Advice needed on getting back into the workforce........

[Becaroooo]

....have been a sahm for 9 years.

Prior to that I was an administrator for a university medical school - f/t.

Since Nov I have been applying for p/t admin/clerical jobs (ideally 2 days per week/15-16 hours)

I have applied for about a dozen jobs and not even had an interview, nothing.

I have 12 GCSEs, 2 A levels, OU diploma and years of admin/clerical experience so if you were an employer, how could I impress you?

Seems hard to believe, but 2 years ago I was turning down p/t admin/clerical jobs

9 years is a long time. Have you updated your IT skills?

Have you considered doing some voluntary work?

Employers prefer to employ people with relevant recent work experience..

There is a massive unemployment situation at the moment and it is very tough.

Good luck.

Is it possible to approach any of the organisations who were previously interested in you?

What about temping to get back into the market? I don't know how that would work p/t I have to say. I think your requirements for p/t working are quite specific (not incredibly so, I assume you don't need to work particular days per week) but that could make it difficult for anyone who is looking for a p/t role - say fewer hours over more days.

I would ask for feedback from the applications where you weren't successful in getting an interview, to see why you weren't shortlisted.

Best of luck.

If you are in London, look at 'Women like us'. Part time jobs site.

Hi I am in Derbyshire

Becaroooo, I was a SAHM for 2 years following a redundancy. I too applied for so many PT roles and not a single interview. So I offered my services as a temp to 2 recruitment agencies and have been working consistently for the last 14 months. My CV now looks current and I've secured an interview for a permanet role next week. Wish me luck and good luck.

Good luck!

Trouble is with temping, most of the temp work I have seen is f/t

I was out of the jobs market for almost a decade and got back in via voluntary work. It took about 6 months before I was employable again.

Be picky though - find somewhere that's willing to help you identify and train in the skills you need, help with your CV, give you a reference etc. You should have no problem finding a charity that needs a day or two's admin doing as it's something it's difficult for them to raise funds for - nobody wants their donationations 'wasted' on admin.

Good luck, and good luck with your interview Treadmillmom.

I help at my sons school and in the scouting organistion.

I was thinking of retraining as a TA but it would mean applying for a student loan and I wouldnt qualify for til next sept.....need a job now!!!

I managed to get back into work via an internship. Worked for nothing for 5 months and now have 16 hours/week job but I was lucky to have some savings to get me through those 5 months. Maybe voluntary work?

The people in work doing much the same job that you are applying for will always be further up the pile than you. I'd suggest volunteering too, maybe for a charity that acutally runs an office along similar lines to a commercial one. I work for a charity and we sometimes have office temps in the summer. We have had two who were finding it difficult to get a paid full time job. One was a returner to work and the other was still quite young ( though very well qualified) They both got good quality full time jobs after being with us for a while.

thanks for the advice