since october when I heard back from all the PhD applications I have registered at a few scientific recruitment agencies (Matchtech & SRG) and other listing sites such as Monster and TotalJobs.

I've not been put through for any interviews yet, but fingers crossed I'll get some before christmas or else nobody is getting any presents! :'(

I'll be moving out and living on my own so I've worked out that I'll need at least £16,000 p.a. to survive happily but ideally I'd like 17k+
I'll be calling on whoever is closest to be my friend and show me around (one of the jobs is in Dartford so only an hour at most away from a lot of you I think)

I've never had a proper interview before, I had one at tesco when I was 16 but that was more of a "hi, I'm your boss" type affair.
Can people offer up some good interview techniques and other tips to help get noticed and singled out from the other applicants (in a good way)?

I'll most likely keep this updated with my day to day progress and any news I hear from the agents or employers.

I'm really in need of work now, not for the money but for my own sanity :p

Thanks for reading

Matt

Zirax

15-11-2007, 17:29

Only got a couple of mins, check out cwjobs, jobsite, jobserve, even reed's online thing. Make sure that your cv is top notch. Browse around and nick styles off the net

Haly

15-11-2007, 17:38

Huddy's interview guide on ocuk is fantastic :)

SidewinderINC

15-11-2007, 17:39

Anyone have a link? I can't search there :(

Haly

15-11-2007, 17:44

http://forums.overclockers.co.uk/showthread.php?t=17469564 is the guide :)

SidewinderINC

15-11-2007, 17:45

cheers :)

I've looked at reed before but it was mainly office stuff that I saw on there.

Haly

15-11-2007, 17:49

I've found monster and totaljobs were the better sites for general things. I don't know about your field of work i'm afraid :/ Just found those two best for a bit of everything.
I tend to look every other day for anything new that appears that looks half decent, occassionally the things that look less than half decent because I figure the interview experience would do me good :)

SidewinderINC

15-11-2007, 18:00

Monster and Total are great for listing but I wouldn't use their system for applications again, I always go to the respective recruiter/company directly after the website.
I must have applied for 10 jobs through each website and heard nothing back at all, applied for a couple directly after getting the details from totaljobs and heard back from them within a few days.

goldilocks

15-11-2007, 18:10

Kell_ee001

15-11-2007, 18:18

Huddys guide rocks :cool:

Good luck finding something :)

SidewinderINC

15-11-2007, 18:28

i can't help with the interview techniques i'm afraid - i'm just here with a questioning interjection...

i don't wan to put a dampener on this - but you think you'd be able to live alone on £16k p/a?
this is just on my / our experience... but we pay £545 pcm for a 1 bed flat, approx on £350 pcm on other bills / council tax / food

flat sharing might be a bit more cost effective if you have to move out - at least you'll have money left over for a social life too! :)

You're paying that much a month for a 1 bed flat in soton? excluding bills thats insane.

I think I'd be able to live alone on 16k, I've been quoted less rent on a studio flat in central london and after tax 16k is just under 13k and I don't have expensive tastes :p

Dymetrie

15-11-2007, 18:30

I think I'd be able to live alone on 16k, I've been quoted less rent on a studio flat in central london and after tax 16k is just under 13k.

You do realise that a studio flat in London means a room the size of a broom cupboard with a crappy sofabed, a cupboard as a kitchen and shared toilet/bathroom.... Don't you?

Oh yeah and **** heating...

SidewinderINC

15-11-2007, 18:32

I don't use heating, never have :eek: That really annoyed my housemates last year actually but that's another story! I mean don't complain that it's cold in the middle of december if you're walking around the house in shorts and sleeveless T shirt.

And yeah, it wasn't much bigger than that :p

Dymetrie

15-11-2007, 18:33

Fairy nuff :)

If you end up in London then I'm around somewhere... usually :p

goldilocks

15-11-2007, 18:54

You're paying that much a month for a 1 bed flat in soton? excluding bills thats insane.

I think I'd be able to live alone on 16k, I've been quoted less rent on a studio flat in central london and after tax 16k is just under 13k and I don't have expensive tastes :p

are you joking?
£545 is reasonable!
a flat for less than that, in london (?!) is either going to be a dive, have shared facilities or be tiny
there is 'not having expensive tastes', and there is 'having no idea how much things really cost'...
16k is 12.5k after tax, and if you can live on 1k a month - good luck to you!
all i know is, on my salary (which is more than 16k) i could not afford to live by myself

good luck with getting a job, and moving out - they're pretty exciting things to be doing - i can honestly say i have never been happier at any time, graduating, getting a job and moving out has been awesome!

