Is there any point in applying for a university admin post without having previously worked in Higher Education?

[Mybedroom222]

I've applied to about 10 or 12 recently - in different universities - all roles that fit in with my skills - however I am so far getting no interviews at all.

I am wondering how competitive the university admin sector is - and if I should focus my energies elsewhere.

I have about 7 years of education administration experience - first in primary and later on in secondary schools. My last two roles in particular have been very similar to the kinds of university admin roles that I've been applying for.

I thought I would ask as there may be people on here with insider knowledge of what the sector is like - I was also thinking that maybe a lot of the jobs go to internal staff?

Thanks a lot :)?

Recently left the sector, often recruited to those types of roles.

I would be impressed by an external candidate who:

• made reference to some of the external HE context going on at the moment. The easiest way to do this would be to subscribe to the weekly Wonkhe newsletter and see what they highlight. So an application to a pastoral role that mentioned the importance of what the OfS thinks universities should do on sexual harassment on campus, an admin role talking about upholding degree standards, etc. I want someone who wants to work in HE, not just another admin job. I wouldn’t expect someone to be an expert but just hinting that they have read around would make me feel more strongly about a candidate.
• linked to that - understood why HE was different to another admin job. Easy win here is to make reference to the importance of supporting an excellent student experience whilst upholding academic standards - at least for student and academic admin jobs.
• excellent spelling, punctuation and grammar. Moving sector I realise how accustomed I’ve been to every single sentence I write being re-written stylistically. And I was in a senior role. Don’t be that candidate who writes about atention to detale.
• reflected on how their external experience could support HE. I enthusiastically recruited external candidates for the perspective they could bring - might be customer service, process improvement, understanding regulations, etc.

Hope that helps. I’ve fallen out of love with HE for a bit but I imagine I’ll be back one day.

Thanks so much for all your informative posts!

In answer to the various questions and points - I had thought that I should apply for something more entry level - the reason I didn't was because it would be a drop in salary. However I appreciate that if I really want to get into the sector (and it's risky of course because where I am is the devil I know) I will have to either yes apply for admin assistant positions, or try via temping agencies / maternity covers etc... Thanks for the heads up about prospect-us @LuckyBitches .

@SallyWD Yes I am not sure - I think I am not getting an interview for a mixture of reasons all mentioned on this thread. I am also early 50s and was starting to worry that that might be playing a part but actually given people's various posts here I doubt it.

It's interesting what you say @Zarzuela about it feeling like a job seeker's market from the inside, but the people who eventually got the posts reported otherwise.

On the other hand - your mention of 577 applicants on Indeed @thenewaveragebear1983 puts things into perspective.

Various of you have given me great advice about the person specification - thanks @ItsOverUnder and @Squeezedsquash . I have been writing a tailored supporting statement for each vacancy but probably not tailored enough - and I haven't been drilling down into the nitty gritty of the skills I use currently or have used, and how they fit in with the posts I've been applying for.

@Squeezedsquash why have you fallen out of love with the sector if you don't mind my asking?

Thanks also to the posters who mentioned the pension @clarrylove and @SkattieCat . Currently mine is an LGPS one. So SAUL would be better than USS (not that I think I am likely to get to 40K)?

I think that more or less covers what I wanted to say.... I haven't referred to everyone here by name but wanted to again say thanks so much to everyone, this has been so helpful.

Some of the roles I've been applying for have been hybrid, some fully on site - but yes fully wfh roles must have even more people applying....

I probably need to decide if I want to take the risk of trying to move (also not a great time to jeopardise earnings and mine is the only salary coming in....), but on the other hand I don't want to become risk averse and I can feel that happening.

@SkattieCat - yes if internal applicants are applying at the same time as external ones that really reduces the chances as well....

As I said before, schools are finding it much harder to recruit so I was (stupidly!) expecting it to be easy to get an interview in a university (more fool me).

I currently work as an Exams Officer and half love exams, half dread them.... I also want a role where I am not completely out of action for 6 weeks of the year - working 12 hour days, living, breathing exams with no time for my own (teenage) dc. (And the same thing happens to a lesser degree during mock exams). But on the other hand I do like the adrenaline and sense of purpose during that time.

Also - I have to do a counselling placement as part of the counselling diploma I am doing - and being out of action for about 10 weeks of the year if you include mocks really doesn't fit in with that...

Anyway - I am rambling now .

When I used to work for Imperial we used to get 100s of applications per post, partly as they tended to pay half a band more than the equivalent post elsewhere.

Working somewhere smaller now we don't get the same number if applications so do look at some of the smaller/less prestigious places.

I'd say you are probably not tailoring your application to the job spec enough. If I'm honest we do get a lot of poor, overly generic, applications so I think it is worth spending the time on the application.

I've worked in HE admin on and off for 20 years now, and can agree with the posters who says that roles are often given to internal candidates, especially if one has been acting up in a role. Could you join an agency like Unitemps to get your foot in the door somewhere?

At the one I work at, we're struggling to recruit so I would say definitely apply. The last few roles we have filled have been to people with no experience in the sector. We have another that has been out to advert 4 times and hasn't been filled.

Oh and to add, I know temp roles are off putting but in the years I've been here, all the good people that have started temp have gone on to other roles within the uni. Once you have done 12 months (I think it's 12 months) you get to go on redeployment if you have a temp contract running out, which means you get first dibs at any news vacancies and an automatic interview if you meet a certain percent of the requirements.

