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Original poster

Is this genuinely a good sentence for a cover letter?

122 replies

FeetOnly · 06/04/2023 09:50

During my career break, I honed my organizational and time-management skills through managing my family's schedule, finances, and household responsibilities.

Been a sahm for a long time. Not very good at applications or interviews. Looking for templates online and came across this.

Tips welcome for changing an academic cv into an office type role - ditch the publications?

OP posts:
Original poster
FeetOnly · 06/04/2023 13:41

I meant no offence and after I posted I thought I should have clarified that she is academically overqualified but under-experienced for the role.

Definitely!

I agree @Katrinawaves but I have to give it a shot!

@HelpsHeal I'm not an academic though am I. I have phd and that's it. Then I had DS.

OP posts:
Original poster
FeetOnly · 06/04/2023 13:41

I have a phd and am not qualified for anything 😩

OP posts:
glowyhighway · 06/04/2023 13:48

If you have a phd, I second what PPs said. I online tutor and it's a flexible job, pays a lot per hour too (but even the lowest rates are comparable to a temp hourly wage). Have a poke around on online tutor websites, maybe put your profile up and see if even just 1 person bites?

Interested in this thread?

Then you might like threads about this subject:

Jobs
HelpsHeal · 06/04/2023 13:51

FeetOnly · 06/04/2023 13:41

I meant no offence and after I posted I thought I should have clarified that she is academically overqualified but under-experienced for the role.

Definitely!

I agree @Katrinawaves but I have to give it a shot!

@HelpsHeal I'm not an academic though am I. I have phd and that's it. Then I had DS.

Isn't the kind of work you did before now done from home though?

Liorae · 06/04/2023 13:52

candieland · 06/04/2023 11:47

@MedSchoolRat yes that's true, I've worked in America and that line would work brilliantly over there. "I honed..." is de rigueur in any cover letter there, lol.

It would genuinely be detrimental just to say you were a SAHM and not big up the skills involved – employers would think that shows you're not savvy enough to make mental connections and "sell" yourself.

It must be a long time since you looked for a job in the US. Trying to big up your SAHM skills would get you knocked off the potential candidate list these days.

Original poster
FeetOnly · 06/04/2023 13:53

But to be a tutor, you need some knowledge of your topic. It's 14 years since I did my phd. If you were to ask me right now, I wouldn't be able to explain to you what I did or the yr 1 undergrad basics of it. Probably wouldn't manage A-level stuff. I've forgotten it all.

OP posts:
Wishimaywishimight · 06/04/2023 13:55

I wouldn't use it, it's just a lot of words to describe everyday life, paying bills, cleaning the house etc.

HelpsHeal · 06/04/2023 13:55

FeetOnly · 06/04/2023 13:53

But to be a tutor, you need some knowledge of your topic. It's 14 years since I did my phd. If you were to ask me right now, I wouldn't be able to explain to you what I did or the yr 1 undergrad basics of it. Probably wouldn't manage A-level stuff. I've forgotten it all.

Surely you're bright enough that you could refresh your knowledge to tutor GCSE. That's w here the money is anyway (or 11 plus) We have plenty of teachers in school who aren't teaching their own subjects. They do some reading and crack on.

Boomboom22 · 06/04/2023 13:59

Depends if you love your subject it will come back to you easily.
Generally though you must sell yourself. Not I am confident that or I believe. I am, I can, here's the evidence.
Def don't mention your child has sen because employees will think you need time off. Only ask when required.

RosesAndHellebores · 06/04/2023 13:59

Lots of transferable skills from doing a PhD:

Research
Prioritising
Analysis
Presentation of data
Clear and concise written communications
The ability to consider and identify relevant information
High levels of interpersonal skills obtained through your own primary research/interviews and liaising with your PhD Supervisors.
Powers of persuasion to seek contributors to your research.
Any research networks?
Data manipulation and presentation using Excel
Full understanding of Outlook
Meeting objectives and time lines

I took a career break to look after my first/second child and to settle them into childcare/reception.

I spent 8 years at home and was chair of the PTA, ran Sunday School, Deputy Chair of a Health Board. Have you anything like that to include? Any hobbies/sports in which you play an organisational role.or any fundraising.

Good luck. If you are in the SE employers are crying out for staff.

Original poster
FeetOnly · 06/04/2023 14:05

I ran a play group before I moved out of the city. I don't have hobbies/sports as I can't do anything in the evenings.

OP posts:
twolilacs · 06/04/2023 14:11

Well I wouldn't spell organisational with a 'z' - that is the American spelling.

Boomboom22 · 06/04/2023 14:14

If the sen has actually required lots of organising like with the la and even court it could be used in interview q. Just read the job spec thoroughly, match the person spec in the letter, and include how you match the charity values. Def apply, nothing to lose. Often pt charity roles are not in demand, they pay under market rate and people don't want ft so I think you have a shot actually.