Rich_L

15-11-2007, 19:10

What do you want to do?

With that degree, move to London, start temping, get random job in finance, £30kish after a year or so pretty much guaranteed (if you're any good that is :p)

Also bear in mind if you live on your own, you still pay 75% of council tax, bills get cheaper per person the more people you have, also don't forget TV licence, phone, broadband, travel and suchlike - that £1k a month after tax disappears surprisingly quickly :)

SidewinderINC

15-11-2007, 19:22

Sorry, I thought of studio when you said 1Bed for some reason.
I've lived out of home before, I know how much things cost and I feel a little patronised being told I have no idea.

I do understand that living on £1k a month will be very tight but I have worked it out that it is doable with the way I live.

I really want to do lab work/research in microbiology or end up in pharma.

Rich_L

15-11-2007, 19:29

Heh don't mean to be patronising, have done the same myself when I moved up to London, there's so much awesome stuff to do/places to go out though plus can be a lonely place if your stuck in on your own..anyway enough about that..!

If it's labwork you want, apply to all sorts of places to see if they have vacancies - hospitals, food testing units, all sorts and try and get some lab experience, even as a technician or assistant. Did you do any placements at Uni or a dissertation or even contact with anyone through Uni who may be able to point you in directions of vacancies.

Bear in mind 'who you know' is always important - think about your time at Uni, the lecturers you had, supervisions etc - fire off some e-mails saying you want to get into labwork, do they have any advice or know of vacancies - abuse those contacts! :)

Pumpkinstew

16-11-2007, 01:17

I really want to do lab work/research in microbiology or end up in pharma.

I know a few biology grads who ended up in clinical trials. Sounds tedious as anything to me but the wages are good if you stick at it past CTA level.
Lots of places around the M4 corridor between London and Reading.

Try here:
http://www.jobsite.co.uk/channels/scientific.html

SidewinderINC

16-11-2007, 01:26

Yeah Lonza biologics is in slough, I've been put forward for several jobs there, a shift manufacturing technician job is one I'm hoping for there as it's perfect for my skills and £24kpa

Thanks for that link, a few on there that I hadn't seen before.

SidewinderINC

16-11-2007, 19:47

*panic stations manned*

I've just had an email offering me an interview for a position at ADC (Abbotts Diabetes Care) a week on monday in Witney, just west of Oxford.

I'm currently scouring the ADC website as I'm not sure on what I'll be expected to know for the interview as the page was/is slightly vague

http://jobsearch.monster.co.uk/getjob.asp?JobID=64946760

ARGH!

Haly

16-11-2007, 19:48

Good luck :D

Piggymon

16-11-2007, 20:00

Good luck ! :)

Pumpkinstew

16-11-2007, 20:09

I would read up a bit on diabetes and ways of testing blood sugar levels.

It looks like the jobs on offer are quality assurance (and possibly returns are included in that) and product improvement. Looks alright for a graduate job.
Good luck.:)

Tak

16-11-2007, 21:53

Looks good :)

Roberta

16-11-2007, 22:02

Good luck!

Fayshun

17-11-2007, 03:37

Witney? Just up the road from me!

As an ex-research microbiologist, I know how crappy the science jobs market is.

Nutcase

17-11-2007, 09:11

Good luck with it :D

SidewinderINC

20-11-2007, 17:24

Thanks for all the kind words guys, much appreciated! I don't have many 'real life' friends for various reasons so I only get "good luck" from my mum :p

Do you hide in Oxford then Fayshun? or another town nearby?

I had an email today with my interview time, and telling me that I actually have TWO interviews for them as I've been put forward for several roles :p

The first interview will be with <name removed>, Regulatory Affairs Manager at 2pm for the Medical Events role. The interview will last for approximately 1 hour and will be competency based.

The second interview will be with <name removed>, Process Change and Materials Technical Manager and <name removed>, Manufacturing Technical Support Manager for the Process Technologist role. This will also involve a scenario exercise relevant to the role and a tour of the factory.

By competency based am I right to assume that I'll be given a task to work through?

I've read every single part of the website and I'm still not sure what the roles actually are!

I've done a hell of a lot of research into diabetes and managing it, but need to get more specific information.

Admiral Huddy

20-11-2007, 17:27

Good luck :)

I get at least a dozen emails per week regarding that guide :) Including one today who was really stuck as he couldn't find any info on the company..

