Horrible application forms

[GMH1974]

I find it so depressing applying for work. I feel I was stuck in a rut of poorly paid work after having taken less skilled work to fit around my children. Now my hearing loss means I can't even do that. Does anyone have any success stories about getting back into more skilled work again after a long break? It's not that I haven't been working, it's just that the most recent stuff on my CV is less skilled. People seem to only look at the last few things you've done.

Also, application forms, why do they insist on a named reference and every contact detail under the sun when a lot of places insist that HR handle all references? It puts me off applying as I think my HR references will look bad. What do other people do?

Application forms that require essays and take ages, how do you stay motivated, especially if you haven't heard back from a few?

I'm so fed up.

Hi OP, I'm in a similar boat and feel your frustration. I've been in a job for 10 years now (started it alongside uni then went full time, stayed for convenience while I started a family) I'm now trying to get into a job which is relevant to my degree and my interests but I keep getting rejected without even an interview. It's so disheartening. I've had 1 year experience in a similar role during uni placement year but I guess thats not enough

Why would your HR references look bad? They normally just say when you started and when you ended a job

Have you tried any online courses? When I was looking having any kind of training or certification made all the difference.

I was also quite picky about what I applied for, it had to be what I thought I could do and what I wanted to do.

Tailor each application to the job

References are very important especially if you need special clearance to do a certain type of job

Keep applying

@WaveyHair
@Polichinelle
I've passed a PRINCE 2 Foundation course and I'm trying to pass the Practitioner.
I just think that when there's a big space on the form where they ask for the person's name and position and you just write HR and give a general email and phone number rather than a named person, it looks weird. There's nothing inherently wrong with my references, they're just bland as anything.
I also think that recruiters only want to look at the last job title even if you've got other relevant stuff further back on your CV. (Like before you had children!)
I wondered how other people broke out of this?

Make sure you take transferable skills from your past roles and use them to sell yourself. Writing application forms and cvs is an art form in itself and you need to keep everything positive and sellable to them. Look at the job description and make sure everything you put down relates to what they want, using their keywords to get past the ATS system.

p.s. Not sure if you are, but do not mention your hearing loss. My hearing is pretty rubbish so I understand, but unless it is directly relevant or they ask for a medical they do not need to know at this stage.

I do a lot of recruitment and I don't find it weird when people give HR contacts as reference. A lot of companies have got policies that forbid individual managers to give references, anyway. I have not seen the forms you are filling in, but you need to find a way to highlight your skills within the jobs you've done recently, or at least on your mission statement if there's space for that.

Are you aiming to work as a project manager? What sort of job have you done recently? anything where you can highlight your planning skills, communication skills, time keeping, etc?

A family member is currently looking for work, and jeez the online application forms. They want this, that, the other, your favourite colour and everything else, and you don't know what they're going to ask for until you go to the next page and the next, so you don't know what to put where. And this is just for basic entry-level shop jobs.

@Polichinelle
I'd like to work as a Research Consultant or on project work but social or people centred type projects rather than IT or engineering. I was a Project / Research Officer in a council's community / arts / leisure department pre children. I did the PRINCE2 to prove I could project manage although it seems more suitable for technical projects in my opinion.
@WaveyHair
I had to leave my last job because of my hearing so I'm never sure when it's a good time to mention it.

I did PRINCE2 and never ever used it, although it looks fine in the CV. I tend to find work via LinkedIN. Is that the platform you are using? are you making sure your location is set to "remote" and your profile is set to "open to opportunities"?

@Polichinelle
I have LinkedIn, I'll check my settings thank you.
I suspect I'll be exactly the same with the PRINCE2!

To address a couple of your points OP:

-HR references are very much the standard. They honestly don't look weird at all and I've never come across a company that had a problem with them.

• Completing the PRINCE2 does not a project manager make (and I say that having passed the PRINCE2 Practitioner exam and never done anything useful with it). If you want to get into project management then look for lower level project administrator or project coordinator roles and gain some skills and experience on the job which will help you work your way up the ladder.
• CVs don't need to be organised chronologically. Think outside the box and list the jobs at the top that are most relevant to the job you're applying for. They'll still have the correct dates next to them, so your CV is factually accurate, but it at least means they're read before some of your less relevant but more recent experience.

@GiltEdges
Thank you.

Have you considered UX/CX researcher type roles? You could make your pre-kids experience into a portfolio to showcase that stuff. And upload it to LinkedIn.

Volunteer work could help. I work for a charity that welcomes project management volunteers (all of us work remotely) and your hearing problems aren't necessarily a blocker as lots of our communication is written. We're also committed to becoming fully accessible, a slow journey for us but we're getting there.

Have you tried civil service roles? There are loads of analysis type roles. Or others that might interest you.

The application forms are awful in a different way to non-civil service recruitment. But, several of the barriers you’re finding might not apply in the same way.