Boomboom22 · 06/04/2023 14:16

Also if your degree is science consider teaching. Even pt

Schools are desperate for competent physicists, biologists and Mathematicians. They'll pay for you to train often.

Original poster
FeetOnly · 06/04/2023 14:25

except all teacher training or conversion courses are pretty much full time and cost and require travel. We have no spare money. My DC are never out of the house for more than 3.5 hours at a time as DS comes home for lunch break and DH uses the car to get to work.

I have cut my cv to 2 pages. Knocked out a lot of the sciencey stuff and added a skills section. Removed the Dr. from my name, shifted education to the second page.

OP posts:
glowyhighway · 06/04/2023 14:28

HelpsHeal · 06/04/2023 13:55

Surely you're bright enough that you could refresh your knowledge to tutor GCSE. That's w here the money is anyway (or 11 plus) We have plenty of teachers in school who aren't teaching their own subjects. They do some reading and crack on.

Show quote history

Yes that's what I did, bought some study guides for myself, started off as relatively cheap homework help sort of tutor for lower levels (but again cheap tutoring is still more than minimum wage) and then got more familiar with the material over time.

Boomboom22 · 06/04/2023 14:28

When i did my course I was working ft as a teacher but student loans somehow decided i was dependent on my partner so gave me a 3k grant? It was 3hrs evening
. There are online courses if you gave teaching hours and avademies dont need qts to start. My school hires pt teachers and does schools direct over time. There are many routes.

Boomboom22 · 06/04/2023 14:29

3hrs eve once a week for 2 years tt only. But now online ones exist. Mostly fir unqualified teachers who have a job, think you need about 10 teaching hours a week minimum.

EmmaEmerald · 06/04/2023 14:30

FeetOnly · 06/04/2023 10:56

@EmmaEmerald I do feel like a fraud even applying for it. A friend said I should give it a shot. She said for general administrative and organizational matters: incoming and outgoing correspondence, as electronic and physical mail, telephone, physical and electronic archive) as well as organization of maintenance in the office and purchasing of supplies organising all the contributors of the publications, dealing with submitting, literature databases, organising the data, buying stuff for the lab counts as experience for this. Ditto records and filing. She says taking minutes isn't so different to taking notes at lectures/conferences etc. That I can request training in coordination of the IT system, having had experience in using different systems in the lab.

OP you are mis-directing here yourself a bit here.

You do have some admin experience based on this post, and you've also said you ran a playgroup.

i'll be blunt, I don't know if you've got enough to be office manager, but you need to get some advice on how to do your CV. Why did you want this role, why not general admin, where you can easily say you have experience?

I've never seen a CV that put parenting as a work skill, but I'd hate that. I had time out to care for my dad and would never cross reference that.

JumpToRecipe · 06/04/2023 14:41

FeetOnly · 06/04/2023 14:25

except all teacher training or conversion courses are pretty much full time and cost and require travel. We have no spare money. My DC are never out of the house for more than 3.5 hours at a time as DS comes home for lunch break and DH uses the car to get to work.

I have cut my cv to 2 pages. Knocked out a lot of the sciencey stuff and added a skills section. Removed the Dr. from my name, shifted education to the second page.

Honestly OP, if you refreshed your subject knowledge (which I am sure you are more than capable of doing) you could command a really good hourly rate tutoring. You could do it online and there is significant demand internationally for native English-speaking tutors so you can work in your evenings or when you can in line with other time zones.

Your confidence sounds badly knocked. Get hold of an A level revision guide in your field and I promise it will all come back.

Original poster
FeetOnly · 06/04/2023 14:46

DH would never accept me doing any work in the evenings, neither would he agree for me to to something self employed. I need something that will fit around day-time school hours.

OP posts:
HelpsHeal · 06/04/2023 14:50

FeetOnly · 06/04/2023 14:46

DH would never accept me doing any work in the evenings, neither would he agree for me to to something self employed. I need something that will fit around day-time school hours.

Well bluntly you're going to have to stay poor or he needs to do something to earn enough to support you all properly then.

You've had lots of good suggestions and have loads of reasons why all of it's impossible.

You need to do this for lots of reasons. What would you do if DH wasn't around or was unable to work?

OnBoardTheHeartOfGold · 06/04/2023 14:51

Have you looked at any Teaching Assistant roles at secondary? They're often looking for science TA's to help run interventions then you'd have the holidays off.

JumpToRecipe · 06/04/2023 14:52

FeetOnly · 06/04/2023 14:46

DH would never accept me doing any work in the evenings, neither would he agree for me to to something self employed. I need something that will fit around day-time school hours.

This is a worrying update. Why does DH get the final say on this?

Are you OK?

Viviennemary · 06/04/2023 14:53

I replied earlier on your thread. But your replies are very very negative. For nearly everything suggested you have a reply saying it isn't possible. You are not going to make progress till you stop focussing on all the things you can't do.