Pension wise - the post 92s will offer LGPS (pre-92s are Saul in London) for those grades. Possibly slightly easier to get a job at too?

I have to say look thoroughly at all roles advertised I have seen some with titles that I don't understand what the job is and the description is full of internal buzz words that are meaningless outside the department and are in fact admin or financial admin roles. Then they wonder why they don't get many or any decent applicants 🙈

@RandomMess yes I fully agree! My job title is meaningless and anyone outside the university would have no clue what it means.

SAUL may be "better" than USS in the sense that it isn't a hybrid scheme like USS, but to be honest it'll probably follow USS in the next few years (it's the historic trend that changes to USS tend to follow through to SAUL). But you don't get to choose the scheme you join. In my institution many of those posts you mention e.g. Programme Officer are Grade 4 and that's automatic USS enrolment (unless you opt out entirely). Also neither scheme compares favourably with LGPS which has a much better actual rate (1/49th compared to 1/75th with SAUL).

Thanks for all the recent messages and for your heads up about the pensions @SkattieCat .

Weirdly, yesterday I got an invitation to interview for one of the roles.

if I did get offered it, leaving my current pension would be a wrench yes - but do I stay in a job I find stressful and sometimes isolating and not stretching enough because of of the pension (is the question I am asking myself)?

In the meantime if anyone has any more university admin jobs interview tips I would be interested 😊😊.

Probably going to be difficult to get jobs at the 30-35k bracket without previous HE experience. Ime they all go to internal applicants as they say you need knowledge of software such as OneUni (even if they don’t say this on the advert) and an understanding of such like assessment policy/how the exams board word/admissions.

the 24k jobs often go to people with no HE experience (and often no admin experience) and people then move on quickly if they’re good.

Good luck with your interview! In my experience, the scoring system on interviews tends to be the same process as scoring your application. So each question they ask will be addressing something on the personal spec, and they will score your answer 0-6. My best advice is to come up with a few questions and practice answering them out loud. Sometimes having to verbalize your thoughts under pressure can be really tough, so practicing can help shake out some of the umms and errrrs. Think about what they want to hear, and ensure your answers give specific concise examples of stuff you've actually done. Dont forget the small stuff like good data protection practice (locking PC when you walk away, using appropriate methods of document sharing like sharepoint), IT skills like office 365, teams, excel etc. It might be obvious that you have this experience, but unless you mention it they can't score you for it. Dont be afraid to ask them to repeat the question and take your time. Re-read thw job spec and your application before hand.

For future application, my best piece of advice is to write your statement addressing the personal spec skills in order. A short paragraph for each essential and any desirable ones you meet. In the opening sentence of each paragraph, specifically mention which point it is you are addressing "I have experience of working in a fast paced team environment..." this makes it so much easier for the panel to score, it's all laid out and they're not having to scrabble around looking for which spec points you are trying to address. Keep examples specific, concise and understandable for them.

Sorry that's so long! Good luck. Theres pros and cons to working in HE but the pay is normally alright, and I've always had some lovely colleagues around me. Good chance for progression too.

You use the examples from your application form in the interview you don't need different ones but yes expand with basics like office 365 and we use Teams so much since Covid.

In the uni I work at it would be very, very unusual for someone with no HEI experience to be recruited to jobs of that level. It’s hard enough for those in similar roles to prove they understand the new role enough to get promoted into it. Those starting at the university tend to either walk in at the top, with senior level management or fundraising or similar experience into another senior level management/fundraising/whatever job, or start at the bottom. We have very clear salary banding and those with no HEI experience would be expected to start at the £21k level, maybe £24k tops.

Good luck with your interview! It'll be a useful experience even if you're unsuccessful.

I entered the HE sector in a grade 4 admin role with a background not dissimilar to yours, OP. I did a few temporary contracts (mainly maternity cover) and found it relatively easy to move on from them within the sector. I do think that if you're good, they'll find a way to keep you.

In my experience PS roles are staffed by very professional, dedicated people. Many are highly qualified women who have returned to work after children.

As others have said, the recruitment process has become very competency based in a way that is similar to (but perhaps not as rigid as) civil service recruitment. Go to your interview armed with detailed examples of the things they've asked for in the person spec, things you've done, what you learned from them, etc.

Good luck 😀

Thanks for the further messages and thanks @DCINightingale and @Parmavi0lets for your in depth messages and suggestions 😊.

Jumping in this for salary advice. I have an interview next week for a resourcing assistant role at a university. It's advertised at £24k-£28k, but i know they generally expect you to start at the bottom. I am currently on £34k as am in a more senior role in public sector but not enjoying it. I also have previous experience of doing similar role at other uni. Would there be any chance I could argue for top of salary scale due to experience?

in that position you might get something not at the bottom if they really wanted you, if I’d been hiring I’d have to have gone to my manager to discuss budgets and any other savings I was making. But top of band is unlikely, I’m afraid.

Are you answering every single area of the competencies? I’m interviewing at the moment and the amount of applications we’ve had to reject because they don’t answer the basic competency. Even if you think it’s obvious, evidence that you’ve done it.
Also all our application are redacted for any personal information, so it wouldn’t be anything to do with age.

Our policy is people start at the bottom or we can match current salary. I have recently recruited someone coming from a higher grade and they have started at the top of the band. I had to ask for proof of their salary to get it approved.