C.V. Course aka Gateway

I attended the C.V. course that I was put on. I arrived on time and before it was due to start. I signed my name in the tower of misery sign in book, the woman at reception asked for my name and when I told her she checked it and then said "Your here for the Gateway course"

Yes gateway is what they were calling this C.V. course. I really do think that the Irish government pay someone up in Dublin to sit in a office and come up with all these names, Jobclub, Pathways To Employment, JobBridge, Jobplus, Intreo, Springboard, Tús, Gateway scheme and now Gateway course, is there any I forgot? It never ceases to amaze me how they can come up with all these colorful names.

The woman at reception told me to take a seat in the room where "Gateway" was to take place and it just so happens it was the same room where the group session last week took place.

I counted 25 chairs and the room was half empty. I sat down and looked at my watch to see the time and it was 9:50am and waited for the course to begin. Other jobseekers who were on the same course arrived, in the end there was about 7 or 8 seats that were empty from jobseekers not turning up. 10am came and I was waiting patiently for the course to begin. I looked at my watch again, 10:05am, it should start now any minute I thought and watched the door hoping someone would come in and close the door and start the course. Velma* arrived to start the course. I looked at my watch, 10:13am was the time on it, I had been sitting in this room for 23 minutes and now, only now was the course starting.

Before the course began Velma* had to take a roll call. All our names which were on three A4 papers were called and they marked our name when you said "here". It was the same as school only here we weren't going to learn anything new.

Velma* also had the audacity to say to the receptionist not to let in anybody else if they arrived more than 10 minutes late. No mention of the fact that she started the course 13 minutes late, the cheek.

The C.V. course covered the same stuff as Jobclub & Pathways To Employment, all we did was sit in a chair for three hours watching that flat screen TV the laptop was hooked up to with the job adviser clicking the mouse to move onto the next picture when they were ready to move to the next bit. A break from 11:15am to 11:30am some people went for a smoke others for a quick cup of tea, and the rest of us just stayed sitting in our chairs bored waiting on the next part of misery hour to begin.

The course was broken into four parts and therefore had to be taught by four different people, three who also happened to be job advisers,

Velma* Talked about C.V.'s  (She didn't move her hands much this time)

Nora*  Talked about cover letters and how we should tailor them to suit whatever jobs we are applying for.

Barry* Talked about what sites to look for jobs on. We had been given a page with a list of job search addresses, picture at end of blog, notice its says. Fas.ie, the fas link no longer works when it comes to job searching.

Ruby* Talked about interviews and how in her old job she interviewed people for jobs. She told us about asking people who had reading on their C.V. as a hobby what it was they read and if they said magazines...well...? You see dear readers its all about being on a power trip.

Ruby* Told us about her ex work colleague in her old job that was interviewing a man and noticed he had reading on his C.V. as a hobby and that she had a suspicion that he had just put it on his C.V. and that he didn't read anything at all, so she asked him what it was he read and she told us that he got all flustered at the question and that her colleague knew then that he didn't read at all and had only put it on his C.V., needless to say he didn't get the job.

There seems to be a lot of people in a position of power who abuse their power. So what if someone has reading on their C.V.? Some people don't have a hobby so they might put reading down on their C.V. as one. If its reading a newspaper its reading, if its reading this blog its reading, if its reading a magazine its reading, who cares if they don't read a book?

These interviewers in a position of power clearly have a problem with people reading magazines, they probably think that the people they are interviewing only read beauty magazines or magazines about celebrity gossip when they mention "magazines" when asked what they read.

There are plenty of magazines that are very interesting, there are gardening magazines, music, crafts, motoring, history, films, current affairs to name but a few yet according to some people if you read magazines then you are more or less stupid and don't deserve the job, as I said its all about being on a power trip, nothing more.

To quote Alan Kelly, power is a drug. “It’s obviously a drug. It’s attractive. It’s something you thrive on. It suits some people. It doesn’t suit others. I think it suits me.”

http://www.independent.ie/irish-news/election-2016/rightcol/alan-kelly-power-is-a-drug-it-suits-me-34410065.html

Power is obviously a drug to interviewers as well when they judge people on what they read and don't give people a job based on their answer of "magazine".

Ruby* Told us not to be afraid to refuse a job offer if it didn't suit us or the money wasn't enough, which contradicts what Velma* told us at the group session when she said that if they got us a job and we then said we didn't want that job for whatever reason then we would have to sit down to have a talk, which translates as, if you turn down a job that we get you, we will cut your dole. Just like being on Jobpath you don't have a choice

Ruby* Also told us we can search for jobs at home, really? I already did that but now I have to go into the People1st building every week come rain hail or shine along with all the other jobseekers and spend one and half hours looking up jobs on the Peopele1st computers so again not much point telling us we can look for jobs at home when we have no choice but to look them up on the computers in the People1st building every week!

Were these job advisers trained to teach a C.V. course? Have they done train the trainer? That is what I would like to know or is it a case of People1st/Seetec/JobPath using these job advisers as teachers to save money employing and paying someone to teach the C.V. course.

Is People1st/Seetec/JobPath saying is it better to use their job advisers who they are paying anyway rather than employ someone from a outside agency to teach the C.V. course? These are questions which as of yet are unanswered and that is just not good enough that as jobseekers we are not told this information about if the person teaching is qualified to do so.

Did I learn anything new at this C.V. course, No I did not. Everything that was covered in the three hours I had done before on the Jobclub, Pathways To Employment and that day long interviews skills course I did. So for me it was a complete waste of time and three hours of my life I won't get back.

Sitting for three hours in a chair listening to someone waffle on is not going to help anyone who does need help with their C.V., you can only do that by looking at a persons C.V. and helping them one to one to update it if it needs updating.

I have since found out that it is compulsory for every single person that is put on Jobpath to attend the Gateway course, which in my personal opinion should be renamed Sleepway!

Not their real names*