To think I have de-skilled myself, am now ‘unemployable’ and may need to retrain?

[Wildfalls]

4 years ago I got made redundant from an Admin/ Project Support role. (This is historically what I have always done) I was desperate for money and not getting anywhere with any of the jobs that I applied for so in the interim, started a little cleaning business doing domestic cleaning. I’ve always been a clean freak and do enjoy cleaning and within 6 months I was inundated with work and therefore blithely just continued with what I was doing. It was fine as generally, I’d earn what I was earning in my old roles (mid £20’s) but for shorter hours and obviously I was my own boss.

Fast forward to now, 4 years later and I absolutely hate it. Honestly I have been so bored for a while now and in Feb, just before COVID kicked off, started applying for jobs again.

COVID then hit and my business was hit hard. I’ve been back working now for a while but have lost nearly 1/2 my business since COVID as so many of my customers were made redundant and are at home and new custom is scarce due to the current climate. I am now £1000 a month down and cannot sustain this for much longer. This is irrelevant anyway as even if business was booming, I’d still be mind numbingly bored and want to leave.

I am getting nowhere with jobs, absolutely nowhere, I apply for about 5 a day, basically any new admin or project support/ coordinator roles that come up in my area. I haven’t had 1 interview, it’s been months and months and my self esteem is now at rock bottom.

I feel useless and unemployable. I honestly feel like a complete failure and so annoyed at myself for not just persevering more 4 years ago. But then I feel guilty for thinking that as it’s brought me a good income and lifestyle over the last 4 years. I just want more that’s all, I want a stable job, income and ‘career’ I want career progression and to exercise my brain. It’s not surprising I’m not hearing back from any of these jobs I guess as I have spent the past 4 years cleaning, therefore my previous experience in these roles is now so dated.

I can’t go on like this forever, I’m seriously thinking about retraining but I have no idea what in.

I’m very organised, in fact I LOVE organising things, I enjoy English and do do a bit of freelance writing in my spare time. I’m absolutely terrible at maths, if it’s basic then I’m fine but anything other than that and I’m massively out of my depth. I’ve been very lucky in all of my previous roles that they haven’t required a lot of maths, Excel, a calculator and basic formulas were my friend.

I don’t really know what I expect from this post, I’m just sat here feeling so down and so demoralised and wonder if I’ll ever be able to get out of cleaning?

I should add, this is absolutely not meant to offend anyone, cleaning is a good, honest days work and can be very lucrative. I just need more, that’s all.

I'm in a similar situation to you, been looking for work for 5 months now and haven't even had an interview. I'm thinking of retraining as well - since you're organised and enjoy writing, would you consider copywriting or social media management? You could do a short course focused on something like that or, if you want to, do a full-on marketing diploma or degree...

Are you meeting the minimum qualification requirements for the roles you are applying to? Are there any specific qualifications which might help you to get your foot in. Those 'desirable but not essential' qualifications which in a tight job market might actually be essential.

Are you able to develop your business in a different direction? For example what about decluttering, that might be more challenging and would require you to work more with your client. You could also possibly charge a premium for the service.

If you find numbers difficult then is it worth trying to do a maths GCSE to bolster those skills so opening yourself up to other roles. What is it that you really like about admin / project management roles and how could you develop those interests?

I don't think it's that you've deskilled yourself. The job market at the moment is tough. There are many people looking and few jobs available.

If you could get paid for anything at all, what would it be?

Could you start a sideline round something you love (professional organiser would sit very well alongside your current self employment till you can move the balance over to doing what you enjoy more, for example) and body your income that way?

I had a similar problem, working as a childminder and then in preschools after giving up a professional career when I became a Mum. Once I tried to get back into office work I wasn't taken seriously, as though they thought my brain had turned to mush looking after young children for years. I took a voluntary role half a day per week with a local charity, concentrating on the sort of work I wanted to apply for - admin, IT etc. I intended to use it to bolster up my CV but in the end the charity offered me a paid role and it's the most amazing job I ever had. Would recommend this route if it's a possibility for you OP

How are you presenting your previous project support experience? Is it the first section on your CV/the application form? If not it could be that no one is looking further than your cleaning role. Again how are you presenting that? Self employed cleaner from 2016 to present? Or Sole trader / MD of company responsible for client management, HMRC, accounts etc?

To be brutally honest, 4 year old work experience is useless in most cases (exception would be somebody in a hard to recruit field, or 10 years plus experience).

What can you use from your current career/job can you use? Any volunteering?

I often recruit to these types of roles and the market is absolutely saturated at the moment OP

What’s are you putting on your CV? Just ‘cleaner’ maybe change it t small business owner or similar?

You've run your own business for 4 years. Don't talk about being a cleaner, talk about managing a small business, and all that this entails, on your cv and in your covering letter, and how this and your previous experience relates to the role you're going for. I doubt you've deskilled, if anything you hhave probably gained skills, you may just need to present yourself a bit differently.

Can you update your skills with on line courses? Lots are free- coursera, futurelearn, Microsofts, google etc.....
Improve your it skills and digital skills.also good online courses on job applications etc.
It is a tough market at the moment.

On my CV and covering letters, no I don’t put cleaner (well, at the end I say it is a cleaning business) I say ‘self employed, running my own business’ I list diary management, invoicing, marketing, updating of social media etc as part of running the business day to day as well as then going on to reveal it’s a cleaning business.

I can look into online courses and am certainly not adverse to doing some courses, but I do want them to be recognised and respected courses, rather than just any old thing that no prospective employer would want/ recognise anyway.

I actually think I’d be really good at PA work, but every single PA role states you need to have previous PA experience. It’s so frustrating as I know someone who walked straight into a PA for a very senior manager in a major, global company who previously had only worked in retail...because her uncle knew the guy. A year on and she’s thriving in that role but if she had to apply through normal channels, having only ever worked as a sales assistant in retail, she’d never have got a look in. It really is who you know sometimes.

I’m just feeling fed up about if all today. Feels like a dream (or should I say nightmare) that I can’t wake up from

Set yourself up as a virtual assistant with a rate of £9ph and offer help locally on Gumtree? Not just cleaning but helping organise bills, shopping, booking plane tickets and handymen or maintenance, help organising parties etc. Those sorts of things are used in Private PA roles and can inch you towards more office based admin.

Does your CV focus on the admin skills you've used to run your business? You will certainly have transferable skills. IT skills can be learned and built upon. You will definitely have communication skills acquired through running your business

Have you thought about expanding your business so that you employ other cleaners and work to find business and draw up rotas instead? That might be an option.

I went from retail to PA without knowing anyone to get a foot in the door. At a supervisor level in retail you need to be computer-literate and able to work with spreadsheets and databases. I was told that my previous customer service experience was an asset for my present job.

Don't lose hope. It took me two years of looking to get out of retail.
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Job market is brutal atm. I can't even get an interview for jobs similar to what on currently doing, match all the requirements with current experience etc.

Theres just a massive glut of candidates chasing very few roles I fear.