To feel sad I can't get a job? :(

[Tillu]

I've just had another rejection email through today; I didn't even get an interview. :(

I'm not sure what I am doing wrong.

Am I too old? I'm 32. I'm applying for admin jobs around 20 - 25k per year. I have a degree and experience of being self-employed and working online from home.

I want a change and to get out of the house, but I can't even get an interview.

Does anyone have any tips or advice? I'd love to work for a charity organisation or similar, but I am not too fussy at this stage!

I have my degree and relevant experience on my CV.

I'm presentable, polite, professional and friendly. At least I think I am! Maybe I'm not!

What am I doing wrong?

Definitely do a voluntary role at a charity if you can op, while you are waiting. Or join a charity temp agency.

Eden brown
Charity people
Prospect Us
Charity people
Harris hill

You can also list yourself as a virtual PA /admin assistant on some sites:

https://www.smart-pa.com/uk/industries/charities/

www.upwork.com]]

www.digitalmums

Third sector list lots of charity jobs:

https://jobs.thirdsector.co.uk/searchjobs/?countrycode=GB&gclid=Cj0KCQiAubmPBhCyARIsAJWNpiP4EKVJ6PciSvjcw3PLRn8KTyGr1BUzGfgyHPZQ-GIFdl0nktgwAk4aAh8PEALw_wcB

Good luck!!

No op not easy. I found temping good. Had interview xmas week. Nobody gets back to you. I put a bit more effort into my cover letters. She did say cvs a good standard that she got. Gets disheartening though

I've employed and reviewed many CVs and people in my time but I struggled with my own

When looking for a new role after many years in the industry I was told by several agencies they tend to go for known people on their books rather than new people so highly unlikely they’d find me a role

I wasn’t put forward for a direct match for one job at a firm I used to work at doing the exact same thing. The firm kicked off got the agency to interview and hire me as a known entity so the agency lost all their commission and % invoicing

What made a difference to me was using a professional cv writing firm for around £50. They pointed out obvious errors like not putting past firms on my cv

They didn’t get it spot on but it really helped me amending what they had written about me rather than starting from scratch myself and the 'buzz' words and yes they do exist

Is that an option?

I’m CEO of a charity - you are definitely not too old! My team are from 21 up to 73!
We don’t accept job applications by CV though and are very strict as to shortlisting using job description using essential and desirable criteria

I would try to do it through an employments agency. Are those still around? You can check one that specialises in charity and non profit? They would do part of the application for you and your will just get to the interviews as a potential good candidate?

Definitely try agencies but also ask them to review your CV. This link may help as well to brush up on any areas - also has a UK template to follow as well. www.reed.co.uk/career-advice/free-cv-template/

Hi @Tillu, just to say I’m very happy to help by looking over your CV/cover letter or any general applications.

I was in basically the same position as you, applying for office jobs after spending a few years self-employed, around 4-5 years ago, and was feeling quite frustrated.

Feel free to PM me - very happy to help you in any way I can :) good luck! Xx

These days there's no such thing as basic "admin".

Consider your skills and be specific about the experience you have.

Have you ever had responsibility for even a small budget? If not, you can get some experience of this through volunteering for treasurer roles in local clubs/organisations.

IT skills - list software you are competent with - word, excel, SAP etc.

Experience that is more specific - have you done any of:

• document controller
• office management
• social/internal media updates
• updating internal news feeds

For PA roles:
Diary management
Travel planning
Hospitality/meeting coordination

Also you say you've been self employed - doing what? Is it relevant to an admin job? If you've been a self employed hairdresser, plumber, or mlm hun you may be competing against people with more relevant employed experience.

Hi, sorry to hear you’ve been having a rough time.

I know this advice may sound a bit but is your CV visually appealing?

I graduated in 2020 and started applying for jobs. After getting a nowhere I changed my CV layout and added some colour (it was black and white and visually uninteresting). Even though it is nothing special, I instantly started getting interview requests. My current employer said over 100 people applied for my role, so my CV must have stood out even though my experience was pretty minimal.

Which part of the U.K. are you based OP?

Not being nosy genuinely asking as the company I work for may have something that would suit you :)

@Tillu - definitely do some research on some charities/groups you'd like to get involved with and just get in touch to say you're interested in volunteering, and potentially becoming a trustee to offer the board specific skills. From my experience, boards are always looking for admin and finance experience. Once you're a trustee, you can also access training. A few of my charity's own board members have found being a trustee career enriching, opening up various opportunities. Maybe look at newish/smaller organisations initially?

I second the idea of applying for the Civil Service. I’ve moved from being self employed to my current department, and I absolutely love it. I’ve also progressed twice since joining, and for the first time can really see myself having a career. The main thing is the applications are interested in the skills you have from a variety of roles rather than specific experience. Not sure what departments are near to your area but it’s definitely worth a look!

