Hi Alex, I came across your thread today, and have been reading through your responses and experiences. I know how unemployment feels, I spent a lot of time unemployed, or in low paid work making me miserable.
The key to making a difference in your life is to try different ways of looking at things. Just going in somewhere and giving a CV is usually not enough these days. During my unemployment, I was put on an employability course. They said that for every advertised job, there are on average 300 applicants. They also gave a number of ways to stand out from the crowd. I shall outline some points below:
-Always include a cover letter with your CV. Find something you want to apply for, and enquire about the role. Find out who deals with recruitment there, and put their name at the top of the cover letter. 'Dear sir or madam' is a turnoff, because it makes them feel you are just sending out generic copies with no interest in that specific job. If you put 'Dear Joe M Ployer', and then make reference to things highlighted in the job ad, it is far more likely to get their attention.
-Find ways to get experience. This is something you have been trying to do, but a change of tactics may be necessary. Look around and see if there is anywhere you can volunteer. A little retail work can go a long way to improving confidence. My wife worked in a shop for 4 years, and she is the shyest person I know. It really gave her a confidence boost, and brought her out of her shell. And if you can get something like that, it wouldn't hurt to mention your computer skills. It might turn out the shop wireless is on the blink, and if you can get the modem working, it will look good on you. That's the sort of thing you can put on your CV in a creative manner. E.g. 'At the Charity shop for lame pigeons, I was responsible for network maintenance and quality assurance.' That would be another way of saying 'No one could get on youtube in their lunch break, so I turned the router off and on again.'
-Be proactive. Advertising for staff costs companies time and money. They don't like spending time and money. This means that if you go to them, you are potentially saving them a lot of effort. This doesn't mean to go in somewhere and say 'You got any jobs going? No? Thanks, bye.' If you ask the girl/guy at the front desk, chances are they haven't got a clue. And if you hand them your CV, there is a very strong chance it won't get where you hope. Most likely they will forget about it, and it will find its way to the bin. Instead, ask who the management is, and again, who deals with recruitment. This does take a certain amount of confidence, which I know you struggle with. But going in remembering you have nothing to lose by asking can go a big way to help keep your nerve. If asking to speak to the person at the top is too much, at least find out their name. Then send them a letter. A physical letter is better than an email in my opinion, as it's more likely to get to them.
And while you are looking for work:
-Find a challenge. I'm not talking about the challenges you face every day, just to count yourself among the living the next day. I mean to find something you can take pride in, and pursue it. For me it's the piano. For you, it might be art, cookery, anything really. Do you do any creative writing? A lot of your posts here are eloquent and well written, almost to the point of poetry. Even if no one else reads what you write, it can be very therapeutic to put your thoughts down, and create something no one else has thought of. If you find you have a flair for it, I would suggest joining a local creative writing group, or a forum.
-Avoid the big mistake we all make from time to time. Don't believe that where you are today is where you will stay. If you put your mind to something, you can get there eventually. At times you will fall down. That doesn't matter. We learn best from our failures. If you keep trying, you will find your way. It may take months. I teach the piano. The students that do best are rarely the most naturally gifted. It's the ones that take pride and enjoyment, just from making the attempt. They find out things about themselves they did not expect. And that enjoyment leads to progress. The same can most definitely be true for you.
Best of luck, and please keep posting.
