to be depressed by job hunting

[whiskersonkittens80]

After 16 years in a public sector role, I have had enough of the bullying and disability discrimination I've encountered over all those years and I am actively looking for other work.

But its really depressing and I'm getting nowhere.

I think firstly the multiple disabilities I have plus my guide dog put employers off.

I do not believe in not declaring my disabilities because I don't want to waste my time going for an interview with an employer who lies about being 'disability confident'.

I also think my very niche qualification and experience, especially when its been mainly with one employer, is helping me either.

I have tried to get additional qualifications, eg doing OU modules, ILM courses etc so that I have qualifications to do other things. I have also done lots of volunteering - funny how disabled people can get volunteering opportunities easily but not employment?! The volunteering has been with disability charities, admin work and for brownies/girl guides.

I've edited my CV and highlighted all my transferable skills, I've had my CV checked over, I've spent time on my application answers, I know all about the STAR format.

But I'm getting nowhere with my job hunt.

I can't afford a pay cut and that's the only option if I do the same job but with a different company (non public sector) but I seem to not have the skills or experience for other jobs.

Its really getting me down, I really want to escape this workplace but I feel I'm trapped.

I've been searching every day on Indeed, civil service jobs, job centre website, jobsite, goodmoves, charity jobs, every website I can find for jobs.

Can anyone suggest anything else I could try?

I don't want to use disability employment services because they only suggest low paid, temporary or part time roles. It is really shocking that they think that's all we are good for when the are disability charities.

no advice? :(

no advice, I'm also stuck looking for a job. Today I have given up on being invited to an interview for a job that I applied for.

It's soul destroying it really is.

it is really hard, especially when your qualifications are so specialist that makes it harder to do anything else and not everyone can afford to retrain

and when you're disabled its even harder and its hard to prove that's why you didn't get the role as they can always say "someone was more experienced" even when you met all the criteria

I've been in a similar situation before, albeit without the disability, but I was being bullied by a toxic manager and felt stuck as I was in a really niche role. I was job hunting for almost a year before I got a new job. There were times when I was so tempted to just quit but I somehow stuck it out.

Some things that helped me:

• using a functional CV which emphasises achievements and transferable skills

• tweaking the language in your CV and cover letter to suit each job you apply for, e.g. if the job spec talks about stakeholder relations, and your CV mentions managing relationships with customers or affiliates, change the wording to stakeholders. Seems a minor thing, but lots of companies filter CVs through matching tools which pick up on key words

• be patient and keep applying. It is a numbers game but you're bound to get somewhere eventually

I got a job in the end, in a different industry but using skills from my old job. It wasn't quite the right fit for me, and I've since gone self employed as a consultant in my old industry. It has its ups and downs, but generally I'm happier. Would self employment or freelance work be an option for you?

I have considered freelancing but its too risky in terms of income. I have bills to pay etc and I need to know what my income will be each month. We're not long out of a period of debt (DH was made redundant and it took him a year to get something else so money became difficult)

Thanks for those tips. I have been trying to use traditional and infographic CVs but neither seem to be getting a 'hit'.

It is very frustrating but all you can do is keep going.

Would you consider seeing a career coach?

What about looking for employers who are particularly disability friendly? Not sure but just a thought.

Not sure what your skills are in, but have you tried your local BBC? They are really good equal opportunity employers. I know there's the whole gender imbalance debate going on, but I worked with hearing impaired people, wheelchair users, there were two guide dogs there, a couple of people with dwarfism - it was a fairly big office, but even in your local nations and regions office there might be something suitable?

I've seen a careers coach

The BBC does sound a good employer but there are no roles that really match my skills or qualifications.

I'm looking for a new job too. I had my first interview today. I'll hear next week if I've been successful.
You said you don't want not disclose your disability but perhaps for a while don't mention it and see if that makes a difference. I hope it doesn't but it might.
I also agree with a PP about customising your CV for each individual role.
Good luck
Good luck.

I think it’s just the market right now. I’ve noticed jobs that used to ask for a new graduate five years ago are offering less money and want the degree and three years experience now.

Still bloody depressing.

Can we ask who looked at your cv/cover letter? If they are any form of charity/government advice types of completely ignore them.

I'm right there with you OP. Graduating uni this month and have been relentlessly firing off applications and getting nowhere.

I think you're right in declaring your disabilities. You don't want to be stuck with an employer who doesn't understand or accommodate disabilities.

I know it's soul destroying, I feel it too, but keep trying. We'll all get there eventually.

@chockaholic72 my degree is in television production and I've had no luck at the BBC haha!

A friend who is a qualified career coach looked over my CV.

A functional CV sounds a good idea but I cannot decide what skills to highlight / projects to highlight.

Examples would be good.

Some random examples (obviously will depend what kind of work you do):

• Increased sales by 10% compared to previous year (or have been consistently increasing sales over several years).
• redesigned reports for management to provide more concise information.
• developed key relationships with X which has led to Y benefit (greater efficiency/increased revenue/time saving/etc)
• any certificates/training you took on

You can make even small everyday things sound more impressive in CV speak. Say you handle queries from customers/other departments/whoever and they're building up. You decide you're going to spend most of your time this week dealing with the backlog, then from next week every new query will be responded to within 48 hours. In CV speak, you have designed a new query management process which delivers a more efficient service for customers.

^ Those are moreso achievements, which you can put at the top of your CV.

Skills would be things like communication, supervision, attention to detail, ability to organise own work and meet deadlines, etc.

update:

not shortlisted for two charity jobs.

One was for the charity for my disability and I am more than qualified and experienced.

I can't even get a job related to my disability.

Feeling depressed.

Transferable skills are not what they used to be. Employers now want people who can get on with the job immediately. That's because of the pressure to perform to the top at all time and people leaving organisations once they've trained.

It is really hard to get a job outside of one's experience once you reach a certain level of income. Going from the public to private sector even more. There always seem to be an internal candidate to apply to the job or someome with the perfect experience just moving areas or companies.

All you can do is keep on trying and hope to get lucky.

Good luck with your job hunt. I hope you get there.

What kind of roles are you looking for and in what kind of geographical area?

I'm sorry you've had no luck so far

believe it or not, I work in employability / careers / youth work for disabled people. I have employability qualifications as well as disability / autism / SpLD qualifications.

I didn't want to say that before cause it's kind of embarrassing to admit I'm struggling with my own job search.

I am in central Scotland

currently working for a local authority but looking to move into charities, colleges or university roles.

Nothing to be embarrassed about. I agree with PP that there's often an internal candidate they know they're giving the job to, but have to appear as if they held a competition.

What did the careers coach advise you?

She advised to get some more qualifications, to emphasise transferable skills, to enter other referees, where to look for jobs, some interview tips and some help to build my confidence.

She's a good friend and is keeping an eye out for me, but most jobs that I like the look of are about a 2 hour commute away, a large pay cut, temporary/fixed term or in England!

With your experience I’d definitely look at D&I or HR roles, particularly in the public sector / civil service. You’d bring so much knowledge and experience with you.Don’t let the fact that your current employer is crap put you off. My employer is very, very disability friendly and really listen to employees. It’s worth filtering down the disability confident list and only looking for employers that are DC Leaders as then you know they’ve had to satisfy lots of criteria, rather than just sign up & then take no action.