Am I unattractive to employers?

[StillSmiling92]

I'm almost 28 years old. Average GCSE's, terrible A levels, good Access to Higher Education (level 3) qualification and university drop out.

I have a 4 year old who starts school in September and I've mostly been a SAHM living off my partner. I've also been cleaning part time for 1 year now and worked in retail prior to that.

So, being a mother and a university drop out I know that employers would likely throw my application in the bin (childcare and lack of expertise). Not for retail roles, but for professional roles such as accountancy or software development for example.

What can I do to improve my circumstances when I'm not eligible for any training or funding?

Please help

I am an internal recruiter and yes, your profile would put me off tbh. NOTHING to do with being a parent - our top 2 performers in my company are both mothers and work part time flexible hours, had maternity leave, etc.
What I do look for is resilience, loyalty, drive and ambition, which you seem to be lacking. Very few office based role will consider people with poor written communication. Sounds like you're going to have to find something you enjoy and work your way up. Nobody gets to swan into a job such as accounting without years of study and learning on the job. Would you consider something more practical that you might enjoy -catering/ dog walking/ perhaps a specialist type of cleaning role? If you're set on the office route, temping is a great way to try things and find what you're good at, and can lead to permanent roles.

It might be worth you considering finishing your degree. Through OU you could do it part time whilst working out your next move. There is funding now for degree holders so you could wouldn't have to pay for the course if you choose a degree from a selected list. This one is OUs offer for second degrees - they are all STEM based so should suit your interest?

www.open.ac.uk/courses/fees-and-funding/equivalent-qualifications

If university isn't in the cards, taking accredited courses with actual certification might be a good way to go.

Futhermore, I'd look into volunteering. It's a great way to get back into the swing of things, pad your resume, gain experience and find out what your passionate about.

Data science and other STEM roles require a high level of numeracy and physics....

Suggest if you want something to boost your confidence & life skills complete a St Johns Ambulance or Red Cross first aid course and defibrillator course. Normally, about 2-3 days
Great to put on your CV
Good to use when volunteering or at work

Some work places sometimes pay extra for a qualified first aider

Unless you're up for relocating, look at the job market in your area as well as what you enjoy. I self-funded AAT and haven't been able to do anything with it at all. Most of my class were accounts admin assistants before AAT and still are after three years of studying. Nothing wrong with that but they all wanted to progress (mainly to earn more money) and haven't been able to. It's not necessarily the stepping stone to a great career with loads of opportunities and flexibility that it's often made out to be.

I know people twice your age who have retrained into a new industry

Never too old to learn

MrDarcysMa you sound like the career advisor who told me to work in and art shop, or the recruiter that offered me an £18k a year call centre job. They thought they knew their stuff too! I got a job managing a contact centre so she could stuff that. There are a wealth of jobs in between dog walking and being a data scientist, most jobs work with data and numbers if that's what the op is interested in, what's to say she isn't numerate.

You will receive a certificate if you complete the first aid courses & they are valid for a couple of years

Look locally & find out if the courses are free

Some companies offer them free to employees or you can pay yourself

Another vote for trying the public sector, where we will support candidates in lower level roles to gain professional qualifications in our area of work, and we don’t ask about your family circumstances when you apply! We don’t even see your name, age, address or any other personal details until after we’ve selected you for interview. You’ll just need a strong statement of why you’re interested in and suitable for the role - which is easy when you’re passionate about the subject matter. A gap on your work record can be explained as ‘family responsibilities’ and we don’t ask further. I’ve been working and recruiting in the public sector for 20 years and we have lots of young parents start, stay and develop with us. Big public sector organisations have lots of branches of work so there are lots of directions to move in. Even an organisation like mine, which has a very specialist subject area, employs people doing law, accountancy, stats, HR, science, research, publications, and myriad other functions alongside the specialist roles.

