Ok I am new on here, just registered today as I am so fed up trying to find work.
This is a bit of a long one!!
My kids are now in their early teens, at secondary school and I am now at a point that I would like to go back to work on a full time basis (although part-time would be OK).
Before kids I worked full time for a large pharmaceutical company it involved long hours and a long commute each day. When I had my twins I found I was in the situation that most (certainly mums) find themselves. I had to get the twins up at 6am to get them to the nursery for 7am then drive just over an hour to work, do a full days work then would panic that I wouldn't get stuck in traffic or anything at the end of the day to catch the nursery closing time, or get fined!
I found that I was spending more in petrol and nursery fees than I was earning and decided that I could do the same job on a freelance basis and work it round the kids.
So I made the decision to leave and have been freelancing ever since. I would say up until last summer things were going OK, I had enough work to keep me ticking over and I could work easily around school hours/holidays. I am set up to work from home as well as go into companies.
However I have since gone through a horrible divorce and am now a single mum. I really need to find permanent work or at least work I can do with a steady income. As I said the work has dried up gradually since last summer, a company I was working for for the last 2 years on a freelance basis has closed and made it's employees redundant :( another company I have had a lot of work from has now farmed it all out to India and any other contacts I have are just not hiring.
I have signed on with every agency going in my field and what frustrates me is they are quick enough to sign me up but never get back to me with work, let alone answer my emails and if I call they are always out, in a meeting, on holiday, or just picked up the other phone! I look on their web sites and they seem to have a lot of jobs advertised but when I ask about them they always conveniently seem to have just filled them.
I have had excuses from, "I won't put you forward for that job as when the freelance situation picks up you will leave and do that instead" to one yesterday "let me see where you live? Ah it will be a 2 hour commute for you and you say you have children so it wouldn't be suitable for you so I won't continue any more with this application"!!!
I have tried to apply for other jobs, one as a receptionist, was told that as I didn't have any experience they didn't think I would be suitable and another which involved telemarketing the interviewer again said that as it's not what I am trained to do and have done most of my life she thought I wouldn't be loyal and leave at the first offer of another job! And that I would get bored!!! BTW the company I worked for before freelancing I was there 11 years and the one before that 10 years, so I would say that's pretty loyal!
I have tried hiremyparents.com as suggested on here but the only thing on there was advertised last summer, I have contacted the company and they are not hiring any more!! I have tried to contact companies direct but most job web sites have jobs that are advertised via agencies. Any companies I have managed to get details for seem to have Rottweiler receptionists that won't put me through to anyone or say just send in your CV to never hear anything again!
AAARRGGGHHH So if anyone out there has any hints and tips on how to find work I would really appreciate it! I get asked why I have been freelancing for 10 years like I have leprocy or something!
I can't be the only one out there in this situation? Apart from looking on agency web sites for what seem to be completely non existent jobs I don't know where else to try.