Leicester's NOT A Shiphole - I Want to Make it My Home

[lifted*fox]

I've been living in Leicester for about 8 years now and I'm quite happy living here.

 

I grew up in Northampton so it's definitely a level up in terms of things to do.

 

don't struggle for shopping, food / drink, sport, events - etc. 

 

my favourite thing about Leicester is probably the diversity. people from all different backgrounds and ethnicity living happily side by side (for the most part) and celebrating each other's cultures with carnivals and calendar events. 

 

want to get out of the UK ASAP but Leicester is a perfectly fine home for now. 

[Vardinio'sCat]

On 19/09/2018 at 15:54, RoboFox said:

 

I've lived in several properties over the years in the Narb area. Hasn't changed much since I left Leicester a decade ago.

 

Between Nine and Pi bar and the Braunstone Gate there's a few decent boozers. Mithaas do a really good vegetarian curry for dirt cheap. Golden Spice's chicken kebab used to be THE delicacy after late night exploits and you'd do well to get a better breakfast than at Cafe 210.

 

Istanbul is worth a mention for kebabs.

Second vote for Mithaas, excellent call.

I would recommend the Bookshop (with associated bike repair business) as worth a visit. They folks who run it are really lovely, and I very much doubt they are Tories. 

The Western is a decent pub, imho.

The variety of eating establishments down the Narb is epic, which means it is very competitive, so quality and prices are very keen. I recently discovered the Royal Chef, a nice chinese, sit down at takeaway prices and bring your own booze. 

 

I think the Hinckley Road (A47) side of the Narb is better, as was mentioned. Residents only parking is in force in many of those roads close to the 'town' end of the Narb', but it stops somewhere around the Upperton Road junction.

 

Best of luck with the job, if it's at LRI the Narb is perfect for you.

 

 

[La-Sayona]

"Thank you for attending the interview for the above post. I regret to inform you that on this occasion you have not been successful and we will not be proceeding with your application.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank you for your interest in University Hospitals of Leicester NHS Trust and wish you well in finding a suitable position in the very near future."

 

A BSc degree, three fluent languages, teaching qualifications, loads of experience here and overseas, but not enough to be a bloody hospital porter pushing dead bodies to the morgue.  

 

I despair!  I wonder who they've found who's better or more qualified for their rotten minimum wage job?  The interview went really well and the literacy test they insisted on me doing was a facile joke (example question: a room is 5 metres long and 3 metres wide, what is the floor area?).   I look at some of the duffers they have doing some of these jobs and I can't get a sniff.  It mystifies me, really it does.

 

I can add this rejection to the others I've had to be linen porter in a hotel, an assistant tree and hedge trimmer (collecting up cuttings), a vinyl record sales database updater and god knows what else.  I lose count.  Apparently I wasn't good enough to do any of those.   I thought unemployment was supposed to be low?

 

Oh well.  Looks like we might have to put the cap back on the bottle of rum and pause the reggaeton CD for a while comrades.......

 

[Stadt]

6 minutes ago, La-Sayona said:

"Thank you for attending the interview for the above post. I regret to inform you that on this occasion you have not been successful and we will not be proceeding with your application.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank you for your interest in University Hospitals of Leicester NHS Trust and wish you well in finding a suitable position in the very near future."

 

A BSc degree, three fluent languages, teaching qualifications, loads of experience here and overseas, but not enough to be a bloody hospital porter pushing dead bodies to the morgue.  

 

I despair!  I wonder who they've found who's better or more qualified for their rotten minimum wage job?  The interview went really well and the literacy test they insisted on me doing was a facile joke (example question: a room is 5 metres long and 3 metres wide, what is the floor area?).   I look at some of the duffers they have doing some of these jobs and I can't get a sniff.  It mystifies me, really it does.

 

I can add this rejection to the others I've had to be linen porter in a hotel, an assistant tree and hedge trimmer (collecting up cuttings), a vinyl record sales database updater and god knows what else.  I lose count.  Apparently I wasn't good enough to do any of those.   I thought unemployment was supposed to be low?

