A one off advice based post; I can see some struggling.

I’ve not looked at the application form so this is just off the top of my head, but consider what the job role is and what it is asking for. There’s a lot of the usual ‘diversity’ and ‘equality’ nonsense, but ignore that and look at what is being asked of you.

1. The giving of advice: It doesn’t ask if you are degreed or not, but what it does demand is that you are fairly clued up on criminal law, or at least able to research for answers, because as I understand it, that will be one of your main roles.

2. What are your problem solving skills like? Are you a person with ideas who can plan ahead and research into new projects? Are you open to challenges, new ideas . . . . ?

3. Having experience of the CJS is not really applicable as everyone applying will have that.

4. Have you managerial experience and are you able to work both on your own and/or as a group? In other words, can you be left on your own to get on with it and are you also able to fit in with the rest of the small but tightly knit group in an office setting? As in, how’s your personality?

5. How is your telephone manner, writing; are you able to put forward coherent answers in a confident but tactful manner? (That would exclude me then even if I were in the UK )!

6. One person is going to get the job. It might be you, it might not. Don’t despair if it’s not, it’s not the end of the world and if you feel you haven’t got the qualifications for the job, now is the time to start thinking why not and preparing yourself for the next job like this that comes along. A wake up call?   

Folie (Re: The wake up call)

I think the point being missed Folie, is that this is not a training course; this is the real thing. Methinks this isn’t a position similar to a check out operator at your local KFC, where job training is given before you’re allowed to serve and little coloured stars are given denoting your proficiency. A high degree of expertise is being sought from the outset, hence my parting comment that if someone wants to get into this line of work, it might be better to study some of the issues that will be involved first before applying? Perhaps I’m wrong, but I think that a position for someone who is a ‘Jack of all trades’ this job isn’t.

My living abroad does not qualify me to be a travel agent and my many years spent as a HGV driver will not provide me with knowledge to be a car salesman. Hence, I am neither of these.

The job is asking for a considerable degree of knowledge in certain fields and the ability to convey it to others, plus research skills and project development. You say, “I have many friends in very good jobs who don't have all those skill's.” That’s why your friends won’t be applying for this particular post and are employed elsewhere; some do have these skills and they are the ones who might land themselves a good job.

Yet why not apply? It will probably take you ten minutes to fill out the application form and a first class stamp. Certainly the position is a “challenge” as you say; are you up to it? If you feel you’re not able to cope at this level, then perhaps something less demanding might be more suitable?   

Folie

Mmm, I see your point. I don’t want to get into a usual essay mode, but in these recession hit times, a distinct knowledge of anything can be played on and you’re right that there’s usually a cross over of skills, but not always. Perhaps as a HGV driver I wouldn’t have the patience or required qualities to teach others. A fitter would bring in another whole new world of mechanics and engineering, etc’. I currently lecture well over a thousand students a week, yet I’d be stuck on what to say if I had to knock on someone’s door to sell them Uncle Ian’s magic carpet cleaner!   

A little intuition tells me that UNLOCK are seeking to replace Chris Bath in this position? A little wander around the site will show you what Chris was up to and the projects he was involved in. A little too liberal for me, but the methodology and academic presentation were above reproach. In other words, he knew his stuff (or how to research it) and that stuff was the CJS. It’s not something you can ‘experience’ because that experience will be subjective. I would say it also requires an academic knowledge of criminology, law, penology, politics . . . apart from the usual necessary personal qualities of individual/group involvement in the project work. Its specific skills and knowledge they’re asking for and not undefined qualities used in another everyday role.

The forum makes criminology and the CJS look straightforward; black and white, right or wrong . . . . . In reality it’s a minefield of contradictions, politics and pressure groups and that’s apart from the academics of it. I suppose that’s why I used to get exasperated with the, ‘it says on a website I read’ or ‘I . . . must . . . obey’ crowd. Yes, the job is not for everyone, but it’s not about intelligence, it’s about knowledge in that specific area that is required and not simply an opinion.

