to not want to work in a supermarket ..

[Lola528]

Yes, it is very snobby of me I know, and especially right now it’s a “needs must” situation when so
many are being made redundant and don’t have much choice. The only jobs where I am right now seem to be in a supermarket or cleaning houses or offices (I’m a rubbish cleaner).

It may be petty, but I don’t want it on my CV amongst the other jobs I’ve had (aviation/travel working with major players of the industry) to then have “Asda” or equivalent as my most recent job. I just feel I have so much more to offer but nobody in my industry of choice is hiring right now (understandably).

AIBU to think this will go against me for future job opportunities? Or will future potential employees understand this is a blip of “COVID times” and not see it as a negative? Am I just being stupid?

THIS

"Justmuddlingalong
I had hoped that retail staff had gained some respect after they worked tirelessly through lockdown. Hopes dashed."

I have never worked in retail or McDonalds or other 'roles' that many like to look down on but I imagine it is really hard work.

I don't look up to 'office work' as some appear to - it's just a different role and not super wonderful either.

Odd how some people think. At the end of the day at present we don't need aviation or a variety of other roles but we do need people in the essential roles.

Enjoy your new role OP it might teach you a few things

In terms of putting on your CV, as with many things, some employers will see as positive and others may look down on it.

But do you want to work for a company that looks down on someone who went out to work to feed their family?

I’m a lawyer. If I saw you worked at a supermarket I would notice (from the loads of other cvs) and I would immediately think, “good work effort, will be prepared to roll up their sleeves”. I have cvs with strings of As, fabulous degrees. The ones that stand out are the ones who have had some set backs in life and still carried on. Shows grit and determination.

I’d put it on my CV, LinkedIn (seen lots of people do this especially pilots) and really sell it.

Good for you. It's difficult to even get jobs in a supermarket at the moment with so many people applying, so I think employers will need to get over this attitude.

@Cheesypea

A gap on your cv will look worse. A willingness to take any job shows your a grafter. Most employers will hire someone whos in work rather than someone who is out of work.

This.

I'm really surprised at the hard time OP is getting, especially on a site that's generally obsessed with class signifiers...

I was in a similar position a few years back, took the job, did freelance stuff in my field at the same time and put only the latter on my CV. This is certainly not because I thought I was above the job; clearly I wasn't, because I needed it, and it was a good experience. But it's fair to say it wasn't remotely relevant to my usual field. If the CV is an advert for my skills and why I'm suited to the role, I wasn't going to clutter it with the stuff that didn't showcase that. I didn't think the job made me a grafter or someone with an amazing work ethic. I had bills to pay, that was all. I was grateful to the job for enabling me to do that and I did my best in it, but I couldn't see how it gave me any edge over other candidates in a completely different role and field. Freelancing in a tough industry during a recession was a better example of being hardworking in a difficult situation.

Had they asked in interview, I would have been honest about it, but they didn't. They must have known I had another income because my freelance stuff in that time did not bring in anything like a living wage, but they didn't ask about it, presumably because it just wasn't relevant to how well I could do this other, entirely different, job.

YABVVVVVU.

I was made redundant at the very start of lockdown and have been unable to find a job in my very well paid, niche sector. I need to put food on the table so I am currently working in my local supermarket.

At interviews I have been to in the last few weeks I have told them I am working in a supermarket and I have had nothing but positive feedback.

You are being a snob. How do you usually treat people who work in your local supermarket? If you talk to supermarket staff you will find many have interesting backgrounds. I have spoken to an ex chef, ex pub landlady and ex deputy head from a private school in my local supermarket.

It's a job. A job you need that pays money to keep a roof over your head. I see it as showing my DD that you do whatever you have to do to keep money coming into the home. There is absolutely nothing wrong with working in a supermarket, whether it's long term or short term.

Do it - everyone knows that people have taken jobs that would maybe not be their first choice, and it's a much more responsible attitude than sliding into debt.

It's shit it's not your career op, but you need the money and a gap will actually look worse. Could make you look lazy in comparison to others.

Obviously you don't need the job that much, so let someone else have it - they'll be plenty of takers (300 people applied last time the supermarket where my DD temps wanted someone).

I work in a well known store (not supermarket). I started off shelf stacking, then floor planning and they eventually moved my to tills as they thought I was really good with customers so transferred me to tills and I also I do morning cash (a large store so am trusted with thousands). It might only be a shop job, but on my CV I can show I'm trusted and have good communication skills which is current.

If you can afford it or if you can find something else, then no of course you don't have to take a supermarket job.

In your position I also wouldn't want to, because I know it would be physically hard and whilst I am not scared of hard work I am not physically strong.