 

Oh well.  Looks like we might have to put the cap back on the bottle of rum and pause the reggaeton CD for a while comrades.......

 

Being overqualified puts employers off, I’m not particularly clued up but I thought teachers were in short supply at the moment and there’s plenty of schools in and around Leicester 

[davieG]

3 hours ago, La-Sayona said:

"Thank you for attending the interview for the above post. I regret to inform you that on this occasion you have not been successful and we will not be proceeding with your application.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank you for your interest in University Hospitals of Leicester NHS Trust and wish you well in finding a suitable position in the very near future."

 

A BSc degree, three fluent languages, teaching qualifications, loads of experience here and overseas, but not enough to be a bloody hospital porter pushing dead bodies to the morgue.  

 

I despair!  I wonder who they've found who's better or more qualified for their rotten minimum wage job?  The interview went really well and the literacy test they insisted on me doing was a facile joke (example question: a room is 5 metres long and 3 metres wide, what is the floor area?).   I look at some of the duffers they have doing some of these jobs and I can't get a sniff.  It mystifies me, really it does.

 

I can add this rejection to the others I've had to be linen porter in a hotel, an assistant tree and hedge trimmer (collecting up cuttings), a vinyl record sales database updater and god knows what else.  I lose count.  Apparently I wasn't good enough to do any of those.   I thought unemployment was supposed to be low?

 

Oh well.  Looks like we might have to put the cap back on the bottle of rum and pause the reggaeton CD for a while comrades.......

 

I've been in this situation they probably think you're using them as a fill in until you find something better so whan to employ someone who they think is a better bet to stay so they're not interviewing again in a couple of months..

[Manwell Pablo]

3 hours ago, La-Sayona said:

"Thank you for attending the interview for the above post. I regret to inform you that on this occasion you have not been successful and we will not be proceeding with your application.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank you for your interest in University Hospitals of Leicester NHS Trust and wish you well in finding a suitable position in the very near future."

 

A BSc degree, three fluent languages, teaching qualifications, loads of experience here and overseas, but not enough to be a bloody hospital porter pushing dead bodies to the morgue.  

 

I despair!  I wonder who they've found who's better or more qualified for their rotten minimum wage job?  The interview went really well and the literacy test they insisted on me doing was a facile joke (example question: a room is 5 metres long and 3 metres wide, what is the floor area?).   I look at some of the duffers they have doing some of these jobs and I can't get a sniff.  It mystifies me, really it does.

 

I can add this rejection to the others I've had to be linen porter in a hotel, an assistant tree and hedge trimmer (collecting up cuttings), a vinyl record sales database updater and god knows what else.  I lose count.  Apparently I wasn't good enough to do any of those.   I thought unemployment was supposed to be low?

 

Oh well.  Looks like we might have to put the cap back on the bottle of rum and pause the reggaeton CD for a while comrades.......

 

 

Well you're over qualified aren't you. Employers don't want someone coming and going as soon as they get something better or being more capable than their line manager and undermining them every 5 minutes among those two and numerous other reasons employers employ people suitable not whoever has the most qualifications. 

 

Crazy idea, try applying for a job at the level you are capable of working at. You'll get more money that way as well.

Edited 25 September 2018 by Manwell Pablo

[Jattdogg]

Same as what  those said above.

 

Apply to more qualified roles or dumb down your resume to make it seem not as important. 

 

When in doubt offer to exhange sex for said job.

[lifted*fox]

you're entitled to interview for whatever you want - maybe this guy wants a chill job (I'm sure there's a morgue joke in there somewhere) for a while and doesn't want a stressful job?

 

just play down your education and previous job roles on your CV a bit. once you've got the job you can subtly drop in how awesome you are. 

[La-Sayona]

I had considered dumbing down my CV, but was talked out of it by my other half who thought that was stupid.  She's right to a great extent.  It is stupid.  Perhaps they ought to carry a warning on these courses and degrees - "Warning: Studying hard and passing these exams may harm your employment prospects".   It's bizarre really.

