Fit for the job: Dealing with the employment office

Description

In the series “Fit for the job” of the Eichborn publishing house appeared in 2003 and then until 2004 in the third edition my successful title “dealing with the employment office”.

Go to content

On 90 pages, the guide compactly explains the new developments surrounding the Employment Agency and clearly introduces the new and old labor market instruments.

Various press reviews

The following press reviews have been published about my book “Handling the Employment Office”, published by Eichborn, Frankfurt am Main 2005:

• Interview Employment Office, Hartz IV and Labor Market - http://www.weltbild.de
• Brigitte young miss 09/2004 -
• Berliner Morgenpost 06.06.2004 -
• stellenlinks.ch - http://www.stellenlinks.ch
• Südwestpresse May 08.05.2004th, XNUMX -
• Ulmer Wochenblatt May 12.05.2004, XNUMX -
• ekz information service 05/2004 -

Posts:

“If the employment agency prepared your information as Simone Janson does, your work would be superfluous…”

worldview

weltbild made an interview with me about my very first book “Dealing with the employment office”. You can find the full text of the interview here:

You are a specialist for professional and educational subjects and worked as an editor for various publications of the Federal Institute for Labor. What special help can unemployed people expect from your counselor?

Anyone who is or will be unemployed is looking for quick, clear and light Understandable information - especially on the new regulations such as Hartz IV. "Dealing with the employment office" helps there for sure better than many an irritating brochure from the employment agency, the authors of which often simply adopted the legal language instead of translating it. The book provides information, for example Ask such as: "When and how do I register as unemployed?", "How much can I add to unemployment benefit I or II to earn?”, “How do I convince the employment counselor to give me a Further Training to pay?" or “What grants can I get from a Business start expect?".

Of course, a book of this size and at this price cannot take into account all the details and special regulations. I can better respond to specific questions in my lectures and seminars on the subject. Very important: People have to realize that they don't get a comprehensive job from the employment agency Consulting can expect. The Employees there, even if they are called advisors, fully represented clear the interests of the employment agency and manage their funds. They are rarely able to provide personal assistance, also due to lack of time. Therefore, before going to the employment agency, everyone should find out all about their options - because only those who know their rights can enforce them.

In your opinion, what makes the handling of the employment office particularly difficult?

As already indicated, corresponds to the actual Structure of the employment agency does not meet the expectations of the unemployed and those looking for work. These expectations are illusory, because: Originally, the Federal Office for the Administration of Unemployment Insurance was brought into being. With mass unemployment, this structure is simply overwhelmed. The transformation into a service-oriented agency should remedy this. However, progress was (and still is!) very slow and, as is well known, not without various scandals. The employees of the employment agency are now struggling on the one hand with the changes in the agency and the Anxiety for your own Workplace. On the other hand, they are struggling with the many new regulations which they are supposed to convey to the unemployed, but which they themselves do not always understand and which in individual cases they may not even be able to comprehend. In my opinion, the only way out is that as “Customer” as much as possible in the Hand and does not rely on the employment agency, e.g. also when it comes to job placement (I give some suggestions in the book). Certainly not comfortable, but the circumstances are like that at the moment.

The new year has only just begun, and experts are already finding that we have the highest unemployment rate in Germany since reunification. In your opinion, what are the reasons why the often invoked “recovery on the job market” simply does not want to happen?

The structures of the employment agency, which my guide is about, and the labor market are two different things and should not be lumped together - especially since I am not a labor market or economics expert. Personally, I think it is premature to say that there is no recovery on the labor market. After Opinions According to other experts, the economy is picking up again, which I can only confirm from my own experience, which I ultimately trust more than statistics. However, it has been shown again and again that a lot of contradictory things are being said about the labor market and economic situation, and exaggerated panic is also being stirred up. The media certainly has a certain responsibility here.

The situation is not rosy and nothing should be glossed over, but it would be usefulto critically question some expert opinions. Many “experts” also have specific interests. An example: Extension of working hours is often propagated as a means of increasing productivity, and that shows Effect. In 2004 we had the lowest sick leave in Germany for decades. On the other hand, the study “Managing for mediocrity” by the American management consultancy Proudfoot Consulting shows that, in 2004, 74 working days per employee in Germany were wasted due to management errors. In Money calculated a loss of almost 190 billion dollars. Accordingly, an increase in working hours does not necessarily mean more productivity. Such voices are currently rather unpopular and hardly present in the media. The question of personal responsibility of each individual can be discussed in a similarly controversial manner. Especially from the point of view of a self-employed person, I see that many cling to the existing structures and complain about the inevitable changes instead of actively helping to shape them. To bring about an upswing, however, is more Optimism and initiative is urgently required. However, it is also necessary that citizens, especially those who work, have a certain security and do not have to live in constant fear of changes (losing a job, moving, etc.). State and politics would be required here, stable structures for the Future to accomplish. However, the corresponding foresight is a little lacking, for example, in the Education saved, although one would have to react to the many social changes with an improved training structure.

The managing director of the German Cultural Council recently criticized the 1 Euro jobs, as they would reduce the chances of attitudes in the primary labor market, since one could have (almost) free labor. What do you think of this option?

First of all, I find the expression 1-Euro-Job inaccurate (a good example of the above-mentioned scaremongering in the media). Incidentally, in the law (SGB II, § 16, paragraph 3) of work opportunities is the Rede. However, these must be in the public interest and must not be an employment relationship in the sense of labor law, ie they must not displace regular jobs. Similar Measures by the way, there is already. Think of job creation schemes or the use of welfare recipients by municipalities for unskilled work. What is new is that everyone is now obliged to accept such a job (keyword reasonable employment) if they want to continue receiving unemployment benefit II from the employment office.

What is also new is that this regulation applies to people with better qualifications. You can, of course, read more about this in the book or at my lectures. Certainly there are always employers who try to take advantage of the structures, even if they could actually pay a regular employee. That's a certain thing Risks given that there are fewer jobs on the primary labor market. But you also have to see the other side, eg public institutions with little money. Isn't it better for them to have the work done for the little money they can pay than not to be able to do it at all? Regular employees, on the other hand, with a good education, Motivation and quality that it makes more sense and is more productive to hire them. The regulation can also bring advantages for the unemployed themselves. It's better to do something productive than nothing at all. For others who don't want to work at all, I find these mandatory only fair. And finally, some will not put up with forced, reasonable jobs and will look for a new job on their own - also a positive aspect. So I wouldn't paint the devil on the wall, but wait and see: I think that experience will ultimately have to show what comes out of it, and that you can't allow yourself an opinion on it at this point. Should it finally turn out that cut-throat competition is taking place in favor of state-subsidized wage dumping, this regulation will be abolished anyway.

What measures - whether already agreed or just in discussion - do you expect real progress in the labor market?

I only expect real progress from an economic upswing, which will then also lead to an improvement in the labor market situation in the long term. In my opinion, the labor market measures only combat the symptoms, but not the causes, and can therefore hardly sustained act. In addition, the legislation is sometimes quite contradictory. Here's an example that also appears in the book - the Ich-AG: A beautiful one Idea, but what's the point of sending thousands of unemployed people into self-employment if small business laws aren't improved at the same time? There will only be on that Problem "doctored around" instead of changing the structures accordingly.

The questions asked Sandy Brunzel, literature review. This interview was published on http://www.weltbild.de