Hi I too was a university drop out, I have since completed a degree with the open uni which I did part time whilst working in decent admin type roles. It taught me loads about myself, multitasking and working . I even got married and brought a house in that time so really didnt hold me back at all. Since graduating I have taken a job in a completely new sector and am building my experience, where I did take a pay cut to get into the sector I wanted but in my mind it was worth it. It's hard to see yourself in a professional work setting if you feel like you're not worthy or have anything of value to add, and it will show to employers. I think perhaps working on what you want to do. I'd also say to work on your self confidence and what you can bring to the table, I'm a similar age to you and honestly the fact I didnt graduate when I was younger doesn't even play on my mind now. You just need to show them you have the skills to do the job you're going for. Best of luck OP

Perhaps someone could ask you some interview questions & that may assist us in pointing you in a certain direction

Example
One of my managers used to ask this

Where do you see yourself in 5 years time ?

@MrDarcysMa i agree. i recruit for things like resilience, can do attitude etc.
i don’t care about official qualifications, but about how quickly people can learn, can overcome hurdles, and can adapt.
without official qualifications and without real examples for resilience etc its getting difficult. try volunteering to get applied examples, or get qualifications i would sat

I work with a 24 yr old who dropped out of uni and wanted to get into software/programming as an apprentice.

My boss hired her due to her positive can-do attitude, and genuine interest in learning to code. Nobody ever asked if she had kids.

I will also try to treat my depression. I have so many "how to overcome depression" books on my shelf.

Depression isn't typically treated with self help books. What kind of help/treatment have you had so far?

Could you afford to do a part time qualification such as aat (entry level accounting course). Carry on doing retail part time jobs and study.

As a hiring manager I am impressed by candidates who have studied without sponsorship from an employer as it shows commitment.

I can barely write well anymore

This is probably due to being rusty more than anything else. You managed an access course and one year at uni so you obviously do have the skills. It is difficult getting back into education after so many years out of it. I did a biology degree not long after leaving school. 10+ years later, I went back to study nursing. I did find it difficult getting back into the swing of academic writing initially however you soon get back into the swing of things. Perhaps try an evening course/open uni course to get you back into it?

You could do an accountancy apprenticeship. You can do it any age. However, it is a LOT of work. I have very good GCSEs and A levels and found it hard work and I couldn’t imagine doing it with a child!
Happy to chat it over with you though if you want to send me a direct message.

twitter.com/bcs_lovelace

Lots of good women friendly stuff in tech

*I will also try to treat my depression. I have so many "how to overcome depression" books on my shelf.

Depression isn't typically treated with self help books. What kind of help/treatment have you had so far?*

It depends. The research does show that exercise can be just as effective as medication; many self help resources do advise exercise to help with low mood/depression. It would of course, depend on the severity of the depression.

We had a apprentice in their late 30's, you do what you have to do for the career you want.
You also need to be more positive about it, instead of looking at it as what can't I do, what can you do!
Like a PP suggested don't look at jobs in terms of age, if there's an apprenticeship that looks likely the things you want then go for it. You have nothing to loose and everything to gain!

Have you looked at the Civil Service? Are there any government departments near you? Look up the Civil Service Jobs website. You can get entry level jobs and once in, all the internal jobs (the majority) will be open to you. Most jobs are quite flexible around child care etc (but probably not the customer facing ones like call centres in DWP, DVSA, or the passport office).

They also do apprenticeships where you get a degree and reasonable entry level pay. You need 5 GCSEs.

CS applications are a very specific style but there’s lots of information on them online.

Consider a bookkeeping qualification or the AAT accounts technician qualification. - or ACCA if you have A Levels
Look for online courses
FutureLearn has a handful of free ones
www.futurelearn.com/search?q=bookkeeping

If you have no experience at all, it will be a slog to get something (It would be at the best of times, but potentially LOTS of people seeking new roles at the same time)- try small local charities to see if they need volunteer book keeping or accounts staff once things get back to normal.

What about a course in Social work ? or becoming a teaching assistant,maybe .You are still quite young with a young child so have time to maybe train in a year or two if you want to .My DF trained to be a Nurse with 3 young children in tow .Difficult but not impossible !

Looking at BusyProcrastinator's post, there is a recruitment site reminded me on a recruitment site - it used to have lots of civil service roles on there.
restless.co.uk/

It is aimed at over 50s, but don't let you put you off - a lot of employers use it to tick diversity boxes, and there are a high % of part time roles if you are juggling childcare.