Job interveiw for a terrible sounding job.

So I am going for a job interview on Monday....tomorrow. That is not bad, I have sadly done 20 odd interviews over the last 2 years and no go.

However this one....sounds bad. Here is a job description I pulled from their Facebook/Twitter page from a month ago, nothing more up to date so I assume it is the same post.

Leaflet Distributors required for **************************************** areas. We are looking for Honest, Reliable and Trustworthy people to distribute various leaflets throughout these areas. Own car and mobile phone an advantage. We offer flexible hours, flexible days. Good rates of pay for the right people. Earn up to £45 per 1,000 households delivered too. Only Genuine people reply, we do not require time wasters or dumpers. All distributions are fully checked by our own full time Supervisors. If you are genuinely interested in this position please call ******************************* during office hours This is a self employed position. Only genuine people need apply!

Reason why I have the job interview is In Britain there is the Job center for Unemployed people they pay benefits to people unemployed, very basic £50 ($80) a week (any job will easily double that money....except this job.) as long as we prove we are searching for a job.

I am forced onto a jobs course to increase help and monitoring in my job search, this other company set me up with this job interview I said yes. As I am not opposed to leaflet distribution, except......

1: as shown its UP TO £45 ($72) per 1000 houses. I dont know if that's a reasonable amount of effort to pay.

2: It is only for 4 weeks.

3: We are in the middle of a Scottish Winter and I would need better pay to buy suitable clothes.....which in theory with this money is not going to happen.

4: I would be off of Job seekers and my only income for a month would be this job ONLY IF I hit 1000 houses.

5: I would be self employed.....for a small job. That means I have to do my own taxes. Register self employed? What does it realy mean? I can only see shortfall with this.

I am fully allowed to turn the job down, however If I turn the interview down without trying I could be penalized and get no money for upto 26 weeks.

I am not sure if I am being unreasonable, I will be asking these questions. However Id rather ask them in a decent way.

Any advice?

@Akyho: Go to the interview and use it as practice. As soon as you've determined the job isn't for you, you're in a position of power over the interviewer and can commence messing with them and having fun with it.

You know an employer is competent when they haven't grasped the basic concept of capitalization.

Registering a self employed is ok. A couple of forms and you probably won't make enough cash to pay a significant amount of tax. If you think the job will earn you less than £5000 in a year you can get tax exemption. I had to do this for a small amount of contracting work I did earlier this year.

@Akyho: Protip. You do not have to take a job if the pay is less than your JSA.

The JC+ should also not be trying to get you into work that pays less than NMW,

NEVER and i mean NEVER even look at the self employed vacancies.

Seriously, this shit is not worth your time, and you will not lose your JSA if you do not take the position. A better way to go about this is not apply for the self employed vacancies at all due to them being shit.

Also, fuck walking about during British winter. Especially Northern Winter. It's like -4 right now where i am in Newcastle, i'd hate to think how fucked it is further North.

You shouldnt be doing leaflet distribution anyway. Youre better than that

The only decent prospects you'd have to look forward to in that job would be becoming unemployed again.

Do the interview the best you can and afterwards ask your interviewer how you did and what you can do better next time. Then if you get the job and you hate it, be horrible at it.

1000 isn't really a lot of houses to push leaflets through letterboxes in. I reckon you could get 1000 done in 3 to 4 days of really hard work. If you think of it as 22p for every leaflet you push through someone's door, that makes it sound a bit better.

I did deliveries for a pizza place. As part of the job, I would have to go door-to-door leaving door hangers when it was slow.

I wanted to die every single time. Every. Single. Time.

Don't take this job.

How the fuck can you afford a premium subscription to a website about video games?

@Murdouken said:

1000 isn't really a lot of houses to push leaflets through letterboxes in. I reckon you could get 1000 done in 3 to 4 days of really hard work. If you think of it as 22p for every leaflet you push through someone's door, that makes it sound a bit better.

In what kind of bizarro world is £45 reasonable compensation for 3-4 days work? That is beyond slave labour.

So you have been milking the system for 2 years? You sure your not in the U.S.? :)

I imagine the interview for this job would be something along the lines of "Are you insane?", answer no, get the job! Only it's a self-defeating process because anyone who would actually want this job is obviously insane.

FYI 
this is a scam listing. 
 
by "self employed position"  what they are setting you up for is non payment with the blame on your shoulders.  

if you go you'll find that the money that makes up your income will be determined by sales you generate from distributing the flyers. 
 
the flyers will be noting more than old school distribution of spam. you won't see a dime. 

I can't imagine delivering 1000 leaflets in a single day. That's a hell of alot. This to me seems like a complete waste of time. Plus the amount you will be spending on fuel etc. No toilets

This is an immigrant's job.

Where I live there is typically 20 houses (10 on each side of the street) per city block. Give or take 6 or 8.

That would be 40 to 50 city blocks. Miles upon miles and at that pay...ehh.

Also, it reminds me of the jobs that pack 10 or 12 people in a van and release them at areas in the city to sell magazine subscriptions. They have a designated pickup point and are left going door to door for 8 hours until the scheduled time. In our city the company needs a permit to do this, which they never have, and usually get the cops called on them which can mean a ticket.