@Zebracowfish

I second the idea of applying for the Civil Service. I’ve moved from being self employed to my current department, and I absolutely love it. I’ve also progressed twice since joining, and for the first time can really see myself having a career. The main thing is the applications are interested in the skills you have from a variety of roles rather than specific experience. Not sure what departments are near to your area but it’s definitely worth a look!

Me too! Fellow civil servant here, and very happy to answer any questions you might have about the Civil Service OP.

Where are you based OP?

Roughly what geographical area are you in OP? We struggle to get good candidates.

Hi there, i work in HR for a very large company so here is my take. The problem you are having is that you are applying for admin jobs where there will be 60 other applicants applying that are currently working in admin, or have worked in admin for a while. So competition is extremely fierce, especially in covid times following redundancies of admin staff. Second, A lot of employers unfortunately see self employment as "unemployed" so make sure that your self employed work is fleshed out and demonstrates a skill set related to the job posting.
I wouldn't worry too much about your age, for these types of roles no one really cares.
If you are set on admin have a look at some admin courses, excel courses to take.
Other than that, look at some voluntary work to fill the gap. Temp roles will be easier to get so maybe start with some temping.
It may also be worth sending your cv to a recruiter and seeing what they say about your cv :)

Once again, thank you all so much for taking the time out of your day to reply. It's very much appreciated.

I'm based in Scotland, so Edinburgh/ Glasgow or surrounding areas would be great. Or remote!

Haha, no it wasn't an MLM 🤪 I had an import/ export business, however, also had a retail unit on a busy high street.

I think employers may view this in a negative way, however, I'm trying not to think about that too much. There's not much I can do to change it.

I noticed another thread earlier which talked about employers being unlikely to hire women in their thirties due to the fear of them going on maternity leave at any moment. Do you think that could be the case with me?

@Tianli

Hi there, i work in HR for a very large company so here is my take. The problem you are having is that you are applying for admin jobs where there will be 60 other applicants applying that are currently working in admin, or have worked in admin for a while. So competition is extremely fierce, especially in covid times following redundancies of admin staff. Second, A lot of employers unfortunately see self employment as "unemployed" so make sure that your self employed work is fleshed out and demonstrates a skill set related to the job posting. I wouldn't worry too much about your age, for these types of roles no one really cares. If you are set on admin have a look at some admin courses, excel courses to take. Other than that, look at some voluntary work to fill the gap. Temp roles will be easier to get so maybe start with some temping. It may also be worth sending your cv to a recruiter and seeing what they say about your cv :)

Very helpful, thank you.

@Tillu

Once again, thank you all so much for taking the time out of your day to reply. It's very much appreciated.

I'm based in Scotland, so Edinburgh/ Glasgow or surrounding areas would be great. Or remote!

Haha, no it wasn't an MLM 🤪 I had an import/ export business, however, also had a retail unit on a busy high street.

I think employers may view this in a negative way, however, I'm trying not to think about that too much. There's not much I can do to change it.

I noticed another thread earlier which talked about employers being unlikely to hire women in their thirties due to the fear of them going on maternity leave at any moment. Do you think that could be the case with me?

Would you be interested in Higher Education roles, OP? There's loads of them in Edinburgh right now. I'm about to recruit to two roles in HE Professional Services in Edinburgh. Feel free to PM me, and I can direct you - but I am the recruiting manager, so can only tell you so much. :)

@HollaHolla That sounds wonderful, I'll PM you!

@JackieWeaversLaptop

Hi *@Tillu*, just to say I’m very happy to help by looking over your CV/cover letter or any general applications.

I was in basically the same position as you, applying for office jobs after spending a few years self-employed, around 4-5 years ago, and was feeling quite frustrated.

Feel free to PM me - very happy to help you in any way I can :) good luck! Xx

That would be great, thank you!

Another link for CV's. www.futurelearn.com/info/blog/cv-help

Also try online courses (free) with future learn and OpenLearn to gain new skills

Goodmoves is great for charity vacancies in Scotland.
Sometimes charities with a lower budget list on Indeed too.

Without seeing your cv vs job application it is hard to say why you aren't getting through but a basic layout should look something like this

Name/contact number/email address

Summary- A few lines that summarise why you are applying and why you are right for the role. If you need your degree for the job or driving licence or what ever mention it in here

previous work experience- keep this to the last 10 years and say you can provide more information on request. Don't list your tasks as a bullet point exercise but instead write something with a bit more passion that demonstrates the skills needed for the job you are applying for and include achievements that you and your team had

-education this may give away age depending on what qualifications but by this point an employer should be hooked by the above. This section should come above experience for graduate cvs as standard

• References

Websites have filters on that search for key words and rate cvs before it gets to an employer so consider matching some of the words in line with what they are asking for/commonly used phrases as it will be a computer screening. Prospects website has some really useful graduate tips and national careers service for general cv tips. You should tailor your cv to every application