To think it is impossible to get back to work!

[skippykips]

After 5 years of being a SAHM!
How did you do it? I have spent 5 years being a SAHM. I am now ready to get back into work! Its more of a need financially than a want to.

Understandably many employers do not like a big work gap on a CV. Surely there is somebody out there who will give me a chance to prove I am what they need!

I am feeling so disheartened right now!

"managing relations and diplomacy" I was thinking about the skills needed to stop your toddlers throttling each other.

Yes fair point it's really cringeworthy to say in an interview. I am the female David Brent.

I can imagine it would be very difficult to get back into work after a 5 year break. I don't suppose there any old colleagues or contacts you could get in touch with who could ask around for you? Or any friends who could put you forward? In reality a large proportion of vacancies are filled via 'someone knowing someone'. Good luck OP

Have you done anything else whilst being at home that you can pad it out with? In my last job they interviewed (and subsequently employed) a woman who had been at home for 5 years, they were really impressed she'd started up a playgroup and sought local funding and sponsorship etc, managed all the subs, got donations of equipment etc etc.
With that in mind now I am technically a sahm I'm working in the evenings behind the bar and from home in an admin role. It's hard starting work when I just want to chill on my sofa with dh but it's what I feel I need to do to have a chance of going back to work next year.
You could get an evening job short term to get a recent referee?

It is possible. You may need to temp or take fixed contract posts.
The zero hours you describe is useless for those who require paid childcare. You were right to turn that one down.

Keep going you will find something but from my experience you need to start at the bottom in terms of pay and work. ☹

So today my 2 year old asked for a ham sandwich. I made her a ham sandwich. When I placed it in front of she had a massive tantrum! Why? Because I didn't realise she had actually changed her mind and decided to not tell me she actually wanted a cheese sandwich.
I could hardly tell a customer who changed their mind about an order 'tough cookies you chose it you are having it. End of!'

I like the idea in reverse though - transferring the prioritising admin work into my mothering. I don't want to deal with you at the moment so I am going to file you away into the will sort later pile!'
I might try that with the next tantrum.

No I get what you mean, I just don't think an employer needs to know that I can change a nappy one handed whilst putting on my 4 year olds socks and glancing around room looking for the hairbrush!

woman who had been at home for 5 years, they were really impressed she'd started up a playgroup and sought local funding and sponsorship etc, managed all the subs, got donations of equipment etc etc.

I agree with this. While I had little ones I ran two local toddler groups, raised funding, I trained as a breastfeeding counsellor- ran breastfeeding support groups and raised funds for that- was involved in training other breastfeeding counsellors, sat on NHS comittees, involved in breastfeeding statute etc.
All without childcare.

Although I never did get back to the workplace I was never worried about my ability to do so.

@ZigZagIntoTheBlue I did a diploma in business administration. I was suffering a serious illness too. So I didn't really do much apart from hospitals and childcare. The illness is now ok and I suffer no after effects. If I wanted to work I wouldn't have been able to. I never claimed ESA or anything. I could have done. I chose not to. I was quite ill though. So anything else was quite difficult. I am now regretting that I gave into my illness and didn't push myself that little bit harder.

I'm toiling to find work but I've a husband who works away two days a week and has lots of hobbies outside the home, a "school refuser" with severe mental health problems and lots of appointments that need to be attended and another child. I reckon I could fit in a couple of hours on a Wednesday. On a good week.

As some others have suggested, get registered with recruitment agencies.

Are you sure that your CV is a good one.
Perhaps you need to have two or three different ones ready depending on the job you are after. Tweak your CV to suit the job.
For retail and cleaning you may come across as over qualified/not qualified for the role, and they decide that you would not stay in the job for long.
Or they may have groups of experienced cleaners that put forward their friends and contacts for the job, still has to be advertised though even if it is always filled by word of mouth.
I would take anything at all if I were you, zero hours included.

I have just had a phone call for an interview

Fantastic OP!!

i was told that admin vacancies attract some of the highest numbers of applications. i have been offered perm positions twice when temping after my degree (admittedly, it's going back, gulp, 17 years now).

Can you afford to sign up with several agencies and temp for 3-6 months? I bet you'd get yourself a perm job you wanted after that with up to date experience.

