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Original poster

Help me get back in to admin

19 replies

ALemonyPea · 01/10/2018 16:59

I’ve had a 10 year break from doing admin work. I loved doing it. I really want to get back into it, have applied for several admin jobs, but get nowhere.

How can I get back into it? I just need that one person to give me a chance, I was really good at my job, I don’t want to do my current job any longer than I need to, I get no job satisfaction whatsoever.

OP posts:

FrogFairy · 01/10/2018 17:01

Do you have your ECDL, if not might be worth doing.

Original poster

ALemonyPea · 01/10/2018 17:03

No. I’ve been looking at doing it, but can’t find a course with times that are suitable yet.

OP posts:

funmummy48 · 01/10/2018 17:05

Just had to Google that! Does everyone require it nowadays, even if they don't mention it in a job description? I'm a bit out of touch!😬

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Jobs

TheProvincialLady · 01/10/2018 17:09

Sign on with a few agencies. Try to get some recent experience. Any will do.

Chuggachuggatoottoot · 01/10/2018 17:11

Do you have a typing qualification or an nvq in administration? I do and that helps. I've been out of the game for about 7 years and was offered a role in the NHS.

tectonicplates · 01/10/2018 17:16

@funmummy48 Each to their own, but personally, as the person who used to receive the general emails where people sent speculative CVs, I've only ever seen the ECDL on the unsuitable CVs. Maybe it's different in the public sector (the Wikipedia page mentions NHS staff), but as a private sector person, I tend to think of it as being connected with low-skilled people with few other qualifications, or with people from abroad who've somehow been advised that it was a good idea - kind of like having Europass CV (I find them so annoying!) I've not had one single employer or careers advisor ever mention the ECDL.

Original poster

ALemonyPea · 01/10/2018 17:22

That’s interesting Tectonics. I don’t want to be perceived as having low skills, I’ve just not got any formal admin qualifications.

A lot of the jobs I’ve been applying for have been school admin based, as need the term time. Maybe it’s just a highly sought after job.

OP posts:

tectonicplates · 01/10/2018 17:28

School admin jobs are apparently highly sought after!

tectonicplates · 01/10/2018 17:29

And my comment about the ECDL is just my opinion, obviously others will disagree.

Pericombobulations · 01/10/2018 17:30

Odd what you say about the ecdl- when I took them 18 yrs ago - it was the 'in' qualification! The now one is the Microsoft Office Specialist which is growing in use.

My suggestions would be to temp admin to get a feel of what local offices expect

mimibunz · 01/10/2018 17:32

Definitely sign up with agencies so they can help asses your level.

funmummy48 · 01/10/2018 17:32

I agree that School Admin jobs are like gold dust. I currently work in school but have recently applied for an admin job elsewhere & am wondering if an ECDL would make me more attractive as an employee?

DontMockMe · 01/10/2018 17:34

As someone who used to be a recruitment consultant & recruiting for office jobs, I would definitely suggest registering with a few agencies. Lower the bar initially & tell them you're willing to do any temp job that arises. Make yourself very available and once you've had a couple of temp jobs in the bay, it's easier for the agency to get you into more challenging roles. Once you've don a few temp jobs, you can put that on your CV and it will give you some recent experience. When you do put the temp jobs on your CV, it's important not to list them all individually, just put something like:

Employer: Recruitment Agency
Job Title: Various Temporary Contracts

Then just do a bullet point list of all the duties undertaken in the contracts you've done.

I hope this helps.

Good luck.

PivotPivotPIVOTTT · 01/10/2018 17:34

I'm in a similar position I've been out of work for 6 years and only had a few years experience but I really want to get back into it. I don't get offered any interviews for jobs I apply for so I am going to do a college course next year which will get me an SVQ 3. The course is admin with medical which is a bonus as I'd ideally like to work in the NHS. I was supposed to start the course last month but I didn't feel ready to leave my youngest so have delayed it until next year I can't wait.

DontMockMe · 01/10/2018 17:36

I also don't think you need to do ECDL and agree that it's often completed by quite unskilled workers (for want of a better term). Although that's not always the case. I just don't see it getting you any brownie points.

afromom · 01/10/2018 17:49

Do you need to earn money right away?
If yes, I would echo the temp agencies mentioned by others.
If not, have you considered volunteering to do admin in a charity? I have had 5 different admin volunteers in the past 2 years. All 4 of the previous ones (number 5 has only just started) have gained employment within 6-12 months in admin/hr/charity based roles. It's a great stepping stone into admin, as charities are so stretched there are always a wide variety of tasks available to do/try out. I always speak with my volunteers to find out where their gaps in knowledge are too and try to provide some tasks to provide that experience. We are also able to offer qualifications to our volunteers too! And the bonus is you are giving something back to people/animals in need.

Original poster

ALemonyPea · 01/10/2018 17:57

Not in dire need of money, I only make IRO £200 a month in current job. I just want to do something I’ll enjoy, get some satisfaction at the end of the day.

Will look into registering with agencies and see how I go from there.

OP posts:

RavenLG · 01/10/2018 18:04

In my experience, experience trumps qualifications like ECDL that hold little value. What are you doing at the moment? I echo temping for the current experience, for every job you apply for there will be loads of epople also applying, currently employed and it's always more attractive to hire someone essentially doing the job who could walk straight into it. How are your applications / CV / Cover Letters, are they really selling your admin skills?

FunSponges · 01/10/2018 19:46

I have the ECDL qualification. I didn't realise it was looked upon in a negative way. But then I had been on incapacity benefit for years, then lost my ESA and it was the jobcentre that recommended I do it. I admit, there were a few on my course that had been sent from the jobcentre who would struggle to get someone to employ them and a few who seemed to struggle with the courses (I did level 1 and 2) when actually they were very easy.

I wanted to get back into admin OP after a long gap. My experience was not counted because of the gap and no one would give me an interview. I ended up doing a qualification in Business administration as that is what employers seem to want these days. Was lucky enough to do it with the NHS so got that experience as well. Had to take a low pay whilst training but we could manage on that money and I knew it would only be for a year. I sailed through it (it's quite basic and I think NVQ 2 is aimed at lower abilities as the tutors seemed very surprised with the level of my work). I really enjoyed it though and I'm much more employable with the recent experience and qualification.

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