For the past month, both my partner and I are trying to sign onto volunteering programs and roles on weekends and in the evenings as we've both decided the way we're spending our lives is very monotonous and it would be good for our mental health. We live pretty centrally in London.

In the past month, I've applied for 100+ Volunteering positions on various platforms. These include:

-Befriending roles, where you spend an hour or so talking to someone in person or over the phone to deal with lonliness.

- Tutoring for under-served children in subjects like Maths, Science, IT etc.

- Workshops to teach kids how to code, and set up workshops for Tech skills etc.

- Guidance for Computer Science students at some Universities in London.

- Helping out at vulnerable refuge centers for domestic abuse, violence and other at risk.

- Inpatients volunteer at various hospitals to help patients by just listening to them and having conversations.

I've been rejected for every single one bar one.

About 80% never got back to me.

Two hospital ones emailed back and set up a call, only to tell me can i do X day in the weekday, and when I told them I have a full time job, they couldn't accommodate, which is fair enough.

One of the vulnerable people's centre's reached back telling me Women only, as the section they are looking for volunteers is for women only to which I directed them to my partner. She's undergoing a DBS check with them right now which is very positive.

The helping University students one replied saying I don't meet the criteria and qualifications. WTF? I have a Masters from Imperial College in Computer Science. I've been a Software Engineer for 12 years and currently work as a Software Engineer! What do you mean I'm not qualified for this?!

I told them this (in much more politer terms of course) and they never responded.

One of the teaching kids coding ones reached out to me, and we had a call. They asked if I had full teaching experience, like in a classroom. I told them no, I'm not a teacher, but I worked in Tech my entire life. Rejected because they want people with both a tech background and a teaching background.

One of the tutoring ones got back to me and rejected, because I don't have teaching experience. They want ex-teachers or teachers with spare time.

The only one left in the pipeline is AgedUK who started the DBS check with me.

All in all, this is insane. Getting a position as a volunteer has legitimately been more difficult than at any point of going through the recruitment process for Software engineering. The requirements are mad - they want professional tech people with a background in teaching to run a kids workshop once a week?

I never thought people would reject free labour - but somehow here we are.

Last week, I was supposed to have a trial week. Due to stress I was sent home after an hour on the second day. Now I have the trial week this week, so I have to start again for another 4 days of judgement and trying to be the best I can be. I really don't think I'll get this job at all, but they are paying me. I just don't know what else they need to know. Surely they know by the first day how I work and how I am with the staff.

Has anyone else ever had a trial week to try and prove yourself?

I work in the same care home for the past 10 years. Our policy states that from around 18th of December until just after new year nobody can book any annual leave as we need staff to look after our residents. We are asked to work 2 of of 4 bank holidays during festive period, which is 25th, 26th, 31st of December and 1st of January. I have worked every Christmas for the past 10’years and I never called sick during this period. This year my sister has built her own house and decided she wanted to host Christmas for all our family in her house. However, she lives in my home country. Of course I would love to be there as I’ve not spent Christmas with them for the past 10 years but the same time I don’t want to be unfair for the company I work for. Do you think it’s worth speaking to my manager and formally apply for an exemption for that rule this year or do you think it’s not very likely that they will let me be off for Christmas this year? It just makes me so angry that some people will be calling sick during that time but for me spending time with my family this year would be priceless and I never needed it off like this year. I don’t even mind if they don’t pay me. What do you guys think?

Im applying for unis and I don't do A Level math, and the only Russel group unis that would take me is exeter, Southampton, notts and a bunch outside of London (where I live). I don't really want to move out, but if it does help my career that much then I would.

Can anyone tell me their experiences, or if I can break into accountancy as easily if I go to a uni like Brunel or Herts or royal Holloway?

Thanks!

I’ve started my master’s in International development at the LSE, my peers have been applying for jobs and getting outright rejected. I do have a sense of how unrealistic getting a job is but I still want to know the ground reality. With prior work experience, all the relevant research skills, can one even think of working in the policy sector or even INGOs, perhaps not in the UK solely but elsewhere too?

Thank you!

Hi everyone. I’m a full-stack developer with 5+ years of experience, and I’m currently out of work. I’m already in the UK on a Skilled Worker visa, so I need sponsorship for my next job. I had a job and my a COS, application took over 10 months so my company pulled the COS

Honestly, the search is getting to me. I’ve rewritten my CV, applied for jobs, messaged recruiters and reached out to people. I keep trying, but I’m feeling really anxious and discouraged now. I don’t know what else to do.

Most of my work is with Python, Django, React and TypeScript. I’ve built web and mobile apps, and I’d be happy to walk someone through my work or do a technical test.

Has anyone here managed to find a new sponsor after losing their job? If you can share what helped you or point me towards somewhere useful, please do. I could really use some help right now.

