Keep being rejected for jobs

[Keepbeingrejected]

Name changed for this as it doesn't tie in with any previous threads. And I'm prepared to be roasted, but at the same time I feel a bit fragile so don't be too mean please MN ers.

I'm currently on MAT leave from a 45k a year role in hospitality. I can't feasibly return to my role as I have no childcare for evenings and weekends.

So. Mat leave. Perfect time to brush up the CV and find a new role right?

So far I've been rejected from approx 30 roles.

I have years of experience in managing teams, developing and training people, managing financial aspects of business, hitting targets, recruitment etc etc. I also have a background in HR and Payroll.

I've applied for 3 x civil service roles
10 + roles for sales/operations
5 + roles for HR admin work

I'm not precious about coming close to my 45k salary (midlands) as the working hours were always ridiculous, so I am more than happy to take a pay cut to around 24k if I must to find a more 9 to 5 family friendly employer, preferably with scope for progression and development.

I tailor my CV to each application and painstakingly create a cover letter or go through each companies process online. I've had a few phone interviews that I thought I'd done well in, only to be told my application wouldn't be progressing.

Please help me oh MN hive mind. Any tips/advice? Feeling very deflated currently.

Didn't mean to enable voting

Have you asked for feedback from any of those companies you spoke to on the phone?
You could try a recruitment company and get their feedback. Are you used to doing interviews or were you in the same job for years without having to apply for stuff?
It's hard to know. Are you mentioning that you have childcare issue on the phone and the limitations it might have on your availability?

I feel your pain, OP. I have recently changed industry and it's so much harder getting through the stages now compared to the last time I tried to find a job. I know there's a lot of younger applicants, too. I don't think this helps!

There is a particular knack to civil service jobs. Not only do you need to meet the essential criteria but respond to the behavioural questions in a specific way using their terminology. List out your transferrable skills and focus on which are relevant in your cv. If you are on ml how soon can you start?

I have and been told the only time feedback is available is from an in person interview.

Recruitment agencies are my next go to, but I've worked with them on the other side and would rather go direct if possible.

No mention of childcare no as the roles I'm applying for I have nursery lined up do it's nothing I'm mentioning. I'm reluctant to mention I'm even on maternity leave/have a child tbh.

But yes,I am out of practice. I've been in my current role for over a decade so it is all a bit new. I've had friends lookover my CV and it's short but Highlights key skills and experience without going on for 3 pages lol

I just didn't think it would be this hard. My DH thinks I might be applying for too junior roles and employers are put off by it. But obviously I'm treating it as a career change and whilst I have transferable skills, I don't expect to walk in to a 40/45ka year job without industry experience.

I can start within 4 weeks, but my MAT leave officially ends in April

Civil service is the goal currently but I'm just getting absolutely nowhere 😭

You're over qualified and that's most likely why. I'd actually tone down my CV in your case, make it seem You're less qualified. Sounds odd but if you're going for an admin job they'll think why is an experienced manager looking at this job? And just turn you down rather than bother to interview you and find out why. I had this years ago when I tried to move from a senior role to a basic telephone job.

I do see both sides of this, it looks a bit suspicious I guess, but with my CV I have already condensed it down into core skills in the hope I can elaborate in an interview.

My social media is locked down so it's not like people are seeing anything online, not that there's much to see anyway.

When I was last out of work and looking, I applied for 150 jobs. It is normal. Don't worry, it's not you.

Also, HR departments are shit. And lazy and rude. They don't care about the people they don't hire, only the ones they do - and often they know who they want already.

Final pearl ... I had 9 months gardening leave. No-one cared at all for 8 of those months. In the final month, by which time I was available immediately, I had 6 interviews and 3 job offers. In hindsight, I wish I'd relaxed and gone and slept on a beach for 8 months instead of exhausting myself applying for hundreds of jobs that were, in all truth, never going to result in an interview for this reason alone.

Keep going with civil service ones. They will definitely not care if you are over qualified. Most roles will have over 100 applicants per post my my dept, so it is a numbers game, don't take it to heart. CS is amazing for flexible working when you have kids. I will never move! Good luck.

This is what I hear alot. Plus sideways and upwards progression. Its just getting a foot in! Any tips? 🤣

2 phone interviews. One was a no goer as they'd failed to list one in 2 weekends would be required as well as regular early starts/late finishes "as part of contracted hours"....

1 I thought I'd done well in, and the feedback from the recruiting manager was positive, but then I had a rejection email from the actual hiring manager, and no response to my polite request for feedback.

Other than that it's like my CV is being used on a log burner somewhere.

I would have been suspiciously interested in an ops manager with over a decade of experience applying for a minimum wage hospitality job, unless it was for a top up income.

But I have not insinuated I am over qualified FWIW

Fingers crossed then! 🤞

I have always found that if you want to do a different job, you have more hope of getting an opportunity within a company you already work for, and if you want to move companies, you have a much better hit rate applying for a role very close to the one you already do.

I have done a lot of recruitment over the years. I've always been a bit cautious of people who want to take a significant step down in salary to be completely honest, whilst I absolutely LOVE recruiting people who want to take a step down in hours - my experience with part timers in professional roles (who were all women in their 30s and 40s) is that you usually get a great deal. I strongly believe that people working 2.5 days are generally far more than 50% as productive and effective as those working 5. Because they work less, they are more focused and efficient when they are.

So my advice is...

1. Look for part time roles doing what you already do
2. Talk to your current employer honestly about your desire to do a different role
3. Failing that, don't disclose your current earnings unless you have to whilst looking for less demanding roles with better hours
4. Try to focus on roles within the hospitality sector as your industry experience is a plus

Do you have LinkedIn account? If not, make one. Then send a brief and professional message to the hiring manager outlining your suitability for the role and that you have made an application and hope that it will be taken into consideration. Hiring manager will then probably tell recruiting team to pull up your CV, and you will likely get an interview.

Will look into this thank you.