@Lola528 I think you've got a really hard time here. I work in aviation and am clinging to my job by my fingernails. I have applied for a couple of supermarket delivery jobs, thinking I would be made redundant, been offered them, but turned them down as I am still employed. If I was unemployed I would take anything to bring the money in, I would need to, but if you don't need to then maybe don't? Or take it with a view to seeing how you get on, it doesn't have to be forever.
I've been furloughed since April, I do have a second job but that's stopped again now. One thing that this time has shown me is that actually I do quite like my job after all - 12 months ago I would have told you I was desperate to leave. Looking at the job market and comparing what's out there has made me appreciate my role again.
OP I suspect you are mourning your job, it is the same process as grief. There is nothing wrong with appreciating how good you had it and feeling sad that you have lost it.
That said, I very much doubt putting Asda on your CV will have a negative effect, get your CV written professionally and I'm sure it will not go against you.

Ps I do not look down at retail workers at all, but it isn't my chosen career and it isn't OP's chosen career either. People are allowed to be sad at what they've lost.

Dare I say you might not even get a role at a supermarket. Lots of competition at present and some of them do psychometric tests and things to select the right kind of person. I suspect an aura of thinking yourself above the job won't help your prospects.

I work in retail. This ^
Don't bank on even getting the job OP. There are a lot of applicants.

@Flaxmeadow

Dare I say you might not even get a role at a supermarket. Lots of competition at present and some of them do psychometric tests and things to select the right kind of person. I suspect an aura of thinking yourself above the job won't help your prospects.

I work in retail. This ^
Don't bank on even getting the job OP. There are a lot of applicants.

I think OP has already been offered the job and decided to take it.

You could learn something very valuable or meet someone who becomes a great friend or experience something you wouldn't have done otherwise.
Every experience has potential to add to you as a person and as a employee. Don't pass up on that opportunity!
Also - just to echo what others have said - it shows you're a grateful person and a grafter and that you don't think you're above working in a supermarket like thousands of people do.

OP said she has been offered the job. And is taking it, and putting it on her CV.

I work in a supermarket. It fits in with my other job and I love it.... Don't knock it till you try it...

It's all life skills I don't think they judge your career it's what you will pick up people person skills problem solving dealing with complaints etc. Also you can across a problem in your life in that I assume you have possibly been made redundant and you took the steps to rectify that rather than sit back. To me that is someone who you want working for you not a moaner but a doer someone who will get up and get on with it and take the challenges thrown at them

@Cheesypea

A gap on your cv will look worse. A willingness to take any job shows your a grafter. Most employers will hire someone whos in work rather than someone who is out of work.

I agree with this

Take the job and be grateful it's been offered.
Please don't go telling your new colleagues that you only took the job as you had no choice and should be somewhere 'better'.
You might learn new skills,make new friends,enjoy the atmosphere and stay on.
Take the leap and enjoy it.

If I was a prospective employer I would prefer to know that you had got a job at a difficult time rather than feeling you're "too good" for a job you consider to be menial. My friend once got an interview on the strength of a remark she made at the end of an "about me" section in a job application. She'd put "and I make a damn good cup of coffee!" The interviewers said they'd decided to interview her because she'd shown she had a sense of humour, and she didn't feel she was above doing something many regarded as being below them, especially in the role she was applying for.

*Please don't go telling your new colleagues that you only took the job as you had no choice and should be somewhere 'better'.

Even before her updates, there was nothing in the OP to suggest she was going to do anything like this.

So you’ve been offered a job, when thousands are struggling, and you don’t know whether or not to accept it?

Get a grip OP!

Agree with other PPs who say that this would look better than a gap on CV and would demonstrate something about you.

Wow, I did noy expect such a huge response to my AIBU.

I appreciate all the replies, and while I can’t reply to you all individually, I take all the comments on board.

To summarise:

I was offered the job before I posted and have now accepted it.

I am not a snob, however I am in mourning as some have said for the industry I have been in for 30 years, which will never be the same again. When the time comes where jobs will be available in aviation again, I will be late 40s early 50s. Despite what people say, I think this age will go against me so am additionally concerned this diversification from my hard earned niche skill set will further negatively affect my chances. Thanks to some replies I now recognise it may actually be viewed as a positive.

I am not afraid of hard work, and have been in customer facing roles for the majority of my time in this industry, so used to dealing with people in the public realm and their nuances :)

I appreciate everyone and do not look down on someone because they work in a supermarket,. I’m guessing my now employer could recognise this or I would not have been offered the job amongst all the other competition.

I applied for jobs with Aldi/Lidl/Asda/Tesco and Morrison’s and only one of them gave me an interview and job. I completely recognise how “not easy” it is to get a job right now.

Let’s hope we all get through this pandemic however we can!

Thanks all,
Lola528

@Justmuddlingalong

I had hoped that retail staff had gained some respect after they worked tirelessly through lockdown. Hopes dashed.

Please don't assume they haven't among many people Justmuddlingalong . I'm hugely grateful to all the people-facing, front-line personnel like bus drivers, supermarket and post office workers , bin men and women, and couriers, who are basically keeping the country running ATM. I don't think there is enough appreciation out there though. People who are privileged enough to be wfh (me and dh are in this category) should themselves lucky.