Two genders Two Tails

Don't think I could have used a better picture (scene from full monty)

Welcome back to part two of 'The Road To Being Me'

Over these last 12 months for those that have been following my blog every time where blog posts have to be split into parts life gets in the way and will delay things and unfortunately, it has happened again and was total heartbreak for me which I may come to another time.

Last time I had just signed on for JSA and it was heartbreaking and this is what followed, hope you enjoy.

Part 2: Low of the low

Money
Signing up for JSA was a life turning event, I was worried about how was I was going to change my life around? How will I manage money wise as then I had these to pay for as of January;

1. Rent money for my dad (was lowered to £100)
2. Phone bill £55
3. Ipad bill £45 (£90 to pay off)
4. Xbox £50 ( £150 left on credit)
5. TV £43 (£200 on finance)
6. Gym £19.99 (was cancelled shortly after)
7. Netflix £7.50 (cancelled a couple of months later)
8. Food/Gas/Electric (was about £40 per week)
9. Bank bill £15 + 0.50 per day (roughly)
10. Monthly bus fee £65 (every 28 days)

JSA

Before I was to start JSA I had a thought and that was I have no job and that means not taking time off to do important things... This is where my life started to change. I changed my doctors and had my medical and decided to start my official road to transition to female. So I'm now on a waiting list with goals set before I have my first appointment. (Link will be at the bottom of the page)



Now back on to the JSA appointment. Last week I decided to put all pride aside and apply for Job Seekers Allowance and I went for my assessment. This week was my first JSA meeting. So I meet with the job coach that told me to carry on what I was doing via going on buses to Manchester, Wigan, Leigh and the Trafford centre to look for CV opportunities and look online just I would be recording it. I was booked in to see the National Careers service a week later which wasn't much help apart from telling me to change my CV (turned out to be the main thing.. so pretty helpful) aand for me to apply for college.

At the end of the appointment, my work coach mentioned that I wouldn't be seeing her for 5 weeks as they were away for training for Univeral Credit and this would still mean coming back into to sign on but that was the only information I was given... after that, it became hell.

Hilton Manchester Deansgate Hotel

For two months I would walk long distances between buses or walk around the Trafford centre twice then catch the bus into Manchester before going home and that would be 5/6 hours being out, surviving off small things like a chicken mayo's from Mcdonalds and little bottles of fizzy pop from Home Bargains and I would take days out where I would just be online looking for work and shortlisting jobs when I was in between places which pretty much for 3 and a half months this was pretty much it. This was tiring as it wasn't just physical it was mentally draining as I was constantly worried about how would I survive with my outgoings and also with my dad as he has retired and isn't getting a great income coming in either.

I will save time with posts by saying that my diet for almost 5 months was eating pure crap and unhealthy food from £1 pizzas to chicken chargrills and things with loads of bread and I've put so much weight on as I had cancelled the gym by the end of January.

Group signing on sessions


In mid-February, I went to sign on with JSA and it turned out they were understaffed because of the Univeral Credit and for the next 8 weeks I would be signing on in group sessions which really was a group of around 10 people going into a room and then have their name called out sign a book and then we were on our way. No help, no guidance or nothing which for people that didn't want a job this was amazing to do nothing. I spoke to one of the work coaches and asked for another workbook as mine was filling up the person to say "Don't worry about it."
I got my book and kept on filling it in and even when I managed to get an appointment with a work coach which was messed up because they didn't even let me know and had to be rearranged... In March the time had come to see a work coach and guess what happened??? "I'm doing a bad thing here, just sign and go." Not what I wanted as the job centre has employers that come in to interview people interview people and I was never told anything and they were useless. No job clubs was happening or anything.

In the middle of March, I had enough of looking on Indeed as I was not getting any luck and decided to move to Reed which Wow I had loads of success mainly from employment agencies. It wasn't off reed though where I got my job I'm at now but I got plenty of interviews or off employers to places I couldn't go because of travel issues.


CV

I changed my CV after discussing this with someone from the National Careers service, they are there to advise you on where to go but really it's not that much they can tell you. They can help you with your CV which they told me how to tweak mine as mine was already good. They told me to apply for college, and offer free work which at that stage was a NO. I could claim travel back but I would also need food and I'm not being exploited for a full day and no pay to where I can or cannot get a job out of it. so off I went to change my cv and that is when my job hunting changed on Reed and I started to get the phone calls off employees and agencies. My CV is below.



Thanks for reading I will try and pop out a new post which is about how I got my job as soon possible but I will be looking at other posts in the meantime.

Click 'HERE' for my post about how I got on the waiting list at Leeds Identity Clinic

Thanks for reading

Sarah