Anyone found employment recently?

Some of the strategies I used were:

1. Spend time having a clean, well written, short CV (nothing fancy)

2. I used Indeed for job search,

3. Spend some time trying to figure out whether you want part-time, full time, or live-in/live out positions,

4. Being willing to relocate widens the job pool and increases chances,

5. If you get an offer, give yourself some time to think before accepting (I had a prepared phrase such as "I will talk to family tomorrow and let you know my decision"). Also check the location; chatbots are useful for this task, also Google Maps,

6. Above 3.5 stars in reviews may be a good threshold,

7. Writing a not too long but descriptive cover letter (adapted to each location and job you apply for) is somewhat useful.

If you live with relatives, you can also try online, remote jobs (e.g. teaching english conversation).

Questions Made

I also asked important questions either before or after the interview / phone call, for example: So the pay is X/hour? How many other employees are there? When did they arrive? Is the job seasonal or permanent? Is there a probation period? How long is it? When do I get the permanent contract?

Some of these can be asked in a phone call, but of course, by email it is safer (you have a copy forever).

All those it put slight pressure on them to comply afterwards.

Important Indicator

For me an interview with a person that seems respectful, not too pretentious and also not too imprecise, are 50% of the contribution to accepting.

Thank you so much for such an amazing response, it really is helpful.

Funny enough just today I have spent the morning creating a newer, better CV template as my current one is not really 5 seconds friendly, it had a great deal of paragraphs and not enough bullet points.

I completely agree with asking questions,  when I have been before for these interviews I always make sure to ask about their experience of working there, the hours, the rota etc. Surprisingly a lot of managers openly seem to imply they dislike their job. 

I was always told 3.5 stars as well. The problem with the review section of Indeed is it is quite small so one false employee or on the contrary one disgruntled employee can either elevate or tank their stars. That being said I did pull my application from one job after seeing they had four, one star reviews all with the same issue around the management and the owners. 

My anxiety goes off the walls if I don't know where the job is, I always have to spend 10 minutes looking at busses or forms of transport to get to these places. 

My own goal is part time and then moving up to full time, I have been unemployed for nearly two years and have caring responsibilities so full time is just too much straight away. 

Indeed tends to be the best 100%, that being said Reed seems to have jobs that Indeed does not. I have no idea why some employers choose to put jobs on one platform and not the other. The Government's own job website in my experience tends to be very public sector and thus very hard to get into. 

Some interviewers are strange I feel. Either they clearly dislike their job and put very little effort into the interview or they are very false and give a fake sense of security only to ghost you. 

Your comment really will help, thank you so much. 

I think you are on the right track, I agree about the reviews, and how you are thinking about it is a good idea. (Can also be aggregated with Trustpilot and Google reviews in some cases.)

I wish you all the best. Don't be too harsh to yourself. It takes time.

Thank you so much for your kind words.

It can be tough when you don't get a bite.

I wish you all the best too

Thank you so much for your kind words.

It can be tough when you don't get a bite.

I wish you all the best too