Will I sabotage my application by stating that I want part time hours?

[fatfingers]

I am applying for a civil service job. I currently work part time. In the application pack it states that the job I want to apply for is full time but they will consider part time applications and requests for part time hours should be clearly stated in a covering letter.

I am worried that in the present climate, if I attach a covering letter asking for 4 days instead of 5, I won't stand any chance of getting an interview.

Dh thinks I should just go for full time hours and we will find a way to juggle dcs and family life if I get it. Do you think it is worth applying for part time hours?

I tend to agree with your DH. There will be lots of people who want the full time hours and that will, rightly or wrongly, put you at the bottom of the heap unless you have something exceptional to offer.

I would apply for the full time hours and see how it goes, you will then have the opportunity to apply for flexi time if you need to in the future.

I took 5 days a week when I only wanted 3 but it is do-able and we have no family help. It is very hard juggling 3 children, our home etc and work but I love it and wouldn't change it.

That said, I am currently advertising a vacancy that I can either take on a full timer or adjust some working hours for another employee and take some one on 2 days a week, I look at experience (life skills as well as work related)first and prefered hours last as you can always work around the best candidate.

Good luck!

You might find it's the 4 days that causes the problems rather than part-time itself. It's very difficult for an employer to find someone to work just one day but two would be possible IYSWIM.

have you been given a job spec? As long as you meet certain criteria I think you have to be given an interview and they will work around hours later.

Ooh fast responses! Well, seems like dh might be right then. Maybe I just need to get to grips with the fact that I have to sacrifice school hols and school friendly hours if I want to advance my career and challenge myself mentally.

Gallicgirl - application pack states that anyone applying for part time has to do a minimum of 3 days per week (or equivalent hours) so thought 4 days might be better than asking for 3 iyswim. I have a job spec and I meet the criteria although there is a particular qualification that is an advantage and I do not have this. I have an alternative, more specialist qualification instead and I am concerned that a request for part time hours would just disadvantage me even further.

Can you call someone at the department offering the job?

Sometimes it's possible to have a friendly chat about the post before putting in the application. Maybe you can say you need to have a think about what's possible to fit in with your family life and you're not sure if PT is suitable or not so could they give you an idea of their preferred work pattern.

As it's public sector, it's worth querying about family friendly policies and flexitime. They might consider condensing your hours for example, so you work your hours over 3 days instead of 4.