SidewinderINC

20-11-2007, 17:43

Yeah, that guide is superb Huddy - I was floundered with a question in a phone interview about what sports I do, because essentially I don't do any but I couldn't say "I don't do sports" becuase that would make me seem like a fat lazy unfit oaf which I definately am not :p

Now I've read through your guide I'm a bit more confident about what questions to expect on a personal level. and what questions actually mean!

Fayshun

20-11-2007, 19:35

I work in Oxford and live in Banbury, Witney is abut half way between.

Pumpkinstew

20-11-2007, 19:50

By competency based am I right to assume that I'll be given a task to work through?

Probably not. Normally this means the interviewer will have a list of competencies that they feel the position requires. These may be very specific (2 years experience with Catia) or very general (good telephone manner, time management etc)
They will ask you questions designed to assess whether you have these competencies, probably asking you to give examples of when you have demonstrated them.

In this case I think most of the competencies will be general ones as it's a grad position.

The role description is probably very vague to encourage you to ask some questions yourself about what it will entail. So think up a few beforehand and don't be shy about asking them.:lipsrsealed:

SidewinderINC

20-11-2007, 19:55

Okay, that helps a lot Mr Stew :)

I assumed the task solving thing from the second interview description.

Pumpkinstew

20-11-2007, 20:00

Okay, that helps a lot Mr Stew :)

I assumed the task solving thing from the second interview description.

The 2nd one sounds like it might involve roleplay.

Best take a hard hat and a fake mustache ;)

Relax. You'll do fine.

SidewinderINC

22-11-2007, 13:13

I asked about the job specs for the 2 roles and the reply I got had one of the job specs attached and the email said "We don't have a job spec for the second role yet, it's not been finished yet - here is part of the draft to give you an idea"

Not sure whether it's a good thing or not that they haven't finished the job spec ;D

Tak

26-11-2007, 10:03

*panic stations manned*

I've just had an email offering me an interview for a position at ADC (Abbotts Diabetes Care) a week on monday in Witney, just west of Oxford.

Good luck :D

SidewinderINC

26-11-2007, 10:05

*panic stations are still manned and it appears my stomach has been upgraded to red alert too*

I'm on a final read through huddy's guide and it's calming me down! I feel I owe him a beer and I've never met him :D

Pheebs

26-11-2007, 11:37

Good luuuuuuuuck! Hoping it goes well! Be positive and happy and you'll do fine :D

Haly

26-11-2007, 11:57

Good luck :D

SidewinderINC

26-11-2007, 22:14

I'm still alive!

I was 10 minutes late for the first interview because some kind soul decided to get fried on the railway line which delayed trains by a stupid amount!

the first interview was pooey anyway, and I didn't really like the job that it was going for. but the second interview and tour round the factory was fantastic :D I really enjoyed the idea of the job and felt the interview went really well. It was with 2 people so I felt less tense for some reason.

I've got to wait 2 weeks to find out whether I have the job or not, if I do then it's around £23k starting salary and for 6 months they pay my rent and bills in a house with all of the other graduate employees :D

Tak

27-11-2007, 08:20

Sounds positive :D

I'm not crossing my fingers for a full 2 weeks though :p my typing skills are poor enough already :p

Haly

27-11-2007, 11:51

Sounds good :) Hope you get it :)

Roberta

27-11-2007, 17:03

Ooh. Fingers crossed.

SidewinderINC

27-11-2007, 17:05

Sounds positive :D

I'm not crossing my fingers for a full 2 weeks though :p my typing skills are poor enough already :p

Then cross your toes for the full 2 weeks :p If you can't do that then cross your legs for the full 2 weeks :p (Sorry Jhadur)

SidewinderINC

30-11-2007, 15:19

Not heard back from the interviews from monday yet, but just had a call and been offered an interview for a company called ThermoFischer in Dartford at some point next week which is good.

I'd rather get the job that I've just been intervewed for, but if not this one is just as good :)

Tak

30-11-2007, 15:34

Well you did say 2 weeks for news about the first job :p

SidewinderINC

04-12-2007, 20:04

oh poo bums, I didn't get either of the jobs at ADC - nevermind :(

Best carry on preparing for my interview on thursday.

Haly

04-12-2007, 20:06

Bad luck :(
Good luck with Thursday though :)

Tak

04-12-2007, 22:13

Doh :(

What time is the thursday interview?

SidewinderINC

04-12-2007, 23:01

3PM, I leave fareham by 10, I'll get to dartford by 1 :p

Pheebs

05-12-2007, 08:34

Oooh onwards and upwards! Interviews are always good learning curves! Get feedback for it?!

