Just got my next batch of appointments in through the post. One appointment at 9am every six days for the next four weeks basically. "Summary of next appointment - jobsearch". Yep. Get a 60 minute bus journey, another 15 minute bus journey and 10 minute walk just to sit at a computer and look at job sites for two hours before going home.

Just another update from my adventures with "LearnDirect" (an extension of Ingeus). Today 7 young people including myself arrived at 9am (our appointment time). We were told to go on the computers and job search for an hour. Someone immediately kicked up a fuss saying they could have done a job search at home to which the advisor told her that we all need supervised to make sure we're *actually* looking for work and not just pretending. Hmm. After the job search (which, as always, was finished in about 10 minutes because how are we supposed to apply for jobs without our CV's on the computers to upload?) we were told to gather round a table and told that today's discussion was going to be on Job Advertisements. Try not to laugh but here is the gist of what we were taught today - - When reading a job advertisement, it's important to make sure you're in a calm and quiet environment to properly read it and take it all in without interupptions or background noise. - It's important to always print out any job advertisement you see and want to apply for, so that you can highlight important key words. - Use one highlighter for key words and another coloured highlighter for "words you don't understand" - Google the words you don't understand - 'Challenge' is a skill you have. (WTF) - Always make sure you can get transport to the job. If in doubt, go to Google Maps and type in the name of the place you live and the place you will be working for. Make sure to put in the correct times and try not to spell anything incorrectly. Click the button "next" and print out your route so you don't forget it. - Always save the job advertisement by clicking "save" so you can go back to it at any time. Throw in the advisor asking "Ahhh, has anyone ever told you how to do that before? No? See, that's why I'm here." about 10 times and general gloating about how she has a job and we don't ("Not trying to brag, i've been there and done it but I worked my arse off to get here and I done it by following these steps. You want a job that badly? Well listen to me. I've had 12 clients go into work in the past week. I'm telling you. What? You think i'm lying? She's laughing. Do you think I'm laughing, doll? I'm deadly serious." I just dont know how she could possibly have got 12 clients into work with such generic and awful advice?

Day 3 of this awful programme. - Handed in my train ticket for travel expenses and wrote on the form "£5.80". A few minutes later she yelled "Can you not read properly? Your ticket was £5.90!" (this was in front of about five other people), I shouted back that the fares had only recently went up to which her smart ass assistant said smugly "actually they went up in April". - Was asked a question and when I started to answer, she started talking to someone else! - Asked several times how we would approach an employer or phone up an employer about a vacancy. No matter what anyone answered, the advisor always went "Nope!". Apparently when you're calling up a company about a vacancy, you have to DRESS SMARTLY because otherwise you will be distracted. "If you're on the phone and smell your B.O you're going to get put off, right? If you're on the phone and look in the mirror and see you need a haircut, you'll get distracted. If you're on the phone and you notice a stain on your t-shirt you'll forget everything you've said to the employer." Apparently we need to shower, shave and be suited and booted to phone up a company and ask if they're hiring. You couldn't make it up.

Called up yesterday and they said there was an error with their system and my payment should go in immediately. Just checked and it's still not there. By "immediately" do they mean the money will be in the account straight away or it will be "sent" to "process" immediately?