The thing is, you may get a perm job with no recent experience, but it might not be as good as the one you'd get once people have effectively trialled you as a temp.

Great news - good luck, OP

I was a SAHM for nearly 5 years, it is possible but I've taken a real step back in my career to get back into work. It's a calculated risk for me but hopefully will pay off as the DC's get older and I don't need to be so on hand.

I did voluntary committee work, as well as volunteered at the local playgroup. Then I took a temporary retail job over Christmas, which was extended for a few more months. Now I work locally, school hours only, four days a week.

Good luck for the interview!

Good luck OP. You only need one decent offer and you can take it from there. If you are determined I'm sure something will come along. Yes it is hard to get back in but it's not impossible and good, reliable staff are hard to find.

This will be me in September

I just went back after 17 years. It took me quite a while to find work, but I finally landed a job.

I had been doing the admin side of DH's business, alongside the SAHM bit, but that has been frowned upon by potential employers, - and they wouldn't accept a DH as my referee.

I did a couple of short-term temp assignments with an agency, to prove I have the admin skills as stated on my CV, and then started getting interviews for permanent roles. I had many knock-backs, however I just started a new permanent part time role on Monday. It's a basic entry-level role, but there's scope to move up once I prove myself, and I'm just happy that I've finally been able to find something.

I was out of work for 7 years. I volunteered then gained an internship (Had my child young so Had never actually worked). I am now in full time permanent employment and my internship was 9.15p/h (London living wage)

Honestly it can be done. Rather than just putting stay at home Mum on cv have you tried stating your responsibilities- managing household, payment of bills.

You could also try temp work. After my Internship I went into corporate and hated. Decided to temp to find the areas of my field I enjoyed 2nd temp role I loved and was made perm, that was just over a year ago now and I still love my job and it pays well too

Phone them. Your shop is right. I have worked in recruitment for 15 years and the reason agencies are successful is they phone companies and sell the candidates to them. Many companies are inundated with cvs if they advertise a job and cannot get through them all. If you phone them you will probably make them dig out your application and if you can build rapport with them you are going to be ahead of all the other applications which are probably just paper. Good luck

**dh not shop

Hey - have you heard of an organisation called Women Returners? They help women back to the workplace after an extended career break. Most of the roles they advertise are specifically for people who have been out of the workplace for several years. They offer coaching, resources, etc. too. Good luck!! xxx
www.facebook.com/WRPNetwork

Thank you all! I am very nervous/excited for interview!

I will still be taking on all of your advice just incase this is not the job for me!

Apply to company with worst reputation in town. High staff turnover so always jobs going

Small businesses starting out, found on cheapest commercial units on cruddiest industrial estates. Usually just a boss who needs office help or a manual processor

After 5 years SAHsingleM, I just applied for the company with the worst reputation in town figuring they'd have a high staff turnover 😄

It was a call centre and one of the worst places I've ever worked; women crying in the loos on every tea break over the stress of the job, etc

But it was regular work, a step in to update my CV.

Then I joined a temp agency and they found me regular work which eventually led to my school friendly hours permanent job I have now. Keep in constant contact with your chosen temp agency, make yourself a friend to them, they love dependable workers and will always think of you first if you're ultra reliable. They may put you in horrible jobs to begin with such as warehousing, but once you've proved your worth they'll find you somewhere good, because they earn a massive lump sum couple of thousand pounds, for finding a permanent worker. You'll get a weekly wage and if you're prepared to do anything to begin with, you won't have gaps in your placements, they'll keep you in work as long as you show you want to.

What I've learnt is that small start up businesses nearly always found on the cheapest commercial / industrial estates in town, usually only 1 or 2 employees, if that. Like my company I work for, it started out as a self employed man, who as his business found it's feet slowly, needed admin help and a manual processor because he was so busy with marketing.

Grab a coffee and a have a walk around, chatting to receptionists in the units or any staff you see hanging around outside. Chatting to people, getting to know who does what, definitely more useful than dropping cvs. You could find holiday/illness cover work this way as a start.

On my industrial estate, the main site receptionist knows all the companies about to come in, and the ones who've grown and are moving out to bigger premises so will need more staff, as well as all the gossip on who's good to work for, who's about to be sacked, so is a good source of information on likely jobs available.