[Kate!]

Originally Posted by Vanessa

No one understands what it's like to be out of work until it happens to them. I lost my job last year and had to claim benefits. I was so depressed. Getting my job back has really helped my confidence.

I'm glad you got back on your feet Vanessa

Yes, it's pretty bleak tbh, I mistakenly and overconfidently thought that I would walk into another job very quickly, I have loads of experience to offer, backed up by the relevant qualifications in my field, which is office work. However, what I found was that for every job I went for there were over 100 applicants, and in the majority of cases I didn't even get an interview.

I lowered my sights and considered working in other fields, eg retail, but they all want you to be experienced in that particular field, even though I was more than capable of doing the jobs, again I wasn't getting interviews. It was and is very demoralising.

I know the only answer is to keep trying and eventually surely something will break for me, it might just be a case of being in the right place at the right time.

With regard to the thread topic, this is why I feel so strongly that this bedroom tax is so unfair, it will only add to the stresses of life for someone such as myself who wants desperately to be back in work, even part time would do, not just for the wage but also for self esteem and feeling like you're doing your bit, and its such a struggle to manage on the money Jobseekers get, God knows how we'll all cope losing a sizeable chunk weekly to offset this tax. It really does beat people down.