 

I think "overqualified" is the most stupid reason for not employing someone I've ever heard.  It's like going into a clothes shop and feeling a piece of clothing and saying, oh well this is a bit too good quality for the price, I'm not buying that.  What a world!

 

lifted*fox is right to say that I don't particularly want a stressful job, but more important, as I made clear in the interview, is that the job is something active (not desk-bound) and that contributes usefully to the community.  Job satisfaction and personal fulfillment is far more important to me than riches.  As long as I can pay the rent and we've got enough to eat (and perhaps the occasional bottle of rum!) I'm happy.  Some people seem to have a hard time understanding that point of view.  I've even (politely) turned down offers of pay increases at my current work, which has caused some consternation as you can imagine.  However I don't want to separate myself or put myself in a better position than the other lads who work here.

 

As far as taking the job only to leave again soon after is concerned, I'm 57 on Saturday, so I don't have that many years left working.  If I'd got that job, it would have taken me through to retirement.  They also knew that if I'd got it, I was moving the family from Oxford to Leicester especially.   Hardly the actions of some frivolous fly-by-night.  I'm also careful not to undermine my bosses and they usually appreciate me.   The current lot get me to proof read all of their emails and correspondence so I can correct their chaotic spelling and riotous grammar.  They often ask my advice on matters and I'm very discrete and humble in response.  

 

Anyway, after another rejection received after interview to be a warehouse person, I've now at last managed to get an offer to be a Care Assistant looking after old people.  I feel very positive about it and reckon that the skills are very transferable.   I'm not giving up on Leicester and once I've got a year or so in and a bit of experience and qualifications in care, I'll have another go at looking for a job up there.

[boots60]

This thread is somewhat losing its original subject.

Does anyone want to know anything about my employment struggles? I don't think so.

[Manwell Pablo]

32 minutes ago, La-Sayona said:

I had considered dumbing down my CV, but was talked out of it by my other half who thought that was stupid.  She's right to a great extent.  It is stupid.  Perhaps they ought to carry a warning on these courses and degrees - "Warning: Studying hard and passing these exams may harm your employment prospects".   It's bizarre really.

 

I think "overqualified" is the most stupid reason for not employing someone I've ever heard.  It's like going into a clothes shop and feeling a piece of clothing and saying, oh well this is a bit too good quality for the price, I'm not buying that.  What a world!

 

lifted*fox is right to say that I don't particularly want a stressful job, but more important, as I made clear in the interview, is that the job is something active (not desk-bound) and that contributes usefully to the community.  Job satisfaction and personal fulfillment is far more important to me than riches.  As long as I can pay the rent and we've got enough to eat (and perhaps the occasional bottle of rum!) I'm happy.  Some people seem to have a hard time understanding that point of view.  I've even (politely) turned down offers of pay increases at my current work, which has caused some consternation as you can imagine.  However I don't want to separate myself or put myself in a better position than the other lads who work here.

 

As far as taking the job only to leave again soon after is concerned, I'm 57 on Saturday, so I don't have that many years left working.  If I'd got that job, it would have taken me through to retirement.  They also knew that if I'd got it, I was moving the family from Oxford to Leicester especially.   Hardly the actions of some frivolous fly-by-night.  I'm also careful not to undermine my bosses and they usually appreciate me.   The current lot get me to proof read all of their emails and correspondence so I can correct their chaotic spelling and riotous grammar.  They often ask my advice on matters and I'm very discrete and humble in response.  

 

Anyway, after another rejection received after interview to be a warehouse person, I've now at last managed to get an offer to be a Care Assistant looking after old people.  I feel very positive about it and reckon that the skills are very transferable.   I'm not giving up on Leicester and once I've got a year or so in and a bit of experience and qualifications in care, I'll have another go at looking for a job up there.

