ANOTHER ONE GOING DOWN

OMG

 

Shame Hmv always has a lot of traffic in store when i call in

 

Blimey! Our island won't have any shops left soon. We have no other music retailers here.

 

To be honest, I though HMV had gone under years ago. I was sure I'd heard something along those lines.

HMV's business model could be compared to opening a gramophone shop, or a livery stable/coaching inn. I know people still buy CDs and DVDs (I do), but people like me are in the diminishing minority, as ever increasing numbers of folk buy their media is downloads now (or just steal using piracy sites).

 

Its just been on the news, 4000 jobs at risk. That's a lot. Obviously that's a bad thing, but its an unsustainable business. I hope as many of the staff as possible saw the writing on the wall, and have taken steps to make themselves as employable as possible so that they can easily jump ship.

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/His_Master's_Voice

 

I think there are. I think the media paints a picture that there are not, and I think that fuels the despondency we see these days. I've been on the other side of the recruiting table so to speak, and I speak to a lot of managers. Recruitment is often very difficult. Ironically, while we're hearing of all these job losses right, left and centre, many employers just can't find the people they need.

At my last work, we tried to get a student in for a placement year. We were offering a genuine opportunity. They would be working directly with us more experienced lot, rather than just making tea. We advertised in two local universities. We got 4 applications. We invited all 4 for interview. None turned up. We had to give them a second chance, and only 2 turned up. One got the place and turned out to be a cracking lass. She's now doing alright in a big company but she nearly missed out because of apathy.

Same where I am now. We advertised about 6 months ago. We got half a dozen applications.

Of course it doesn't help that recruiting agents have become increasingly greedy these days. At the start of my career, the going rate for finding someone for a job was between 5-10% of their first year salary, paid by the employer. Nowadays agents are asking as much as 25% so a lot of smaller firms simply can't afford to pay the agents, so people and jobs just don't get matched up. You'd think JobCentre Plus would be the answer to that problem. They charge a hefty fee too though. Those are the people we as tax payers pay to find people a job so that we don't have to pay as much for the benefits bill, yet JobCentre Plus scares employers away with their high bills (they don't work on commission like many private agents, they charge an up front fee, so prospective employers have to pay whether they get somebody or not).

The jobs are there, just often not advertised well enough because of costs. The people are wanting them, but they don't know about them. Its a terrible situation. Job seekers can do something about it though, just too often they don't. You have to tell prospective employers that you're here. It used to be called 'Applying on-spec' when I was still at school. My dad called it something else (he said you just turned up, asked to see the foreman/supervisor) but whatever, its always been the same I think. Nowadays people just don't do it.

 

Clueless, the jobs aren't here. My daughter recently had nearly seventy applications for a general administration job at the firm she works for and this seems to be the 'trend' with every job that comes up.

My other half is still out of work after being made redundant twice in a year. I think a lot of the problems are because jobs that become available are filled internally even though they have to be advertised, I think this loophole should be closed as the likes of my husband get very disheartened when they find they've applied for a job that is not available.

 

I concede its different for different areas. Its unfortunate but true. 15 years ago, it was the same round my way. Still is to some extent, but the jobs were available a bit further afield. I left my area to go wherever in the country I could get a job. I did a stint down in Hampshire, and a big stint (nearly 11 years) in Sheffield, while I was waiting for my home area to pick up. It is picking up now, but really most of the work round here is around Sunderland and Newcastle, still a fair commute from me.

That's exactly one of the points I was making. The jobs are taking internally (and advertised somewhere cheap for a day to stay legal) because it is so expensive to recruit. That's the loophole that has to be plugged. Britain (and IoM) will always struggle as long as businesses have to fight every inch of the way just to stay in business. Lets do an example. Lets say a company wants a new mid level professional in whatever industry. Salary on offer is £30k. You go to a recruitment agency, and they find you somebody. Their fee is 25% of the first year salary = £7500. How many businesses can afford to pay that as a finder's fee, especially when the employer still has to do the bulk of the work with interviewing and training etc. I can't remember the fixed up front fee that JobCentre Plus charged, but I remember it was around £200 per day for the advert. Or you can just advertise for one day on some website, for next to nothing, and try to fill the post internally, training someone up if need be.

I'm not suggesting for a second that its easy to get a job, I know perfectly well it isn't. I'm saying that there are jobs. I'm also saying that our current situation is largely media created. From the media failing to tell people that there money was safe in Northern Rock (because of government savings guarantees) and prompting people to panic and withdraw all their cash at once, to persistently telling people that there are no jobs until people believe, to telling people that the world is bust so save your money, so that people stop spending and cause businesses to genuinely struggle. The media picture also increases the liklihood of people in work ending up out of work. When the media constantly reports how dire the situation is, its not just individuals that tighten their belts. Like I (think I) said before, its a terrible situation.

 

I would rather companies, just promoted, rather than the pretend job advert
Fife Council,
One job, radio despatch of appliances to the emergency
One applicant was a recently injured fireman
Fife council advertised for a despatcher good pay and conditions
they recieved, over 1200 applications, all were interviewed and all were given the full
eight hours of exams and tests
The ex fireman got the job
One of the tests was a typing test, many applicants were 75wpm touch typists, the fireman was a one finger works a computer at home applicant

Why waste so many peoples time and staffs time on a foregone conclusion

As for HMV ? mobbed on Saturday three staff on, one in deep discussion with a lady on HI FI and Vinyl, two trying to fight the queue

Jack McH