Good luck on the one this thursday :D

SidewinderINC

10-12-2007, 16:17

Woooh!

Heard back from my consultant today, he's called up the company and they've given me glowing feedback and they've said they're very interested :D

The HR lady was mighty impressed that I finished their 16 question science test in 3 minutes and only got one wrong :D Was a stupid mistake that even if I had kept reading it I would have gotten wrong as I had just forgotten one fact.

I'll know by tomorrow at mid-day whether I have it or not apparently - there was slight confusion about the salary but I've been informed that it's all sorted out and my consultant is still pushing for 18k :D

I'm waiting by the phone heh.

Tak

10-12-2007, 16:18

Excellent news hun :D

Fingers are crossed for you :D

Haly

10-12-2007, 16:22

Fingers crossed for you :)

SidewinderINC

10-12-2007, 18:10

Weeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee eeee!!!

I've got the job:D:D:D:D:D:D:D

So so so so happy! He said they were very impressed with me and to show how impressed they were they've offered me £19k starting salary! I won't be getting a payrise from that until April '09, but they have said that I would initially be starting on less and then being on 19k by April '09 so I'm getting a little more to start with.

The contract starts on January 7th so I've gotta get looking for places to live!

It's all kinda unreal still, I've gotta call up uni tomorrow and get my references, I might go down there actually because I can drop into my tesco too and get a reference from there.

Oh so happy :D

WAHOOO!

Tak

10-12-2007, 18:25

:D YAY :D

Excellent news hun :D Congrats :D

Haly

10-12-2007, 18:44

Congratulations :D Great news :)

SidewinderINC

10-12-2007, 18:52

Excellent news Matt really chuffed for you! so you'll be a Dartford boy now!!! Do they give any help with relocation costs? well worth a try!

I don't think they do actually :( most companies only offer an interest free loan for relocation, and I have enough savings to cover it anyway.

I don't think I could have a better location really :D

Pumpkinstew

10-12-2007, 19:58

Congratulations. Hope all goes well.
What does the job involve?

SidewinderINC

10-12-2007, 20:07

Quality Assurance for all of the products that Remel manufacture.

of which there are over 200! They make testing kits for bacterial identification from various sources. They have strip kits that you dop a sample onto, bottles that you jab the sample into and more!

I'll be sat in a small lab with each kit and putting confirmed bacterial samples onto them to test whether they work :)

I'll specifically be working in the Antisera/Latex products area where they use anti-bodies to determine the bacteria via agglutination.

I hope that makes sense :p

Tak

10-12-2007, 20:32

I hope that makes sense :p

Not in the slightest - way too intelligent for me :p You'll have less excuses for not going to meets moving thattaway

SidewinderINC

10-12-2007, 21:01

Yeah, Desmo has already said I'll be able to make it now :D

I don't see any planned at the moment though.

Garp

10-12-2007, 21:07

Congratulations Matt.. huge relief for you I'm sure :D

Mrs Slater

10-12-2007, 22:12

Congratulations, don't know why people want to live in Dartford (my parents live near by) but there are good train links to get to London for meets :)

Pumpkinstew

10-12-2007, 22:19

Dymetrie

10-12-2007, 22:34

Give me a shout once you're settled.

Sure we can meet up to get some drink down your neck :)

Roberta

10-12-2007, 23:03

Well done you!

SidewinderINC

10-12-2007, 23:20

:thumbsup:
I thought Remel made foundation and lip gloss and that but clearly they're involved in germ warfare too.

Hahahaha, That's Rimmel :p I thought the same when I was told of the job.

Again, thanks for all the kind words guys, and yes dym - I shall indeed give you a shout when I'm all moved in :D but I have a feeling it'll be pretty damn hectic for the first few weeks :shocked:

Darrin

11-12-2007, 03:38

Congrats, Matt. Glad employment stuff is working for someone!! :p

Pheebs

11-12-2007, 08:33

Congratulations! YAAAY! :D

Matblack

11-12-2007, 12:27

Oh Christ thats less than 15 minutes from us

MB

SidewinderINC

11-12-2007, 13:56

Muahahha! You'll be able to hear me playing guitar from that close :p

I'll have to have a house warming party at some point then :D

That's right... I'll invite you weird and crazy people into my house! though it'll only be tiny so I'll have a one in one out policy in effect :p

SidewinderINC

21-12-2007, 02:03

Can I haz a flat now plz?