Having said all that, I didn’t write the specifics for this job and perhaps it sounds harsher than intended? There again, perhaps it was written intentionally to weed out those not suitable before the interview process? I quickly scanned through the specifics and found it normal enough for what is intended and suitable for most under graduate third year students of criminology, or at a pinch, sociology. Disclaimer - All simply my opinion of course.

Good luck to those that apply – a new start, a new location and who knows where that can lead to? A new life for the price of a first class stamp! 

My definition of intelligence; objectively and subjectively.

1. Knowing things that enable you to move onwards and upwards in life. The ability to make the right decisions based on previous knowledge gained.

2. Gain the knowledge, adapt it to your current position and then adapt yourself to take advantage.

In our positions I would say its having knowledge of the political system; being able to predict trends, reliance on your own abilities and totally ignore anything the government tells you. Whilst I was ignoring the laws of the UK, it now appears that the rest were breaking the Human Rights Act by declaring their convictions. It appears they weren’t being honest, but were being misled. The intelligence comes from knowing this and not being an automaton and one of the herd.

I’m sure Mr. Cameron would be disgusted, (physically ill), that I have the vote and a professional career, but to tell you the truth, its better than my hanging about unemployed on street corners with a bottle of cheap cider. (Which is where he and his LASPO think I should be).

Intelligence comes from presenting yourself as who you are and not the mistake you once were. How can you move on if you’re forever reverting to your past? In whose best interests is that? Life is what we choose make it, not what someone else tells us it should be. Knowing this and believing in our abilities is what will help us to succeed, not LASPO or some drivel put out on a website for the herd to interpret and get excited about. As that wise old owl Eustace says, two steps forward and three steps back!

Believe in yourself, ignore the politicians and you’ll be amazed at how different life suddenly looks and the chances that start to appear. Intelligence? In my opinion, it’s a frame of mind mixed with past experience and future abilities.

“IanC; An extreme, eccentric poster that first caresses the senses with his rich aromas, firm texture and full, ripe flavour, then dramatically explodes into jubilant freshness. Rich, radiant gold illuminated by slender streams of bubbles.His writings teams the nose with the tartness of fresh pear and candied lemon, the roundness of ripe fruit and nougatine. Then even as the reader is revelling in the smooth, mellow flavours of honey, gingerbread and mocha, this astounding poster unleashes his exuberant crescendo of freshness that is at once totally unexpected and utterly IanC.”

Yes, yes Folie, that about sums me up.

P.S Tut tut, my posting name is IanC, not Krug. Like a fine and aged wine unleashing his delicate flavours upon the  masses . . . pure poetry. Hark, do I feel another State funeral coming on in time?  

Back to business.

As for posting, (and fisking), I took on board the two comments from months ago; a) sod off and b) don’t post too much. If people want to believe that politicians are going to help them then perhaps it’s best to live in hope and ignorance? If people demand that employers change their stance, then so be it. If people truly believe in non-discriminatory websites, then let them.  I’ve been in this game too long to believe any more and went my own way . . .hopefully, unlike myself, it won’t also take you twenty years on the ROA to figure that out. When I look at LASPO and the comments of the government to ‘do as little as possible to comply with ECHR rulings’ it all sort of falls into place, doesn’t it?

Opinion

I answered the post of Folie because I can see some struggling going on there as to what I think is required in this UNLOCK post. I could think of three or four on the forum that fulfill the criteria and if this advert were put in the guardian, hundreds. All this is a kind of game; OK I know it doesn’t feel like it when you’re on the receiving end, but just like your day in court, there’s lots of people paying lip service to all this and making lots of money out of it. In my opinion, one of UNLOCK’s main active roles is to bring to people’s attention that it’s not a game and damages many people’s lives still further. In that context, I see the role also as one of research and that’s the difficulty – trying to convince those making money out of it all to combine their creative talents and put them to better use. At the moment I’m afraid I see it as flogging a dead horse, but in time with the end of the recession and a depleted skilled workforce, who knows?

The usual disclaimer – my opinions, not UNLOCK’s.

I thought Numan had got it.....

* Removed *

Post Edited (Q5) : 01/08/2013 14:36:16 (GMT+1)