 

What?   You don't have a Rocket Scientist stacking shelves at Tesco or a Quantum Physicist sweeping the roads do you   

 

Just out of interest how does any of your experience, degrees, or fluent languages make you the  YSL of pushing dead bodies on carts around and some one with less intelligence and previous experience in a very similar role an F&F sweater? 

 

No one cares how clever you are in a job like that, in fact it holds you back, for numerous reasons stated and others such as you'll feel under challenged and become bored, use your own initiative in situations when they want someone to follow specific orders from management. They want someone subordinate grateful to have the job who is going to do as they are told. Now you can say you'll apply yourself and you may well mean that but they are just words, they are much more likely to go with someone who they know is suitable to do the job in the way they want as oppose to taking your word for it and have you go back on it. 

 

Anyway, I'd suggest something  like being a Care Assistant would be a much better fit as it's more challenging and employers may believe you want the reward that goes with looking after older people and you get something from the interaction with them. And yes I am sure with a bit of experience (and your CV shows you've stuck with the caring for a  year and want to carry on with it) you'll find getting a job anywhere you want much easier. Good Luck with it all. 

 

Edited 26 September 2018 by Manwell Pablo

[Vince Vega]

3 hours ago, La-Sayona said:

I had considered dumbing down my CV, but was talked out of it by my other half who thought that was stupid.  She's right to a great extent.  It is stupid.  Perhaps they ought to carry a warning on these courses and degrees - "Warning: Studying hard and passing these exams may harm your employment prospects".   It's bizarre really.

 

I think "overqualified" is the most stupid reason for not employing someone I've ever heard.  It's like going into a clothes shop and feeling a piece of clothing and saying, oh well this is a bit too good quality for the price, I'm not buying that.  What a world!

 

lifted*fox is right to say that I don't particularly want a stressful job, but more important, as I made clear in the interview, is that the job is something active (not desk-bound) and that contributes usefully to the community.  Job satisfaction and personal fulfillment is far more important to me than riches.  As long as I can pay the rent and we've got enough to eat (and perhaps the occasional bottle of rum!) I'm happy.  Some people seem to have a hard time understanding that point of view.  I've even (politely) turned down offers of pay increases at my current work, which has caused some consternation as you can imagine.  However I don't want to separate myself or put myself in a better position than the other lads who work here.

 

As far as taking the job only to leave again soon after is concerned, I'm 57 on Saturday, so I don't have that many years left working.  If I'd got that job, it would have taken me through to retirement.  They also knew that if I'd got it, I was moving the family from Oxford to Leicester especially.   Hardly the actions of some frivolous fly-by-night.  I'm also careful not to undermine my bosses and they usually appreciate me.   The current lot get me to proof read all of their emails and correspondence so I can correct their chaotic spelling and riotous grammar.  They often ask my advice on matters and I'm very discrete and humble in response.  

 

Anyway, after another rejection received after interview to be a warehouse person, I've now at last managed to get an offer to be a Care Assistant looking after old people.  I feel very positive about it and reckon that the skills are very transferable.   I'm not giving up on Leicester and once I've got a year or so in and a bit of experience and qualifications in care, I'll have another go at looking for a job up there.

You have to tailor your CV to meet the individual requirements of the Job Role / Profile, rather than sending the same CV for every job vacancy.  I know it doesn't seem right but it works.  You have to play the game.  Likewise, employers make job adverts sound 'sexier' than the role actually is.

 

Good luck anyway. 

[fuchsntf]

On 24/09/2018 at 14:45, lifted*fox said:

I've been living in Leicester for about 8 years now and I'm quite happy living here.

 

I grew up in Northampton so it's definitely a level up in terms of things to do.

 

don't struggle for shopping, food / drink, sport, events - etc. 

 

my favourite thing about Leicester is probably the diversity. people from all different backgrounds and ethnicity living happily side by side (for the most part) and celebrating each other's cultures with carnivals and calendar events. 

 

want to get out of the UK ASAP but Leicester is a perfectly fine home for now. 

Why ASAP...and where???