To think 5 months is a long time to be unemployed?

[MerryMarigold]

Dh made redundant end of April. Had couple of interviews in June but did not get the jobs and nothing since then. He's looking at all sorts but over qualified for most. Do people know others in this position? How do you get out of it? Who wants to employ sometime whose been unemployed for a while? It's all new to us. Dh is 47 and never been unemployed.

I agree about dumbing down the CV if he is going for delivery driver-type jobs. Also, remove some of the earlier jobs. Don't put a graduation date. Take out qualifications that are not relevant to the role.

Being overqualified is sometimes a harder thing to get overcome than being underqualified. I wish your dh all the best. It is a soul destroying thing to look for jobs in this climate particularly at his age and seniority. 5 months out of work is no time at all. Hope he manages to keep his spirits up and something comes along soon.

Thanks for all the advice and encouragement that it's not too large a gap. As part of redundancy he had expert CV help, but this is obviously tailored to his area of expertise. He's on linked in and applies for everything on there he could. He's also started applying for anything at all last couple of months. Dumbing down CV is a great idea.

I really feel for him. He's a very hardworking person but I can see it getting to him. I work minimal post time below minimum wage (I'm on apprentice wage after retaining as SAHM for many years).

We have savings my parents have given us, and which we've saved ourselves, which makes us ineligible for universal credit. At the moment we're using up savings. Lucky to have that.

For PP becoming homeless, can you not get universal credit to cover the rent?

I did think that @RubixMania - but it would literally be a paper round when he was 13 and that's it! And I feel like they'd ask what he's been doing since he graduated 10 years ago - he went straight into a 'career job' at a big well-known company (which was very lucky for him).

And apologies @HavelockVetinari - I didn't mean CS jobs were unskilled! He'd actually like one of the many Universal Credit admin jobs that keep popping up - more that in terms of seniority/pay /responsibility compared to what he's used to he's looking at a much broader range, iyswim :)

For PP becoming homeless, can you not get universal credit to cover the rent?

OH is entitled to a lovely £7 something a week because I work. Which sounds lovely, but my wage isn't nearly high enough to cover rent, bills, food, our phones, and debt repayment - as well insurance on the car I need to get to work OR trains if I were to get rid of the car. :(

It took me 2 years once I hit 52 to get a job.

I've been unemployed for 25 months, and can only get temp roles through an agency. I've applied for a lot of jobs, but there is a large pool of people in my town applying for the same jobs so it's pretty hopeless - especially when you are 61.

Has he signed up to a employment agency? Our local ones have a lot of temp work at the moment. He could also look at getting his license for security work.

Didn't want to read and run, I started a new job in Feb, but was chucked out end of September as they couldn't afford me.

I have used agents and gone directly to various companies.

An agent put me forward for one job but didn't hear back so I got in touch with the company directly to ask why.

They came back and said they couldn't afford me, but we agreed to meet up and they have offered a 6 month consultancy role.

My advice is just keep at it, go directly to people, but it's easy to say and hard to do.

I hope something good happens soon.

5 months isn't long in this current climate, no, and I really hope that employers are sympathetic to how hard it has been. I also worry that a lot of jobs that did exist won't exist in a post-Covid world.

But I truly understand how he must be feeling - my partner has now been unemployed for 7 months and it's starting to destroy him. We're living with my parents as we were working abroad when Covid hit, but we're out in the sticks so there's minimal opportunities. We're planning to move back to a city (I own a house there, but it's tenanted until the end of next month) but even when he's searching for jobs in the city, he's not hearing anything and I suspect it's because they want people to start sooner.

He is really struggling - no motivation, no confidence in himself. After 150+ applications with no good news, it's hard to keep trying.

I hope things work out for everyone who has commented soon.

any recruiters who are sniffy about a gap in employment (not several gaps) are idiots and do you want to work for a company that is so unaware of what the current climate is (and has been since about 2008 if not before)?

I was out of work for 2 years. Applied for a supermarket job in the end, even though I'm trained and qualified in something else. I got that and am sticking with it while looking for something else (haha).
It might not be what he wants but most jobs are going to be supermarket or delivery driver.
Employers are going to understand about gaps in employment at the moment it's a different time. I don't think 5 months is that long though.

OP, it is not a long time. The older you are and the more experience you have the harder it is to find a new job. You become more and more specialised and therefore pigeon-holed. When I worked for GSK in HR they reckoned that a mid-level person would need 6-9 months to find a new job after being laid off. More senior people, a full year. This did not take into account the present, extraordinary circumstances.

It’s not long. Not in today’s climate. One of my children has a part-time bar job. The bar recruited for more staff when lockdown eased. There were over 900 applications.

Obvisouly depend on location but plenty of seasonal Amazon warehouse and courier jobs starting now here.

Or nights stacking/picking in supermarkets.

Or care work

My ex was unemployed 2 years as he’s role is very specific and competitive

Yes, Will check out Amazon. Nearest is about 45 min drive off peak, but maybe he could do nights. It's clear that he's very over qualified though. You can't totally dumb down a CV with 25 years experience in a certain field!

In the current climate, definitely not. What jobs is he applying for? There are lots of jobs going in supermarkets or as delivery drivers around here.

Nobody's hiring him for the available jobs - delivery driving, supermarket warehouses, Civil Service - because he's enormously overqualified in a very specific field and there are lots of other people applying who are probably less likely to leave when a job comes up elsewhere.

Not true for the CS, their application process is largely weighted on answers to the behaviours. Even those with a CV application it isn't just looking at employment history and quals. Perhaps he needs to accept working at a lower level, because although he has niche skills, he doesn't neccessarily have the desired skills for higher level jobs.

And also no need to supply 25 years of experience on a CV, 5 years is sufficient, 10 at most.

Perhaps it’s best if he applies for jobs that are at the right level. I know he is demoralised, but he needs to keep slogging at it. If he takes a lower paid job, it will be difficult to get back.

When I worked for GSK in HR they reckoned that a mid-level person would need 6-9 months to find a new job after being laid off. More senior people, a full year. This did not take into account the present, extraordinary circumstances.

I agree with this.

I am sure your dh is already doing this but go for maternity cover or contract/consultant roles (especially project-related where they only need help for a temporary time) which are more likely to be at his senior level.

At the risk of stating the obvious, I hope he has set up job alerts on Linkedin and Indeed. Some of these roles are advertised directly on the company websites rather than through agents. These alerts sign post who is looking and in what area in real time. If a role comes up, he can then leverage any industry contacts to try to get an inroad. It is much easier to go in more strongly once a role comes up than to 'cold-call'. If he can find a good recruitment agent (lots of sharks out there, unfortunately, who exploit candidates), they are prepared to sound out potential employers they have a good relationship with, especially if they think your dh is experienced with a good CV.

It may take a year or more for a job hunter to find a senior level job
but the same can equally be true for the employer. Therefore, a good matchmaker is prepared to put your dh out there, even if it is speculative, because it is finding the right fit for senior roles.

Good luck there. Something will come up.

Not a long time in 2020 at all.