I put the holding fee down on a nice 1 bedroom flat in the stone/greenhithe area on a small cul-de-sac estate type thing. I have a set of patio doors leading out into a small garden area, all carpeted interior. Fridge Freezer and maybe a washing machine if I'm lucky :p

15/20 minute walk to work which is ace and a 6 minute walk to the train station :)

Bonza!

Mondo

21-12-2007, 04:35

Score !!!!!!!!! :D

Tak

21-12-2007, 08:19

Excellent news hun :D

So...whens the house warming? :evil::evil:

Mrs Slater

21-12-2007, 11:03

Nice location and by the sounds of it nice flat

SidewinderINC

21-12-2007, 14:53

House waming party will be arranged when I get some furniture and stuff and settled, It'll probably be late february even though I'm moving in mid january.

My Flat :D (http://maps.google.co.uk/maps?f=q&hl=en&geocode=&time=&date=&ttype=&q=DA9+9DG&ie=UTF8&ll=51.447424,0.269251&spn=0.002069,0.005879&t=h&z=18&iwloc=addr&om=1)

The flat is great, though it does need a lick of paint here and there to touch it up. I'll sort that out with the landlord, as I'm more than happy to do it myself.

Tak

21-12-2007, 14:59

Cool beans :)

SidewinderINC

02-01-2008, 16:05

Just purchased my flats contents insurance.

£182 per year with More Th>n and then I get £65 back via quidco :D God I love quidco, and thank this forum for introducing me to it.

Next is to get a phoneline sorted for when I move in.

Snuggle Ferret

04-01-2008, 17:27

Congratulations on the job and finding the flat :)

~d~

Tak

14-01-2008, 13:59

Hope you're getting settled :)

Tak

17-01-2008, 14:28

Text report:
Hey you, just on lunch. Don't get internet access in the day really. I'm confident I'll get on well here. I get the net at home on monday so I'll be back! Hope everything is well your end, I've just had loads of jabs :( Can't give blood now
(sneaky way of getting out of it if you ask me :p )

This was followed by:
Say something nice to bd for me!

So "something nice" ;)

SidewinderINC

19-01-2008, 23:54

OK, I don't officially get internet access at home till tuesday... but I've found a way around it!

If I plug the router in and put all my details into it, I can log in to my service.. but no urls resolve... so if I go into the router and do a DNS lookup on the url it gives me the IP address and I can connect to it..

Either I'm being a complete dunce and have done something wrong within the router, or I'm being really sneaky and probably "breaking the rules"

Work is going well, I've even been really cheeky and asked to book some holiday already :p

Tak

20-01-2008, 00:06

Good to see you back in the land of the living :p

SidewinderINC

20-01-2008, 00:09

only this website though! no others will allow complete access via IP address! I can't get on SPS, OcUK or any e-MSN websites!

This place rawks!

Though I bet I'll be slapped by my ISP for using their services before I'm meant to hahahaha!

Tak

20-01-2008, 00:12

S'coz we're special :D

SidewinderINC

20-01-2008, 00:13

y'spelt it wrong luv..

"Speshul" is the correct term for this place ;)

Mark

20-01-2008, 00:17

Tak

20-01-2008, 00:20

y'spelt it wrong luv..

"Speshul" is the correct term for this place ;)

Well...for me at least anyway :o

SidewinderINC

20-01-2008, 00:29

OcUK should work too, but SPS probably won't.

Check DNS settings on your PCs match those on the router (or the PCs are configured to acquire addresses automatically). If the router can do lookups, so should the PCs.

Early activation isn't uncommon and there's no reason for slapped wrists. You may find the ISP service charges get backdated though.

PS - Welcome back online. :)

Yup, OcUK works - I just screwed up writing the IP address in :p

I'm using a Mac so I'm not sure where the DNS settings are but I think in the network section where it says "optional" means if you don't put them in it gets them automatically. I've not touched anything there since I bought the mac.

Edit - Just put the DNS server addresses into the gap and it all works now. fantastic :D Leaving it blank should have made it work automatically but it didn't

Mark

20-01-2008, 01:15

Looks like I had to do the same on my Mac. Except I put the IP address of the router in as the DNS server.

Glad it's working anyway. :)

SidewinderINC

21-01-2008, 19:41

Jabbity Jab Jab!

So, I have more encounters with Mr Stabby tomorrow!

Just a blood test tomorrow to check on my HepB titre I think. I know it's a blood test but not sure what for.

Already had Typhoid and HepA
still got HepB, Flu, Pneumonia and some others to go and quite a lot are yearly boosters throughout my career at TFS.

I finally got around to actually doing some work unsupervised today, and because of that the throughput of PQA was up and they were happy with my "performance"