Was at my second meeting with them this morning. I was booked in for 10am and when I arrived at 10am on the dot, I was told I was there "too early" and I would have to take a seat and wait on my advisor finishing with someone else. No big deal, I thought. Fair enough. I was then told to go and sit at a computer and apply for some jobs in the meantime. I politely told her I couldn't "apply" for any because I didn't have my CV on the computer to upload, but I would take a note of the job adverts to apply for when I got home. "Why didn't you bring a USB with your CV on it?" I was asked. I told her I didn't think it was necessary as they had a paper copy of my CV and I wasn't told I'd be job searching while I was here. "You didn't think you were job searching? At a place aimed at finding you a job?" she said sarcastically. I bit my tongue. I then finally got called over to the desk and she basically told me the reason I didn't have a job was because I didn't have confidence. I told her I had plenty of confidence and had multiple jobs/interviews in the past and was doing fine with my confidence. She then switched it round to tell me that I don't research my employers enough. She advised me to look up employers on their websites and read about their history and what they're promoting. Again, that's no problem because I already do that anyway. She then switched it and said I'm not using the correct language in interviews and said I'm probably using generic and basic phrases instead of trying to stand out in the interview process. Without sounding arrogant, I've never really used generic phrases too much and have always tried to show character and a bit of personaliy in interviews. I appreciated the fact she was trying to help but my God, she was smug as hell. "I've been there, so believe me, I know what I'm talking about" she kept telling me. Apparently the reason I don't have a job is not because of the sheer volume of applicants for each position, it's because I myself am a failure when it comes to interviews. She also kept bragging about how many people she has put into work and then booked me in for some workshop tomorrow at 9am. Apparently we'll all get to introduce ourselve and play games together and work as part of a team, then after it we get to go on the computers for an hour and do job searches then go home. If I don't go I'm sanctioned. Her final words to me were "I'm not sure how many people will turn up to it, most of my clients are booked in for things but then get offered a job and then I never see them again, it's just the nature of the business down here, so many new people in and out and so many people find work so quickly here". If that's the case, why not send everyone to Learn Direct? Hmmm.

I had my first meeting with an extension of Ingeus (called LearnDirect) last week. What a waste of ****ing time. Had to get a 65 minute bus journey into town, to swap over for another 20 minute bus journey, then I got lost and was walking around for 30 minutes looking for the building, eventually found it and sat down with my new advisor. I was told she would "make me work" and there would be no more "lying around in bed all day" for me. She said that at her building I would have access to computers to apply for jobs and that I would go through the usual team building, mock interviews, confidence building workshops and that my weekly meetings would be 2 hours each time. I just want to cry I'm fed up of this.

So I've been signing on since January and usually have no problems with the Jobcentre. I've had 8 interviews this year including one only four days ago where I was interviewing for a position in a hospital. I prove I look for work and generally get no hassle. Anyway on Thursday I got a text message and email from the DWP with this message - I haven't changed address OR made a new claim. I was at the Jobcentre on Wednesday (the day before I got this message) and signed on fine. I didn't get any mail from them yesterday or this morning, and when I checked my bank today I discovered I hadn't been paid by them! I called up the "benefit enquiries" number on my booklet and asked why I hadn't been paid my JSA to which some ******** said "awwwww petal. And what do you want me to do about it?" then hung up the phone. I actually sat frozen for about 10 seconds after this wondering what the hell had happened. My Jobcentre is shut because it's the weekend and the main DWP in our area's number has been engaged for over an hour. These numbers also cost a fortune to call up and I simply can't afford it. I don't have a penny to my name. My parents are on holiday next week and I'm supposed to run the house myself for a week and buy my own food and pay the gas/electricty etc plus I have a phone bill to pay and also rent money. I simply can't go without money!!! What on earth do I do?? Why has this happened? Has this happened to anyone else??

My friend just told me that this Direct Learning thing (an extension of Ingeus?) is an even bigger waste of time. Apparently at the induction you have to play SPEED DATING with the other victims of the programme and then do group presentations on "why we want a job" and "what are the best qualities to have at job interviews". I have to be there at 9am tomorrow morning or my benefits will be affected. I phoned them and told them I have to be in a completely different town at 10:30m to collect my security passes and timetable for a Commonwealth Games summer job and I would appreciate if I could go to the induction another day, and I was told that it was a priority and that it has to be tomorrow. Is this real life? Why am I being treated like this?

