to ask you how you have the confidence to go after a new job?

[MoveYourArmsLikeHenry]

Hi everyone, this is sort of related to my other thread I made the other night about being treated badly at work. Today I took the day off, to be honest I couldnt face going in. I was up from 6am crying because the thought of going in filled me with absolute dread and I felt my stomach churning. So decided to just take the day off (which of course was unacceptable)

Anyway I have spent the entire day looking for potential new jobs, and to be honest, I dont feel I am smart or capable enough to even apply for any of them :( I only have my gcses and my level 2 and 3 childcare. I would love to get out of childcare altogether but as you can see all I have are childcare qualifications and feel like any other job would be out of my depth. Then I think about the interview and I start feeling sick all over again :(

The thing is I would love to go back to college and learn something new but cant drop out of full time employment, even if I were to do a part time course I would still need day release so I could attend a work placement.

I feel so trapped. My eyes are welling up just writing this.

How can I fix this? Please give me some advice because I am so desperate I dont even know how/where to start :(

even if I were to do a part time course I would still need day release so I could attend a work placement.

I'm so sorry you're feeling like this, it really isn't right

Have you looked at doing an Open University course? It's distance learning, so you wouldn't need time off work often. Tutorials are often at weekends, and you can get loans for the costs of the course.

I am sure you are smart and capable enough (am I right that you're the poster who is being treated appallingly by others, even after covering for your supervisor and training new staff?), you're just feeling so low and rotten about yourself that you're being negative. Which is totally understandable!

What sort of thing would you really like to do?

To answer your question in the title, you fake it and keep faking it. This has come to fruition with me since got made redundant in August. Felt like iI couldn't do any of the jobs in the market (childcare, I'm a nanny) yet iI got out forward for loads by the agency, loads of inquiries came through from other methods and I'm still getting at least two inquiries a week. It's really boosted my confidence in my nannying actually!

Can you get a part time nanny job a few days a week with your qualifications and study in your other days whilst volunteering or working in that field? Working 25-30 hours a a nanny is equal to a full time nursery wage down here.

Not all courses require day release, there are plenty of evening classes available. Not sure where you live but your local authority should have an adult education section that offers everything from IT classes to motor vehicle repair and everything inbetween, from GCSE level all the way up to Btech and A Level. At the very least they offer a stepping stone to get the qualifications you need to retrain in another field. Working a full time job and doing additional learning a few evenings a week is tough but it is possible. One thing is sure you cant stay on in your current role as it is obviously unhealthy for you in the long run.

Thanks everyone. The problem isnt the course itself; when I was doing my childcare I worked full time and studied at night, its the work placement. Obviously I cant go to a work placement at night because they will be closed. This is why I feel so stuck.

Thanks for your views

I was in exactly your position last year and guess what? I start a new job next week. I just decided to bite the bullet and apply to new jobs, figuring that I would be in no worse position than I am now if I didn’t get them. My confidence was at rock bottom but once I started the applications I realised I did have good things to say about myself. Sometimes I got interviews (which were terrifying!) sometimes not, but the whole thing has been a really positive learning curve. Then my dream job came up and I actually got it! The point is you have nothing to lose by applying, big yourself up a bit, try not to take knockbacks to heart and eventually something will come up.

Hi Henry, I'm in a different field to you, but something struck a cord with me in your post.

After I graduated, (at the beginning of the recession) I literally took the first full time job I was offered (after months of applying for everything). It wasn't anything to do with my degree, nor did I need a degree to get it, but I took it as it was all there was and I figured I'd make it work. 5 years later, I (and most people there) are treated appallingly, people are dropping like files with stress.

Over the last year I half heartedly started looking for something else, but the more I looked, the more down I felt, because the more apparent it became that I had 5 years experience in something that wasn't much use, and looking just showed all the skills I needed to have but was lacking. So disheartening.

I'm also quite introverted, and whilst I'm lovely (of course! ) I'm not the sort of person who you'd particularly remember after one meeting, which I don't mind, but it's disastrous for interviews! Also, the idea of "selling myself" in one is just abhorrent to me, I hate talking about myself or my skills - so not good for competency based questions, despite being top for my knowledge and technical ability.

I applied for a job recently, and although I still felt so nervous I felt faint in the interview, they offered me the job. It's the best job I've ever applied for, I didn't think I'd a hope of getting an interview, never mind the job itself. I still don't know why they wanted me (haven't started yet) but I can only assume they saw potential.

Keep looking, just throw your hat in the ring and it might just come from where you least expect it. If you can do evening/weekend classes to build up your CV then do it in the meantime. Don't lose faith.

The thing is I would love to go back to college and learn something new but cant drop out of full time employment, even if I were to do a part time course I would still need day release so I could attend a work placement

Not all courses even need a work placement. What would you like to retrain in?

And could you stay in childcare but do something else? Work as a nanny, run your own childminding, work in a hospital?