How long did it take you to find a job? When do I panic?

[TwoIsTrouble]

I'm a finance professional with two DC (4 & 1.5).

My last job was a fixed term contract, which finished while I was on maternity leave with my youngest. All in all, the last time I set foot in an office was 20 months ago.

I started looking for a new job (perm/temp/FT/PT) in finance 5 weeks ago. I've registered with recruitment agencies, trawled though job search engines and applied directly to jobs advertised by local companies. The results so far are not encouraging - several phone calls about roles from agencies but only one (failed) interview.

I realise the job market isn't great at the moment. My own confidence levels aren't exactly at an all time high anyway, and I'm now starting to worry whether I will ever find employment (eeeek!) in a role similar to what I have done in the past.

Is it too soon to panic? Or is it time to apply for a job in Tesco stacking shelves? How long did it take you to find your current job? Any experiences/words of wisdom would be much appreciated.

I was made redundant in March last year, with 3 months notice so left the job in June last year. Three weeks later I started in my current role, but I started applying for positions 4 weeks before my end date.

You said you were in Finance so I can only suggest looking up niche/specialist financial recruiters, also Linked In is a great way of getting yourself out there and self advertising. You may well have recruiters or companies approaching you.
I wouldn't go into panic mode yet though, keep trying :)

That was a quick turn around for your new job, Mrs Hannigan!. May I ask which field you work in?

Thanks for the advice, I'm on Linked In, but probably not making the most of it. Will look into it.

I was in the lucky position of having three offers on the table so could pick and choose to an extent. I am in HR and think I must have timed it right as I did have plenty of interviews.

If you are in London (or commutable distance) I can recommend some specific agencies?

Thanks again, but I'm not in London.

Hi there.
Don't post much but am also in the Finance field looking for a new job at the moment, so understand your predicament! It very much peaks and troughs to be honest, and I have been looking for about 2 months now, but nothing yet. I have however had 2 interviews this week and another lined up for next week, so hopefully something will come off! One point to note, I am finding that I am having to be more flexible re how far I am willing to travel, to get interviews, not great with two little ones, which I also have, but thats the market at the moment.
My advice, stick with it, use gaapweb to apply, and bug the agencies lots as they seem to forget you 5mins after you speak to them!

I was made redundant just as I found out I was pregnant. Although I didn't have to tell potential employers that I was pregnant I felt that it was dishonest not to and would be quite akward a couple of months down the line. I know employers aren't supposed to discriminate against pregnant women but it would be a difficult job proving otherwise so I decided to wait until after the baby was born to look for another job.

I was made redundant in March 2010, DD was born in the October so I started to look for a job in the March/April of 2011. I am also in finance and finally managed to get a job which started in January this year so all in all I had just short of two years out of work and spent about 9 months looking for a job.

Good luck trying to find the right role - try as much as you can to avoid recruitment consultants....look for companies who are recruiting themselves and maybe try sending your CV and a covering letter out to companies who you would like to work for.

Torres, thank you for the gaapweb tip and hope you find something suitable soon. Funny you should mention about travelling further to get a job/interview, I've never managed to work in my hometown and was really hoping to be closer to home this time around... esp as finance jobs don't tend to finish at 5!

MaggieA, that's an encouraging story, good for you. I always thought companies basically ignored "speculative" CVs being sent by candidates - is this how you found your job? I will definitely give it a go as there are a few business parks around where I live that would be perfect commute-wise.

"Or is it time to apply for a job in Tesco stacking shelves?"
Don't assume it's that easy to even land yourself a job doing this either unless you're offering to do it for nothing for the experience :(

Things are pretty shit out here - over a year for me and still nothing.

Wishing you luck :)

I lost my job last may when i was 7 months pregnant. I work in a specialised area of finance (tax) and I know I am pretty good at what i do. I had DS in July and started looking for work in january this year. I used a specialist recruiter and went for 2 interviews and was offered both jobs. Chose the one I like the best and started in february. From starting to look to offer was 5 weeks for me, although i work in london (1.5hr commute to my office). if I only wanted to work locally, I'm sure I would still be looking.

From when I realised I really really needed to go back to work and started looking properly seriously to when I started in my current job was close on 10 really fucking irritating pretty tense months. It was also only the second interview I got in that period.

Honestly I am well over-qualified for it but it's an organisation I love and which treats their staff well, plus there's scope to further myself in yet another field (have moved from finance into HR).

Not in Wilts/Hants by any chance op? PM me if you are and I'll send you a link to a finance job we've got going atm