Finished with Ingeus at LAST! My advisor asked me why I didn't answer his phonecalls or reply to his emails. I told him I just wanted to be left alone to find work because I didn't think they were helping me. He told me I have a bad attitude and that "everyone else is happy to come here and recieve our help". I couldn't argue with him because I was so ****ed off and I couldn't even make eye contact I felt I was going to explode. I told him I'd had one interview per week for the last three weeks and was unsuccessful, he said "well you need to work on your interview skills since they haven't offered you a job" which I took offense to. I'm not saying I'm great in interviews but I've had three jobs in the past and have one in the summer coming up so clearly I'm not exactly rubbish at them. I thought I was free at last but he told me I now need to go into another town (further away from my home than Ingeus) at 8:30am on Tuesday for a group induction for some new company called Direct Learning who will be "taking care of me" for the next 6 months. ARGHH!

The training is for a job that isn't starting until late-July and is only for 11 days. Would I need to sign off during this? Obviously that's no problem but I don't want to sign off, do the work and then have to go through the long process of re-registering a claim and having to fill out all the forms again. I've managed to avoid Ingeus for a few weeks now but unfortunately they sent me out a letter yesterday with a mandatory appointment for Friday. I imagine my advisor will be very snappy and patronising to me because I've been ignoring them and didn't go to their pointless "mock interview" a while ago. Sigh.

Would this constitute as harassment? I haven't answered any of their phonecalls or responded to any emails, but this is how many times they've phone my mobile lately - 21st May (twice) 22nd May 23rd May (five times) 26th May (three times) 27th May, yesterday (once) Today (twice) It doesn't seem that much but it is so bloody frustrating when I'm halfway through listening to a song or something and it cuts off to ring for their phonecall, or when I'm in the middle of a text or reading something on my phone and it cuts off to their call. I'm starting work with the Commonwealth Games soon and have my training for them tomorrow and I'm worried Ingeus will somehow find out and start pestering them on my behalf for whatever reason.

The interview is in a completely different town from Ingeus so there's no way I can go to both. I posted this a few weeks ago but basically my advisor lied to me. I was told I had a job in Poundland and would start on the following Monday (this was on a voicemail) but when I called my advisor back I found out I had to go to a group interview with Ingeus at a very early time in the morning in a town that has at least 1 hour of public transport involved, and only IF I passed this group interview (which would be 4 hours long and actually had nothing to do with Poundland at all) would i then *maybe* get a proper interview with Poundland. I was told if I didn't go I would get sanctioned. I didn't attend and refused to answer any calls from Ingeus. I was at the Jobcentre today and they never mentioned Ingeus at all and I'm still getting paid as normal because I've proved I'm looking for work (the interview tomorrow plus I have a summer job with the Commonwealth Games coming up). Anyway my advisor from Ingeus tried to call me again today and I didn't answer then he emailed me demanding that I call him ASAP. I refused to call him. My last email to HIM was "oh, I got an interview on the 22nd at 11am :)" and he replied saying "good work". He then books me in for a meeting with him at 10:30am on the same day? Is he trying to get back at me because I didn't go to his silly group interview thing for Poundland?

THIS COMPANY IS DRIVING ME INSANE!! They just sent me my next appointment (via text message, I guess that's not mandatory?) which is TOMORROW even though I told my "advisor" that I have a job interview tomorrow! They're wanting me to go to Ingeus 30 minutes before my interview! OH MY GOD.

My advisor has managed to email me ONE new job to apply for this week (we came to an agreement that he would send me "hidden" jobs to apply for that weren't normally listed on UJM and Indeed etc) and it was a job in McDonalds that is in the middle of a shopping centre and public transport would take me 2 hours to get there, a train and bus journey. Wow, thanks advisor...

If you can't find jobs on UJM then just write in the activity box that you checked other websites for jobs. Indeed and Gumtree are usually pretty ideal for new jobs. You could say you visited those websites daily and that you checked, for example, the Greggs recruitment website for vacancies as well. I don't think everything has to be a job you applied for specifically, even just mentioning you updated your CV or checked the library job point for jobs should get them off your back.