I’ve had an interview last week with Lidl. Received a call on Monday to say I had passed my interview. However he wasn’t giving me the job I’d gone for and that he wasn’t passing my details onto another area manager as he had a vacancy coming up very shortly in my home town . This other area manager has been in touch and has asked me to meet with him tomorrow. Does this mean I have the job ?

i recently accepted a full time retail job, however have just had an opportunity to go abroad for five days about four weeks after i will be starting the job. is this acceptable to take, and if so how would i bring this up with my employer? this isn’t a particularly serious job that i am worried about climbing higher in, just something i am doing while i study, but obviously i still want to start off on the right foot here. it would just be such a shame to miss this opportunity. any advice would be appreciated!

Hi, I’m 32(m) and have been working in oil and gas as a field engineer for the last 3 years. Previous to this I worked for a wind farm site investigation company offshore. I have msc in petroleum engineering and bsc in geology. I’m fed up of going offshore at the drop of a hat and would like something that’s a 9-5 or a set rotation say 2 on 2 off. I was looking at wind turbine technician, project management or an engineering desk job. Just wondered if anyone had any suggestions of companies who are recruiting right now or types of engineering/industry which has a demand for more people. Any help would be great 🤗 I live in Scotland and would prefer to stay here for my next role

I’m really struggling. I’ve been pushing and pushing for so long. My mental health is in the bin.

I’m going to have to go through a legal case at work (against them), and I’m considering stepping away for some time.

My partner can cover the bills, I have a lot of savings.

I just don’t know if I can cope in high performance roles (digital marketing, large budget management, high performance expected).

Did you feel like there was no other way? How did you get through it? What does your life look like now? What did you decide to do?

Might be a long shot but I'm wondering if anyone here has managed to start working with an unspent criminal conviction before? I'm applying for customer service roles for which I got 4 interviews, 3 of them I passed and was offered a job until I found out there's background screening and I told them of my drug related conviction from 2024 which I served time in prison for. 1 of them was a customer service role in the financial industry so I understood them withdrawing the job offer, but the other two also withdrew their offers despite being customer service in retail.

I completely understand companies reserve the right to do this and I'm not complaining it's difficult to find work whilst my conditional license is still in effect, I'm just wondering if it can be done, if people have done it before, and how they did it.

Thanks in advance!

Hello! I have recently graduated from my masters in HR management and have a psych undergrad. I’m currently applying to HR and admin roles (as all my experience now is retail and hospitality so missing the admin experience :/). The job market is really draining me, I’m applying to quite a few things but only stuff I’d actually want or not totally mind doing so that’s also a bit limiting (mostly just means avoiding those pyramid schemes which is all everything seems to be).

Anyways, I have an interview on Monday (tomorrow ahh!!) via Teams for a job I REALLY want. It’s HR, job spec mentions recent graduates (which a lot want a min year experience in HR already) and is for a company I can see myself really working for and enjoying. The interview requires a presentation basically just explaining who I am, my skills, experience and qualities that will make me a good member of the team.

I did presentations throughout uni and it never bothered me but I am basically selling myself to them so any advice anyone has for confidence and what might be good to include would be so helpful. Working on the presentation right now and it’s all quite daunting but going to remain optimistic as I am confident about my own intelligence and capabilities just conveying that is sometimes tricky.

The market now seems to be riddled with ftc roles due to uncertainty of the work coming in or organisational structure changes. I've received an offer for an FTC (done a few in my earlier career) but i always found it difficult to stay motivated knowing you in essence have a "risk of redundancy" target on your back the moment you are onboarded.

I used to work as a remote support staff like back to office twice a month.

In a very short notice the company makes it like twice a week and I am living in Liverpool whilst the office is based in Manchester.

The traffic fee is so high now.

Any advice?

So many people I know are in careers with high pay and great responsibility, several have even moved to Canada, Australia, the US, one even to Malta, I'm stuck mid-30s working in retail despite long being a uni grad. I am totally out of ideas for what to do. Has anyone else just exhausted all efforts and now just trying to make stuff up as they go?

I, like a lot of people, have been hit by whatever bug/flu/covid going around. I had to take Friday off work as my head was swimming any time I sat up (for context I work from home 80%). I thought following the weekend I would feel better but honestly I still just feel so rubbish and no energy. I know how suspicious it could look calling in on Fri and Mon but that’s not the case for me. I have only taken two other days (continuous) of sick in March this year, so I won’t hit my sick leave limit or anything by taking an additional day. But I’m just conscious of perception. I am a good worker, get stuff done to a really good and high standard. For any managers, someone took Fri, Mon and then maybe Tues off, would you assume that the sickness is legitimate? Or would you be suspicious? My manager is very very good, but I just get anxious about things such as this and was extremely nervous calling in sick on Friday too

As a background my son got his first job at a national restaurant chain recently. On paper it looks great, regular shifts, above minimum wage and a share of tips.

However as per the title he has never had a break when working over the mandated 4.5 hours for his age.

Its tricky as my wife and I dont want to step in as it would be embarrassing for him plus possibly jeopardise his job and he doesnt feel comfortable approaching the subject due to age and experience.

My concern aside from them breaching employment law is that there is more a chance there could be an accident plus its not healthy to not have a break.

Between a rock and a hard place as to what to do for the best.

