Searching for a new admin role at the age of 54. Need to leave current job due to bullying mentality!

[Shelleyfromthesea]

I’ve made the decision that I need to leave current job for my own MH wellbeing (it’s been stressful to say the least)!

I won’t go into great detail but a toxic employee has currently been promoted to a senior role, this will absolutely entertain their narcissistic tendencies, so I’ve made the decision to actively search for another job.

I have 30+ year’s administration experience, working for the public and private sector.

Could you recommend where to start searching. I’ve initially searched on Indeed recruitment site but could do with your help.

My CV is up to date, I’ve omitted my age, although it doesn’t take a genius to work out due to school leaving dates being in their.

I’m feeling pretty rubbish atm so please go gentle. I’m wondering if this is hormonal from my side too, sleep currently shocking, I feel like a zombie.

It’s been almost 17 years since I last had to start job hunting so any recruitment tips etc would be most appreciated. The last time I searched for a job it was in the local paper!

And sorry, I’ve disabled the AIBU vote. I know this isn’t an AIBU question but it’s a busy place so hopefully you’ll be able to help.

Can you sign up with some agencies? Easier than trawling the job sites on your own and they can find the right sort of thing to suit you. If you're really desperate to leave it can be worth doing temping in the meantime as that's also a very good way of getting your foot in the door with companies if you're worried about age discrimination etc, gives you a chance to prove yourself! If you have a hospital/university nearby then check if they have a bank for temp staff as this is another good way to find work.

If you're open to working in the public sector still, then JobsGoPublic is another one, as is your local/county council web site. But I did find my current county council job on Indeed. Disadvantage of course is that pay is a bit pants in most public sector jobs for the level of work expected!

I found it easy to get an NHS admin job at aged 54, after many years out of employment. It’s poorly paid though.

Identify the local public sector employers you would be interested in and set up alerts on their job sites.

No need to put education dates on your CV.

@DaveWatts temping might be the way forward, thank you. I’ll look into this.

@Allergictoironing there is one role currently being advertised in our local authority, unsure if I have ALL of the necessary requirements (for shocking pay) but I could blag it, maybe.

County Councils are desperate for good admin staff, don't let them start you on the very lowest pay band though!

Sorry for the typos in the OP! Their, there! 🙄

Civil service jobs website, nhs recruitment websites and all your relevant local authorities. I’d reach out to some agencies too. Also, not that it should matter, but you really don’t need to dates of when you achieved your qualifications. Some web driven forms might make you declare it but otherwise I’d leave it.

Your age definitely won't work against you in the NHS.

Agree with this. Got my current county council job at 61!

I moved from an office admin managerial role to school office admin. Best move I ever made. I'm mid 50's and all my colleagues are my age or older.

Try company secretary roles for smaller businesses too. One of my former Exec Assistants now earns 150k a year doing this for 3-4 smaller businesses. She started in her 60s after retiring. Apparently it’s a niche role so money can be excellent.

Agree re taking the dates off education and anything that goes back further than 5 years, except your current post. It's worth calling around some businesses that would utilise admin staff, independent businesses/law firms/universities etc too, sometimes getting on their radar before they've had a chance to advertise can open up doors, one of my best jobs was gained this way. You're absolutely not too old for gaining new employment in this area, this is my area too and it is so difficult to recruit experienced staff because there is an assumption that anyone can do it, and the really can't, so we tend to get a lot of applicants looking for an easy stop-gap role. Someone with a strong admin CV and experience would be a relief for recruiters. If anything, I would make sure you brush up on your IT skills as that tends to be the focus during interviews and there will most definitely be skills tests within the interview stages, especially for public sector roles.

Thanks so much for all of your replies so far! You really don’t know how much this means right now.

I did the same started at NHS Band 5 (8 years ago, age 54) and have worked up steadily to Band 8A. I chose to specialise in Project Management as I had transferable admin skills and took advantage of training and opportunities to upskill and applied for promotion. It can be done at any age, especially with an equal opportunities employer.

Love this! That’s a great achievement, well done to you.

My job search tip is you dont need all the requirements. Some jobs get lots of perfect applicants but some really are just chosing between best match. There will be some core bits of the job you will have to meet, but there will be lots of less central bits which you might have to show transferable skills or willingness to learn.

Try justice jobs, your age won't go against you, look at both admin and senior admin/diary manager or even business manager roles given you've got quite a lot of experience

I'm 55, work in admin and last got a role 5 years ago.

I only showed the last 20 years on my CV, and put no dates on qualifications. I skipped putting O levels as it would give my age away. I looked at how modern CVs are laid out, as it's different to how it was 20 years ago.

For sites I used Secsinthecity and also surprisingly LinkedIn was really good (jobs section) . I don't like agencies much as historically they have wasted my time, and both LinkedIn and Secsinthecity allow you to filter for employers who are advertising directly.

Thank you. I’ll look into both.

Try the Civil Service, there are so many admin roles from data input, clerical support, mail room, case work, call centre etc. The money isn't brilliant but things like flexible working, pension, 30 days annual leave after 5 years service 10.5 days bank holidays, family friendly working make up for that.

I've just turned 60 and got myself a great job in university administration earlier this year. My age is actually a positive in my role as I've seen it all before, can cope with anything and nothing fazes me. I left my previous place because it was toxic, and I am so much happier now.

This would be my ideal role! DS is currently at College and it’s a lovely environment. Great that you found a job that makes you happy.

Can I just ask, interview attire. Trousers and a smart jacket.

Also any interview tips? Any sites with information on the best interview techniques, do you still get asked ‘where do you see yourself in 5 years time’ type questions. Also when asked why I want to leave current job, obviously can’t say because it’s toxic, change of environment maybe, no longer wish to travel 50 miles every day. Need to practice my poker face!

Trousers and smart jacket fine.

Questions, why do you want this role, what is your understanding of the job description, confidentiality, dealing with challenging customers, dealing with competing deadlines, supervision of others, training experience, what training would you require you were successful etc

I do lots of interviewing and many questions revolve around versions of the above depending on role and seniority....give an example of, how would you approach, what would you do if....type of questions