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Third of young people receive 'no response' to job applications

By Press Association , Aug 20, 2012
Filed under: Career

A third of unemployed young people have not received any responses to job applications in the past year, new research has shown.

A survey of 2,000 16 to 30-year-olds, 250 of whom were jobless, also showed that almost two thirds described looking for work as "demoralising".

One in five unemployed young people questioned by The Prince's Trust and RBS bank said that finding a job in the next year would be "unachievable".

The report, to be published on Monday, showed that self-employed young people were significantly more positive about their future.

Martina Milburn, chief executive of The Prince's Trust, said: "It remains a difficult time for the young unemployed and the longer they are out of work the more likely they are to sink into a spiral of disappointment and depression. Setting up in business can be an escape route out of the dole queue for these young people, and a route to success."

Tags: career, economy, jobs, news, recession, unemployment

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9 Comments

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brym611

Is it any wonder that a lot of these people don't get any reply to their job applications when some can't even string a sentence together! I have had job applications sent to me over the years that are so badly spelt, no full stops, comma's or capital letters and even had some written in text talk!!
When i get letters sent to me that are written in such a way that i can't even read them properly they go straight in the bin, if the applicant can't be bothered, then neither can I.

August 20 2012 at 8:45 AM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down Reply

mickmercer

I wouldn't advise young people to set up their own business.

The paperwork is unbelievably complex and time consuming. You are hounded constantly by HMRC/Companies House.

You need to find the money for an Accountant before you can take anything out for yourself. If you don't you are fined for late paperwork.

Just an excuse to reduce the numbers get people of the benefits bill.

August 20 2012 at 7:42 AM Report abuse Permalink -1 rate up rate down Reply

1 reply to mickmercer's comment

brym611

Hi Mick
I set up my own business and found it to be relatively easy.
As for your comment on:
"You need to find the money for an Accountant before you can take anything out for yourself. If you don't you are fined for late paperwork"
I find this a bit misleading, as your accountants bill is or should be, costed into the price of your product or the service that you provide.
As for being fined for late paperwork, all self employed businesses get plenty of notice of when their paper work has to be submitted to HMRC and if they can't be bothered to get it in on time, they deserve to be penalised for it!!

August 20 2012 at 8:53 AM Report abuse Permalink +1 rate up rate down Reply

rogerlocke78

I ,being an old duffer, consider it to be extremely rude not to have the courtesy to reply to such
communications as job applications or letters. I always made a point of sending an acknowledgement
or a 'thanks but no thanks' reply. These days courtesy seems to have gone by the board to be replaced
by rudeness and arrogance.

August 20 2012 at 5:57 AM Report abuse Permalink +1 rate up rate down Reply

1 reply to rogerlocke78's comment

tracyadeleb

It's not quite so easy when you have 100 - 1000 people applying for 1 job. You'd need to spend an entire week replying to every application.

August 20 2012 at 6:14 AM Report abuse Permalink +1 rate up rate down Reply

1 reply to tracyadeleb's comment

kimooi

With access to modern IT facilities, this is no longer an excuse. You could compose a standard rejection letter with a scanned signature and just insert a new address for each one, it would at least tell the applicant that you care enough about them to reply and to encourage them to apply for future vacancies - after all if/when the boom comes and there is a shortage of labour, you would want to be remembered as a courteous employer rather than one who couldn't even be bothered to pen a two-line reply when the applicant has spent hours or even days filling out your application form.

August 20 2012 at 6:45 AM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down

ndjohnson767

So I wonder as to how they prove to the JobCentre that they are genuinely trying to get a job, after all, most job applications are submitted via email.
Does this mean that in order to secure their weekly dole money they have to divulge details of their email accounts to prove they are actively looking for a job or do they have to attend the JobCentre once a fortnight with copies of email applications?? How riduculous would that be; saving on uneccessary paperwork but then having to print email copies of job applications to justify a few quid weekly dole money!! Where do we find these muppets we call politicians??

August 20 2012 at 5:11 AM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down Reply

2 replies to ndjohnson767's comment

tracyadeleb

You could print off a send receipt for all applications applied for. I used to keep a spreadsheet with every job detailed, the date and how I'd applied for it, if I'd have a reply or not and if I'd had an interview. I also kept any letters I received. When the job is centre is faced with such organised and detailed record keeping they stay off your back and leave you to it. So far - I've always managed to find work within 10-12 weeks. God knows how it'd be nowa days tho?? :(

August 20 2012 at 6:20 AM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down Reply

kimooi

You do this by writing on the JSA book details of the posts that you've applied for, with who and when and if you've had an interview or any other response. I've never had to take along copies of application forms and this would be ridiculous. But you are right about politicians being muppets - all the Jobcentre does is check that you've applied for at least as many vacancies as agreed - they never do anything to actually help people find a job.

August 20 2012 at 6:50 AM Report abuse Permalink +1 rate up rate down Reply