To wonder why I can't get a sodding job?

[Needhelp101]

I've been running my own company in the creative world for the past decade. Unfortunately, I'm now rapidly reaching burnout and without creating more, I will have no income. I have children to support and am a single parent so no other income. So I'm looking for some part-time work alongside my business.

I am happy to do most work, bar work, retail etc - I have decades of experience in administration and have worked for some huge companies. I am still in contact with people I've worked with in the past who would (and have) provided good references.

So why can't I get a sodding job? I have applied for hundreds over the past six months - not even an interview. I've called several recruitment agencies, not one of which has come up with anything. I've even gone onto Facebook to see who is hiring locally and contacted the ones who responded directly - completely ignored.

My creative work is, by nature, very solitary and I was actually looking forward to working in a more social setting for a change but it's very dispiriting to not even be getting interviews.

Any suggestions appreciated!

I read something on here the other day that said AI can't read PDF format CVs so automatically get screened out. They have to be a Word document apparently. Maybe that is an issue ?

If you aren't getting to interview then your CV is being screened out. Lots of companies use automated sifting now so it's looking for key words from the job description to appear in your CV.

You need to tailor your CV making sure that you use the job description as a checklist and that you have used those key words.

Another way to do it is to add a footer to your CV, put a load of keywords into the footer then change the font colour to white and save your CV as a pdf. No one can see the key words except the automated sifting tool.

it is very unlikely that OP is overqualified for waitressing given she hasn’t had any experience of that

I'm in a similar position but not yet looking for jobs, but might be in 6 months or so. My business is also a freelance creative one working in design. I have three cvs from when I was last job hunting.

One full design one which bigs me up and shows off, is honest about being a director of my own company etc.

The second is a junior designer/less senior version of what I do, cv that underplays all the senior work I have done but illustrates a broad but shallow set of skills. It helps that most of my employed jobs fit into this category.

Third CV is a general admin one and really pushes all the admin work I have done as part of the above jobs. Reprographics, research, contacting suppliers, speaking to clients, attending trade shows etc while underplaying the creative work.

Each job advert will get a tweaked version of one of the above with a unique cover letter tailored to the both the job description especially but also from information taken from the company website if accessible.

I'm self employed and have experienced the same issue so after 18 months of being completely ghosted I have had to focus on making my business work (hard when it isn't bringing in enough money to pay the bills and I don't have any money to invest in it).

I've spoken to a few people in recruitment and the general jist is if you've been self employed, particularly for a long time, future employers either see you as over qualified or difficult to manage. It's shit, it really is.

Put the word out amongst friends and family that you are looking for work.

I retired from my job recently and after having a bit of a party was told by 3 people they had a job if I was looking for work. I wasn't, but was nice to know at 58 that I could have. I got the job I retired from after a school gates mum said there was availability where she worked and she'd get a bonus if I got the job and lasted 6 months (11 years later...)

I own a shop and you are exactly the sort of person I would hire - because you sound like me
I only advertise locally and not through agencies - you are best off approaching local indie shops you like the look if and asking if they have any vacancies
I like people not pieces of paper with a list if achievements

Have you registered with agencies for temp work?

Try some agency work?
You need covering letter and CV checking.

Many companies use automated processes before a human even looks at your application. It might help to get family / friends any professionals you know to give your CV a second eye, we can mess up on silly things when it's just us reviewing it.
However it is hard at the moment, also there was a recruitment boom in 2021/2022 but people are getting laid off now in certain sectors which makes the competition fiercer. However as we enter the summer months, seasonal work opens up so you may be able to find something to get you going for the next few months
Also warehouses will normally take on if you have any near you, they usually pay above minumum wage and will have overtime available, not always the easiest of jobs and can be intense but will help pay the bills.
Might be some good HR people on here who will take a look at your CV and give you some pointers

I would say try and target small, local companies - certainly when it comes to retail - or learn to lie about your availability. I recently got turned down for a 2 day a week job at Tesco because I do something else 2 days a week and seemingly I should have told them I was available 24/7 😳😳 And yes, I have supermarket experience and I would be able to be flexible outside those two days but apparently not good enough 🤷🏻‍♀️

Ah yes - that old chestnut of being an older self-employed person with shedloads of self-motivated experience - got the T-shirt; quite simply HR depts and many career-motivated people that we are up against either find us a bit nondescript, scary or can't quite get their head round what being self-employed entails ie: no employer's benefits at all.

