Unemployable

[FurForksSake]

I know we are in a pandemic and it is tough out there.... but I feel I have become unemployable.

I've spent the last 3 years as a web researcher and moderator for an app. Before that I worked in a different field successfully but the career wasn't compatible with family life for a variety of reasons. Prior to that i was a radiographer but had to stop for medical reasons. If I hadn't had those I would still be there working as a radiographer.

Now I have a hodge podge of skills, two degrees and not enough admin experience it seems to get a foot into an office and not enough of anything else to find a career.

I've got savings, we can live on my husband's income relatively happily, so the wolf is not at the door.

So what do I do? I would like a career, I've got 30 years till retirement and my youngest starts school in September. I'm currently doing free courses on vision2learn, not sure they help my CV as my IT skills are way above the course I took (I completed the ten week IT course in 48hrs and I am just waiting for the certificate). I worry that I'll pay £2.5k for a CIPD qualification and lose out to people that have experience, experience that feels impossible to get

I leap between wanting to be a high school bio or business teacher (using my degrees) to wanting to be a HR director of a multinational by the time I'm 50 to wanting to run away to scotland and breed chickens.

I'm happy to retrain, I am happy to go in to a job where I can work my way up, but just feel so utterly lost.

Similar for me op except you have more qualifications and experience than me. I only have a d in gcse maths which means no one wants me, and i only have some experience in care work and retail and ive lost my job but im applying to all sorts and no one will get back to me. What field are you looking to go into?

Don't mistake the state of the market for how employable you are. I made the mistake of doing this a few years ago when the market in my field was tough (nothing like it is now though) and I lost a lot of confidence. When the market picked up, I had a lot more interest.

You may not be optimally employable NOW, but barely anyone is. I've put my jobhunting on hold until things pick up (whenever that is) as it's just too depressing out there.

I'm not sure that right now is a great time for anyone to be job-hunting OP, unless you have specific and up-to-date skills.

What do you want to do and what relevant skills do you have to offer? Can you get those skills if there are gaps? There are lots of courses you could do to brush up admin skills, if that's all you're missing. With two degrees though, do you really want to go into admin????

If the answer is 'yes, then I'd try approach temp agencies first - get some experience and you may be offered a FT job that way. That's how I've often got jobs in the past.

I'd like to get into operations management or human resources management, I think. My first degree was business management and I have an interest in people management, I took A levels in psychology and law so not totally out of the wheelhouse. Previously I was an applications specialist, which is pretty niche. Lots of organisation, training, installing and programing specialist equipment.

When I look for jobs I can't ever see anything that I could actually get. I have worked in admin, I can do admin. Part of me was hoping to get an admin job, prove myself and move up.

I am at the point of stopping searching and trying and starting to pay for training to get somewhere. My problem is knowing what courses to pay for, my degree is now 15 years old, so no idea how much weight it holds.

I'd be wary of getting stuck in admin, tbh. I'm in HR and have been trying to progress for what seems like forever, it's difficult externally (in this market) as there are lots of candidates already working at that level and for various reasons mainly because I've chosen the good work life balance jobs over the good career progression jobs, I've struggled to progress internally. Which didn't phase me when the kids were small.. now it does.
I'm thinking all I can do is just lower my expectations and ride things out whilst coronavirus has ruined everything, and just hope I'm not too old the next time the market is bouyant again. Which feels about a century away at the moment if I'm honest.

Hey there! What if you make a list of all your experience and skills you have, put 2-3 examples against every line and also write down how this could benefit an employer.
Whilst I agree that the job market is not great at the moment, jobs are out there and good people are needed. And you seem to have shown flexibility in the past.
What you will need to clean up, is some thoughts about yourself of being unemployable. That does not serve you.
HR Director sounds great, I am one myself :). So: if this is the way you wish to go, a CIPD qualification would always be good, but Level 3 is enough as a start. Yes, you will compete against people with experience, and this is where you skill matrix (see my comment above) needs to come in. A lot of skills that you need in HR are transferrable. I got into HR with a degree in translation and zero experience. And I was asked, I did not apply. So possibilities are there, if you are clear about what you are looking for and about how you can add value to an HR Department. I hope this helps.

I hear you OP, but you sound well spoken and educated so I think you just have to keep trying. May be try to open up different sectors, you sound like you are quite suited as a project manager too. Technical, great communication and organised.

4 years ago, I started looking for work when my 3 kids are 'old enough'. Only at that point I find myself umemployable, didn't realise I have lost my career the point my resignation was handed in to the company I worked for before my career break (9 years).

I tried so hard, lots of tears, self esteem was rock bottom, applied for anything that is entry level so I can work my way up just like before, tried to compete with some 20 years old guys with no experience. It was so soul destroying because my experience no longer count to the employers even though I was senior.

Eventually someone hired me! It was one of the happiest moment in my life, it was entry level, working with a team of young'ish guys (30s) (I was 42). It was not easy because they never met a female engineer who know better than them, I felt like I was being bullied but I bite my teeth and continued and I was promoted before them, I was so happy at the time, my new team was brilliant and loved my job.

3 years on, my role is going abroad so we all lose our jobs. Here I am doing the same thing, try to apply anything at entry level. I can never convince people that I can do the job until I actually work with them! Despite my CV shows all my quick promotions, they don't seems to mean anything. I am a foreigner, I can speak but not well spoken. :(

I definitely know that 'umemployable' feelings.

Best of luck to you OP, hopefully job market get better soon.