> Oddly, they don't ask if you actually *want* a job. All you have
> to do is look.

JT> All you need is proof that you've actually sent an application,
JT> names and phone numbers of the persons at the relavant company
JT> you have allegedly applied to. You can pretty much call anyone,
JT> tell them to get fucked, send your resume even if they don't
JT> want it, and ask their names (although maybe not in that
JT> particular order).

 Yair... and I suspect that this new system is to automate the
process. I assume the computer polls everyone's page and sneds out an
automatic letter if you're not getting hits.

 So far, the system is totally fucked. I don't get any hits at
all, despite possible jobs on the other job-net sites. It looks like
no one uses Centrelink's jobsearch site.

 BTW, do you know if jobnet.com.au for real? They always seem to have
too many jobs to be real, and I've notice that the jobs hardly change
- but the *dates* change. I suspect that they want job seekers to
register, and thus build up their private database.

 No worries about the centrelink site, though. They never have
anything...

> Presumably, if anyone wants a 63-year-old out-of-date engineer
> with heart disease, then I'll get a hit on my hoem page, but so
> far zilch...

JT> Funny thing is, you may just get a job. Sure as hell not
JT> through the jobsearch system though- only losers apply through
JT> there.

 Do you think I'm crazy? I know Centrlink is for those not-looking
for a job, that's thewhole point. I don't want a job, all I'm after is
enough data to dump the bucket on Amanda Vandstone. My local Member is
a real stirrer, and I'd love to give him the bullets to shoot that
bitch down.

 I don't mind that Amanda is a bitch, I like bitches. Jessica Pearl
the Wonder Dog is a bitch. It's just I don't like fat ugly bitches in
floral dresses.

JT> They hook in as many employers as they can by attracting them
JT> the to the prospective "employees" they have on record. They
JT> get paid by the employers, not the employees, so it makes sense
JT> they get as many as they can. 

 That's my evil suspicion about jobnet.com.au. There are *too* many
jobs to be true.

JT> It's been like that for a while. Employers are commisioning the
JT> larger scale screening to the employment angencies, and do the
JT> final screening themselves. Problem is you only get monkeys
JT> like that, sure, the best of the monkeys, but still monkeys.

 I know all that, and Centrelink is the worst of all, but it doesn't
*have* to eb that way. What we need is a proper computer-linked system
where Centrelink gets *all* the jobs and matches them automatically.
Fuck the private nets, let them join Centrelink or get out of
business... the same system Gough used to control doctors using
Medicare.

JT> Worst still, highly skilled labour doesn't exist on the
JT> government networks, people who can get jobs, generally don't
JT> go on the dole, or at least don't hang around the queue for
JT> long enough to be a statistic. 

 No. This is the flaw. People *in* jobs use their contacts to get the
next job, or at the least they know where to look. But the labour
market is volatile now, entire job-categories vanish (electronic
engineer, for instance) and when someone tries to move outside the
niche he has no contacts.

 The job-nets have a definite function, from dopey labourers who have
been laid off to engineers looking for part-time at the age of 65. 

> If that's the case, your C-V is worth money, and I suspect, is
> covered by copyright too.

JT> Never thought of it that way, but if I'm right, they never look
JT> at it anyway. I've been to countless interviews where they
JT> didn't even look at it.

 I've interviewed a few myself. The CV is how you get past the
job-agent to the actual employer. As the system stands, and especially
in the Centrelink system, the agents *block* access to those actually
wanting a job. The agent is supposed to filter the dickheads, but the
agents *themselves* are dickheads.

JT> Found this out when one employer didn't know I ran a BBS, I
JT> said it was in my resume, you couldn't have missed it. They
JT> said they don't read all of them. I said I GOT the job, they
JT> MUST have read it. Alas, it doesn't work that way. 

 I know... I hired technicians as part of my consultancy. It's
awkward for a boss trying to find someone who'll fit, especially when
it's a tech. The CV is usually written by someone else, I've never
checked a reference, it's easy enough to tell if he's bullshitting,
and if he's good enough to fool you, he's the man for the job!

JT> I think there is some policy that the applicant has to stay
JT> with them for some time before the headhunters get paid, to
JT> prevent job jumpers from getting the headhunters an
JT> inpropotional amount of money.

 They get a percentage of the first-year's salary, paid after three
months, usually.

 What I see as a better system, run by Centrelink, is no agents,
just a database with all jobs and all job-seekers. The employer lists
his job and immediately gets hits. The boss scrolls down and marks
the likely ones - and Centrelink sends out the notification to those
who have a hit.

Regards,
Bob


   

  

--- BQWK Alpha 0.5