Best IT/Office/typing qualifications for entry level admin jobs

[ZerbaPadnaTigre]

I'm looking for an entry level role in admin. Not really after anything specific, just a foot in the door as I've worked in retail for ages.

I can type and use Office but I've been stacking shelves for so long, I don't think anybody really believes it. I think it's probably worth getting a bit of paper that proves I do have some IT skills.

Local college offers Microsoft Office Specialist exams. Looking at the specifications, I could pass Word, Excel and PowerPoint without too much trouble and Outlook with a bit of studying. Are those worth doing or is there something else that's more appealing to employers?

Nvq2 in business admin?

If you go through a temping agency, they normally do a proficiency test before they send you out to a customer and so this might get your foot in the door? Or do you need the security of a permanent job? Temping might be a good way to make the transition into admin, as you would get to see a variety of offices and have a better idea of what type of role you would want as a permie. Very often in my experience the roles can be temp-to-perm so if you find somewhere you like, you could stay there.

I'm not sure really, writing that you can use them on your CV may well be enough. Outlook is the simplest thing ever to use, so if you're already proficient in the other programs then I don't think you'll gain much from the course (and they can be pricey sometimes).

I reckon you should just tailor your cv to highlight your IT skills and explain that you are looking to move from retail to admin as your skills are more compatible there.

Go to an employment agency who does office programs capability tests.
I did an got excellent on them relatively easily..then put on CV.. :)
Talk about stock control, staff briefings, stockmanagement processes.
Temp Admin roles aref numerous in agencies. Do a few for experience and you're in!

I've also got a feeling Microsoft have some free online courses too.
Jobcentre can do computer courses free
Some Google products have online courses too I think.
But dress off icy, go to agencies...

ECDL (European computer driving licence), silly name, but it has units in the usual office programs word, excel, PowerPoint, Access & file management. Iirc you do 4 units one of which is file management, it replaced the old CLAIT from years ago and is well recognised.

Is the NVQ level 2 valued? I have one from years ago but never put it on my CV/application forms. I worked in admin very briefly, did the NVQ and when my temp contract ended, I couldn't get another admin job. That's how I ended up in retail. I feel like that puts employers off? If nobody would give me an admin job then what's wrong with me? Have I been looking for an admin job for over five years? (I haven't; I just settled for retail and can't stand it anymore.) Sort of thing. Something is putting employers off interviewing me anyway.

Financially, I really can't give up my permanent job to temp unfortunately. I'm single and just couldn't risk not having an income.

The appeal of the MOS exams was that the college doesn't require classroom attendance for them while ECDL is classroom taught but I could do that.

Thanks for all of your suggestions. If anybody has any other ideas for anything I can do to make my applications better, I'd love to hear them :)

I would put the NVQ on the application, and explain that you want to return to admin after trying retail for a few years. Hi t shows you have done admins work before.

Zerba, I did the MOS courses a few years ago. I have been a regular user of all the packages for a long time. They are fairly difficult and I would suggest getting some course notes to work through. There are some very obscure things in the exams. I did 5 in about 3 months working through course notes at home.
Good luck!

Before you rule out temping, why not register with a few agencies when you've done your Microsoft courses (focus on Word Excel PowerPoint) . If you live in an area where there are plenty of companies around, you could find that being with 2-3 agencies will give you a steady supply of bookings esp over the summer months.

That's my best advice to get your foot in the door. You will soon see your CV boosted with numerous roles on there to evidence experience and you are likely to find temp to perm in admin is the main recruitment method now. "Try before you buy" approach.

Temping isn't necessarily temping.. I had a temp job for six months full time at £22k that became permanent, and am temp to perm now on more than living wage. It's full time and regular. Income..a friend of mine temped for about three years nearly full time and more than 45 weeks a year, sometimes with pay of £16 an hour, so don't think of it as one day here and there.
A lot of companies recruit temp to permanent to insulate themselves especially from having to deal with recruiting, firing crappeople and/or because they effectively want a two month interview.

My current one is the latter...

It's something to think about but it feels like it'd be a big risk giving up a permanent job in the hope of something temp to perm. I live in a medium sized town with a lot of warehouses nearby and most of the agencies are focused on warehousing and driving jobs. There doesn't seem to be many admin jobs.

I'm not desperate to leave my current job immediately so I think I'll get some sort of Office qualification and look at doing some volunteering in an admin role to get some more recent experience.

Take a look on here Lots of simple tutorials on Windows stuff.