Monday "night", around six~ish, i get a call from Lousie at A4e (a per-profit organization that works trying to get Jobseekers in employment), telling me verbatim "there is a wonderful catering opportunity that would suit you perfectly come along tomorrow morning and bring along - among other things - your ID and a proof of address", to which i replied i had no ID, as it's still being made in the chasm of Mount Doom (the italian consulate, bless their souls, 1-month wait for a paper i get done in a day back in italy), and i won't have it until early next month.
She said "bring along the rest of the paperwork, and be here tomorrow".
Now, i showed up as planned, and got put in a room with other ten people, we filled a form and wrote how really good we are at catering and how that particular company would immensely benefit from hiring us; i was done before the rest, so had my interview first. The whole process took maybe five minutes.
Immediately, i was told that A) a letter from the DWP with my address on it did not constitute proof of address (it does, according to the UK government, but not according to A4e - or this one guy at A4e, at least), and B)without my ID there was no way i could be put forward for the job.
To which i replied that the person who asked me to come there that day knew i did not have one.. omitting the "why the fuck did you make me come here then", with an understanding that the fault lies with A4e and not me, and they should be ashamed and i am pissed off - it's my time, and my money to ride the Tube from East Ham to Brixton, after all.
But not only no, then the interviewer proceeded to interview me for a position he had already told me i could not be put forward for.
And when he came to the fateful question "why do you want to get back in catering", which is essentially what my CV is full of since 2005 (i hate catering, but it has become my job), i really did not know what to answer.
And so the next day, i get a negative feedback and the assignment to undergo "interview technique training". I wish that i could assign them "don't make people come if you are going to turn them away" training, it would only seem fair.
I do recognize that interviews can be my weak point - after all, they are everyone's weak point - and i can benefit from training, at least i have been trained to say that, but seriously, i can't fault my answer on that day:
"i can't find work in Audio, so i work in catering".
Hey, this IS what is happening; under the circumstance, i see "interview training" as "lie your way into a job", if they are going to teach me to say anything which is not what i actually want to say.
Last weekend i got a call from two, not one, business owners, and both wanted to see me the next day; the second was a man who had just opened a takeaway pizza shop, not the most glamourous of jobs you might think, but new, small businesses located in posh areas are the best sort of employment you can get, take my word on this one. Having me already an appointment in the morning i offered to call him ASAP after i was done, and so i did.
Next day, at 11am, i phoned him back and told him i was ready to come to the interview, anywhere and anytime, and he told me he was first busy with his accountant, then the family was going on a break, and he'd call me monday~tuesday.
Of course by tuesday morning he had already "hired someone else".
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