And then there's the recruitment 'frameworks' - when I still had some hope that I was still an 'employable' person - I sadly lost out on a very well-suited job by a mere 1 point at interview because of an HR Framework, I know because the manager called me to tell me - both she and her deputy wanted me.

Love the suggestions about McDonalds for a job, coz all we need is a bit more work experience to demonstrate our worth - ffs.

Maybe one day, but then there's the online personality tests to contend with; I failed ASDA's for a pt night shift packing job! Also rather proud that after getting through Round 1 for a well suited Civil Service job - scored just 14% on their nonsensical online 'worker' test.

And realized why we're as fucked up as we are in the UK.

Completely dumb your cv down. You’re coming across as over qualified.

Do you maybe come across as over qualified for the types of job you're applying for? If you're saying that you've got lots of experience and you've worked with big companies etc, then employers in bars and retail might wonder what on earth you're applying to them for.

If so then addressing it in your cover letter and maybe adjusting your CV will help.

Lots of advice re CVs etc., but not much mention of the public sector. There are lots of admin based jobs in local councils, the NHS, the Civil Service. Sometimes they are the largest employers in town. They have their own recruiting process, application forms in many instances.

Seems most advice on here states 'dumb down' - gotta laugh or cry.

Put the job description and your cv into chatgpt. Ask it to optimise your cv for the role.

Same here. I’m same age, no kids, but been self employed for over a decade. No matter what sort of work or style CV I submit I never hear back. I knew that if I went self employed this would be an issue but never envisaged it would mean I’m literally unemployable.

Maybe CV? It's also very competitive right now. I was made redundant last month and have been applying for things since late January, but I have at least had quite a lot of interviews, but I am having difficulty landing anything.

I think this could be my problem too. I need to redo my cv and make it more skills-based.

One problem is that I have a degree from an elite university and omitting it seems fraudulent.

For me what I'd do is leave out dates and years on employment history and just put the last few years or any jobs ive had dates arnt manatory on cvs. It's a personal choice but when returning to the work place after my kids reached school age my cv was all based around my stay at home parent role. No one would touch me not even the care industry, I had to go to college for 9 months and remove all mention of children from my cv. I got a job straight from college and now I get an interview to every job I apply for, granted I'm experienced in all Jobs I apply for and happily employed. but my husband recently mentioned his kids at an interview. They didn't even have the decency to call and tell him he didn't have it. If you have care experience I'd suggest NHS jobs. If you like the caring role

For me what I'd do is leave out dates and years on employment history and just put the last few years or any jobs i've had dates arnt manatory on cvs. It's a personal choice but when returning to the work place after my kids reached school age my cv was all based around my stay at home parent role. No one would touch me not even the care industry, I had to go to college for 9 months and remove all mention of children from my cv. I got a job straight from college and now I get an interview to every job I apply for, granted I'm experienced in all Jobs I apply for and happily employed. but my husband recently mentioned his kids at an interview. They didn't even have the decency to call and tell him he didn't have it. If you have care experience I'd suggest NHS jobs. If you like the caring role

I worked on a project re Tesco’s recruitment policy and this is completely untrue

they have thousands of part time workers who also hold other positions

and you’re saying that when you learned you weee unsuccessful, they actually said it was because you had another position that didn’t clash with the advertised hours at tescos 🤨

i suspect that you extrapolated that it was because you had another part time position as to why you didn’t get the job, but i can assure you - it wasn’t

if you know someone that recruits, get them to take a critical look at your CV & help you with it - and if they've time, any individual supporting statements, or just to help you with one.
I don't think it's necessarily your age - I am in my 60's & have a long background of interim contracts, not particularly attractive to an employer, but had a 90%+ success rate at getting interviews when I was searching last year, with most of those progressing to second interview (or offer of one) - and several offers.

good luck