'I might as well just throw my CV into a shredder'

A man who says he has applied for about 1,500 jobs in 18 months has called for more support to help people find employment.

Elliot Bastiani, 31, told BBC Your Voice he had moved back to Chelmsford in Essex having gained experience in manufacturing through work in Europe, but had been unable to secure any permanent positions in retail.

He said: "I've applied for some of these places 10 times. I might as well just throw my CV into a shredder."

A Department for Work and Pensions spokesperson said the government was investing £80m in boosting employment and "overhauling Jobcentres".

"You build up a resilience to it," Bastiani explained. "Obviously, sometimes it can get a bit much."

He spent some of his 20s in the Netherlands doing zero-hours contract jobs, having struggled with the employment market in France.

Speaking to Sonia Watson on BBC Essex, he said: "France was then what it is here now... even to work in your local supermarket, they want GCSEs, A-levels and five years' experience.

"How am I meant to get five years' experience as a 20-year-old? I'm meant to be working straight out of the womb, am I?"

The latest figures showed the UK's unemployment rate remained unchanged at a near five-year high of 5.2%, with young people bearing the brunt.

Official estimates suggested 957,000 people aged 16 to 24 in the UK - 12.8% of that age group - were not in education, employment or training between October and December 2025.

Bastiani said he believed the decline began after the Covid pandemic and was worried the hike in National Insurance rates and minimum wage were discouraging firms from hiring.

Ian Banks owns a recruitment agency in Southend and advises people to customise their CVs for each job application to help themselves stand out.

He feared the job application process had become "transactional" and said old-fashioned methods had dwindled, such as picking up the phone or connecting with people who are already working at a company.

He sympathised with companies who used AI to filter out hundreds of unsuitable applicants just "throwing their CVs into the ring".

"Larger companies would say it's the only way they can deal with the amount of applications," he said.

A Department for Work and Pensions spokesperson said the government was investing £80m in boosting employment and "overhauling Jobcentres".

"We are determined to build a workforce equipped with the skills for the future economy and are working hand in hand with employers to deliver this," they added.

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