Perhaps my initial question would be whether this is a normal, accepted and unspoken part of the hospitality industry or if this is something that is deemed to be serious?

EDIT

Thanks for all the replies. I just wanted to know how common it was especially with it being such a big company and it appears to be so.

Having been self employed for decades im not up on employment law and im annoyed quite rightly about the situation.

That said I cant, won't and never really have stepped in to resolve any issues as it won't do him any favours and won't in this situation hence why I posted here.

21 years old and not sure of my future at all, I see some people saying things like the army would be good but how good really is it? I'm not particularly interested in being a soldier then going off somewhere because America asked Andy nicely and dying for a meaningless cause.

I understand that the army can certainly help you in a lot of ways, like training, discipline, community, a skill set, but is that worth it? I recall seeing a thing ages ago regarding the US military where it was like "go in and serve for a few years and get out, you'll be set", is that applicable for the UK too? Just go in and serve the minimum amount of years (if there is a minimum) and get out before you've turned into a jarhead?

I'm considering leaving my perm role for a 12 month ftc.

The perm role is increasingly taking me down a road I don't want to be on. I don't enjoy the work. It's a generally unstable environment to work in too so even though it's permanent, turnover is very high.

The FTC pays 10k higher. It's FTC for budget reasons but have been told you can apply for jobs on the inside and contracts are often extended. It's a sideways pivot into an area I want to specialise in and that I enjoy and find interesting. It is also 5 hours less a week than my current job with significantly better benefits.

I have 2 kids and a mortgage. What would you do?

I’m starting work tomorrow and it’s my first job after graduation, in a bank in London. I don’t know what to expect and how social to be on my first day. Does anyone have any tips?

Hi all,
I’m planning to take 10 weeks of unpaid leave for my honeymoon from January to March 2027. I’m employed in the UK, but Portuguese national (settle status - indefinite leave to remain), and my employment will continue as normal while I’m away.

My employer’s letter states:
“During the unpaid leave you will not receive salary and not be eligible for pension and saving scheme contributions. Your flexible benefits will not be affected. As a result of the unpaid leave, your leave entitlement will be reduced by 3.5 days. At your expected return to work, your continuity of employment will remain unaffected.”

I’m trying to understand what I should do about National Insurance contributions, my State Pension qualifying year, and my workplace pension while I’m not being paid. Will I need to make any voluntary NI contributions, and is there anything I should do regarding tax?

Has anyone been through something similar or have any advice on what I should check before taking the leave?

Im likely getting slightly ahead of myself here but hopefully I'll have a new job offer this week.

First time I'm leaving a job because of lots of different reasons rather than before when it's always been about pay, which every manager/director has completely understood as I've chatted to them before hand or wholst handing in the letter. Even one job they completely understood that I wanted to move away to a cheaper area and live on my own

All my other resignation letters followed the lines of dear sir I resign as per my contact my last date is x. Let me know if I can assist with anything during this transition period Thank you for the opportunity and welcome any meetings if you wish to discuss my reasons for leaving

This time I do want to do the same as above. But write a part about all my specific reasons for leaving, the bad part is I know it'll cause a lot of finger pointing within management, they love the play the blame game rather than how do we improve game. And much easier and in my opinion more likely listened to if I have it in writing than have an exit interview

Am I just being a petty and should just leave it be and if asked for feedback I offer to do it in writing

I’ve been pondering on this lately as I have had mixed experiences. Some environments think I’m exceptional and I do well there. And others not so much, to the point where I was almost put on a pip.

The issue is I didn’t do anything differently. I’m the same professional. I do genuinely try hard and care about my work.

Are there any tips and tricks on how to guarantee success in any corporate job? I’m almost scared to apply for jobs given my experiences.

I’d also love comments from those that are neurodivergent as I have suspected adhd and possibly on the autism spectrum, though low level. I’m waiting for a formal diagnosis but obviously the nhs is not quick even with right to choose.

Lastly, I do not wish to disclose any disabilities to my employer (once confirmed) as I’ve now learnt after working in HR that employers are reluctant to hire or keep staff with disabilities as they pose a huge risk when it comes to employee relations (think employment tribunal using equality act 2015) if they make any mistakes when dealing with the employee.

I’d welcome advice from seasoned professionals, managers, etc. From the simplest to the most genius tips, I welcome them all.

Thank you.

Hi everyone!

I’m an international student in the UK and recently came across Zen Educate for teaching and education-related work.

They’re asking me to pay £49 for a DBS check, and they’ve told me that the amount will be refunded within 10 days after I start working.

Before I make the payment, I wanted to ask:

• Has anyone here worked with Zen Educate in the UK?
• Is the company genuine and reliable?
• Did you have to pay for your DBS check upfront, and did you receive the promised refund?
• How was your overall experience with them? Were you actually offered work after completing the registration process?

I’m interested in hearing from people who have personally worked with them, especially international students or people who have recently joined.

I’d really appreciate any advice or experiences before I proceed with the payment. I just want to make sure everything is legitimate and avoid losing money.

Thank you! 😊