I used to do a paper route which gave me £30 for 360 houses, it took about 4 hours to do and it was just part time. If you really wanna go for the job i would ask them how many houses people normally deliver to a week because the pay isnt to great, and if your gonna be doing less than 1000 houses a week you really wont be earning enough money to live on. But i think in the current job market you should go for anything you can, money is money.

It's cool, you go pick up the leaflets....then you throw them all promptly in the garbage. Ta Da! Double free $$$.

Good luck duder :P

If you work for someone else, you want a job which is fully employed, and you are guaranteed money, as long as they are still in business.

@Jimbo: I was given my very long and overdue Tax rebate for my 8 months of work in 2010. 20% of minimum wage over 8 months amount to £1,600 so I got it then in July of this year, I also live with family.

@gjedwards: Oh Jesus....your right. Kids on paper routes make more if they did 1000! Ive helped friends on their rounds as a child, a hundred or two in one day is fine and they were getting £25.

@MB: To be honest I have had a lot of practice. I am fantastic in interviews, I ask for feedback and get "you were great I cant tell you a fault. However you didn't get the job as someone with better experience was given it." I cant argue.

I am going to go however I dont think I am going to put any effort in it. Not going to shave or wear my actual interview clothes as I simply dont have the confidence in the job.

Just wanting to have a check from other folks on if I am just an apathetic bastard or these are genuine concerns I should be worried about.

@Jumper: I was given that job before. I was randomly phoned up they said "You looking for a job right!" I went "uh yes?" and was given the job then, told to turn up at this storage place. Met them talked a bit saw a guy putting catalogs into a car. Thought he was my partner or someone with a van rolls up and drops me off. In the induction I was told "dont over fill your car, as suspension will be ruined and safety first." I replied "easy enough I dont have a car.....Do I need one?" turns out...yes...yes I do. I was never asked if I had a car. Said thanks and left.

I have a friend in Kilmarnock who may be facing the same problem soon. He has just recently finished a 4 week Slave Wages programme (I think he got something like £200 for the entire month-long employment and had his Jobseeker allowance frozen also) that had him working as a Clerical Assistant for the actual Job Centre company he was claiming from. However, he has been told that he will be put onto another placement soon.

The advisers have been trying to get him into the Prison, as they are also looking for some additional clerks but there is a huge chance he will be landed by one of the various self-employed sales 'jobs' that have been listed on the government job listing website.

I really feel for you pal...but see it as a blessing that you live with your folks still because at least you can lay low and discuss a compromise with them if you all come to the conclusion that you are going to be well and truly fucked over by all of this.

@Akyho: Go to the interview and use it as practice. As soon as you've determined the job isn't for you, you're in a position of power over the interviewer and can commence messing with them and having fun with it.

@Murdouken said:

1000 isn't really a lot of houses to push leaflets through letterboxes in. I reckon you could get 1000 done in 3 to 4 days of really hard work. If you think of it as 22p for every leaflet you push through someone's door, that makes it sound a bit better.

Actually it is. Working Minimum wage in the US for a day would earn you more then that, and I am pretty sure the same would apply for the UK. It shouldn't take a few days to earn that money. Overall it sounds like a shit gig that would be good for a kid in highschool not old enough to work yet.

That is bottom of the barrel stuff. My friend did that when he was 15 and ended up chucking all the leaflets in the bins at the park, you really shouldn't bother. You will find something better.

@Jimbo said:

@Akyho: Sorry, I just find it baffling that money is taken out of my pocket to be given to you, when you evidently have enough disposable income to waste on premium subscriptions to video game websites. It makes getting out of bed to go work construction in the freezing cold and rain for 10 hours a day feel so worthwhile! CBS shareholders obviously need my money more than I do. But hey, don't worry about getting off your ass to deliver a few leaflets - you're too good for that.

Seriously, as long as you're living off the state you should be bending over backwards to secure any job you can, not looking for every possible excuse why you can't do something.

Why do you need to be so hostile? You dont know me.

I want a long term job, this isn't a job, its only 4 weeks of poor payment with great risk to my health.

I went for a job interview last week for cleaner at my own old high school. A bit ironic however I would do that job with full enthusiasm as I pride myself on a job well done. I didn't get the job since I was beaten by more experience. I am taking any stable job, its sad they are not taking me on.

Me taking this job dosnt change much. I will be back at the Job center taking your Tax money again, I want to be off it and not taking anyone taxes, paying my own taxes for the next 60 years, except no one will have me!

Also the tax rebate came from my last job as Sales Assistant to the charity shop Capability Scotland. It was a government contract that was set up to help young people get into the work place. I had been volunteering there for 3 years before the job came up and I applied and of course got it as I may be a volunteer or a sale assistant I am a damn good one. I am pretty much assistant manager, I trained hundreds of volunteers in the ways of retail as I was trained hard in my first job.

I was sent to cover for other shops. I would even make suggestions on how to improve the shop, either do it myself or tell the area manager and she would agree, changes were made and profits were had.

I still volunteer, I have been their for 5 years and 4 of those unemployed. I want a job.

So I am glad you know me so well.

@Akyho: Sounds like a scam but you should still go to the interview just so you could act like this...