Job hunting - apparently I am 'pitching myself' at the wrong level

[katymac]

I was at an agency today for admin/basic finance stuff - they tested my Word/Excel & normally they get 50% as a good score for Word & 40-45% as good for Excel, I got 70% & 90%

& this combined with my degree & experience means basic admin isn't really where I should be; they will find me jobs but I will be under utilised

But I don't have a clue where I should be, I mean my skills are fairly basic (compared to people I know that work in admin)

So what can an ex Nursery Manager who doesn't want to work with children right now, with a Systems Degree & an EYPS do?

I think I probably will temp for a bit & see if I can find something to interest me a bit more

But after a very positive summer (great holiday, moving house, moving city, new hobby) I am feeling a bit lost

[Nuttynoo]

Try PMO Analyst type roles

[Plentyoffishnets]

What about a school finance officer? Or something at your local authority/ council?

[fiorentina]

What about a personal assistant? In the right company with the right person could be interesting. Or vaguely similar to your experience how about moving into HR? In an admin type role but looking to qualify later on if you wished?

[katymac]

PA might work, as could Project Management (which I really like the idea of)

I guess I need a bit of motivation to apply for things

[StealthPolarBear]

What is a systems degree?
Is that hardware or software or something else entirely

[katymac]

In my mind possibly closer to Philosophy - umm it's a way of thinking

So Systems Analysis but not really computer systems - my area was Management Information Systems

I found a job I fancy & typically the closing date is tomorrow so the game is on!

I have filled out all the crappy bit & now Im on my 'supporting information' woo-hoo!!

I hate this

[katymac]

Looking at complex situations and trying to simplify them, maybe?

[StealthPolarBear]

Ah right that makes sense sorry

[Moanyoldcow]

Look at Management Information roles in Universities. My husband worked up from that type of role and is really senior now.

There is admin but also technical stuff, reporting and process improvement together with change management.

[Nuttynoo]

MIS equals Project Management/PMO to me. Have a chat to a reed/hays contractor - they usually recruit these roles for big banks. Can tell you what they look for.

[katymac]

Don't worry half the time it doesn't make sense to me & then I suddenly see it in a diagram or a flowchart

Like in an office that had 6 assistants & was making one redundant because of funding cuts & was employing a temp on reception - the assistants spent half their time coming down to explain stuff to customers and the receptionist couldn't so I said stop paying the temp (a fortune with agency fees) have an assistant down one day a week each on a rota doing reception and no one needs to be redundant and productivity goes up as the assistant on duty can probably answer 90% of enquiries anyway

[katymac]

Yes Project Management would be a lovely job - but I want part time & they are tricky to get

Mind you often PT anything is tricky to get

I feel better now I have applied for a job

[katymac]

I guess I am mainly looking at Uni/college and council

I hadn't though of banks Reed were a bit lot dismissive because of the PT

[TooExtraImmatureCheddar]

Sounds like process analysis to me. I do that, it's fun!

[katymac]

Oo talk to me about that - would I like it?

I can draw systems diagrams on my kitchen table with drywipe markers....would that help?

Job app done & submitted

[blueshoes]

Banks need change, project management and process improvement skills particularly in the area of regulatory compliance. You might have to do FT just to get the relevant experience and, after a year, be in a better position to bargain for PT roles. PT roles when you have no relevant experience mean very low level jobs or you get absolutely caned on pay or contract roles.

[katymac]

Oh poop - I have a disability so I can't manage FT - never mind there will be other things

[katymac]

Got an interview for the job I applied for yesterday

[Pizzaexpressreview]

Well done! I'm starting to look for or work but with 2 degrees and other quals I know I look over qualified for basic admin yet in reality probs my not being as good at it as many admin people!!

I hadn't thought about going in in person. is just been looking online at part-time admin roles.

[zippydoodaar]

Sorry, but you're completely disillusioned if you think you are over qualified for admin if you've never done it before.

A lot of admin jobs these days have a very high workload and are very fast paced. You generally need to know Outlook, Word, Excel and PowerPoint inside out. Admin jobs are not just filling forms and doing a bit of photocopying and there will be lots of highly qualified candidates out there who will be far more qualified than someone with two degrees.

You will be lucky to find a PA or PM job that is not full time.

[Pizzaexpressreview]

Most of the part time admin jobs are basic minimum wage jobs near here and like OP you tend to get overlooked if you don't look like the right profile - certainly I expect a school leaver with a few years recent experience is far more likely to get these jobs than an ex professional ex sahm!!

Well done OP getting an interview:)

[katymac]

Good job mine isn't an admin job then - I am following the Management Information suggestion

Mind you I have about 20 plus years of experience ranging from Reception/Secretary/PA/Data Entry/Call Centre/Finance plus running nursery - it makes you a Jack of all Trades & a master of talking to OFSTED!

Who knows it might be the job for me or they may pick someone else

[Pizzaexpressreview]

Good luck Katymac!

[katymac]

Good luck to you Pizza - just give it a go, it can't hurt

[CockneyRhymer]

How about business development? BD roles often need sector knowledge (so early years in your case) and an ability to 'see' system solutions or approaches to management issues. I would have a look at some of the education consultancies like Cambridge, EDT, possibly nursery chains who are expanding. Charities and social enterprises who contract too. Fair amount of PT available as it's difficult to get good people.