Entry level civil service job. Worth it?

[FiestyFeyre]

I've applied for a call centre job in the CS. It appeals to me as it's part time which I need, local-ish to where I am in Scotland, and 2 days in office/1 day at home. The pay isn't great but the pension is. It's not shift work and no weekends.

I am 40 years old and have a first class degree (10 years ago) and a Masters with distinction (last year). I just don't have solid work experience history, due to children, a disabled child and my own mental health. I've worked mainly in support roles in schools for the last decade, also 2 years in a call centre which I quite enjoyed.

I am well now, the children are in their teens, and I want to commit to starting a career to see me into my last 20 odd years of working life. I honestly don't have high aspirations anymore and just want something that works around my life and brings in a steady wage.

Is the CS a good step in? Even at the bottom? I've read so much about how difficult the recruitment processes, for internal applicants. I got a high score so far but have the interview in a few days.

I'd day yes, because once you are in and have passed probation you can apply for other jobs at a higher grade and in other departments.

I'd say so, get in, pass probation, grab any development opportunities, build some solid competency examples and start moving up. Quietly keep an eye on vacancies from the start. Are you open to moving? If so try and get an idea what policy areas interest you i.e. what cities have jobs related to these.

Once you are in the CS, it's very easy to look for promotion opportunities as lots of roles are only advertised to existing CS and you can progress quite quickly. Especially if your DC are old enough for you to consider roles with a bit of a longer commute. Good luck!

Yes, absolutely worth it. It's a foot in the door for other opportunities. Flexibility may be less in a call centre than for a typical office job.

I'm assuming it's AO grade? Very easy to move upwards from there.

Thank you for these positive messages, it's given me a boost!

Absolutely. Once you are in, you are in. Tons of opportunities in areas where there are a few departments in the region you live.

That's good to hear, thank you. I live in the central belt and couldn't relocate but I can commute into Edinburgh if needed, this one is in Falkirk.

My DH used that as a stepping stone into a better CS role. He loathed the call centre type of intro role but once he’d done it he moved on up. Much easier to progress once in you’ve got a foot in the door.

That's good to hear and I'm glad he was able to progress.

I liked working in a call centre previously and progressed really fast but left because of the shifts. However I'm sure I'll dislike this one as it's in a very unpopular division!

Unless I’ve misread it’s the opposoite of what you’ve heard. Moving up is so much easier once you are in compared to coming from outside. I’d say for the wrong reasons and we miss a lot of talent but obviously is good for you if you can get your foot in door !

I joined as an EO for similar reasons to you and was an HEO exactly a year later- totally different department and role, like pps say once you’re in there are SO many opportunities but also just as easy to tick along if you’re enjoying it. I’ve been in this heo role for a few months and it’s great but I also like knowing I can apply for the next step/take a sideways move if I want more.

That's great, thank you both. I like the idea of side stepping as well as moving up, if I got bored etc.

Side stepping is why I joined. I’d done private sector before and was a bit sick of the fact that if you’d made a mistake when picking the job /had a bad manager it normally meant you had to do a massive upheaval of changing companies.

I’d also yes (as a current civil servant). Once you’re in, you have access to all the vacancies that are advertised within the civil service. 27 (eek!) years ago I joined as an AO in a benefits office in the Midlands, eight years later I was four grades higher in a policy job in London.

Well done you!

This thread has certainly cheered me up. I had (made the mistake of?) searched for previous threads on CS recruitment and they were all very negative.