Im a Recruitment Advisor AMA.

[Recruit2020]

Just that.
If I can help, I will. Its a difficult time right now so if I can offer any advice then fire away.
Note: I work in the public sector with over 2000 employees.

Thanks! DH did indeed approach companies himself as well, and has just started a new job. To be fair, some of what recruitment consultants were suggesting was appropriate (and, of course, some jobs are openly advertised, so he knew it wasn't wise to ignore recruiters entirely).

@Overthehills40 I mentioned a little further up the best way to score highly on shortlisting which may be helpful. Keep an application in order of the points they are looking for and if there is a list of essentials and desirables try and see how many you match and pop those exact words in. Quite often the initial sift will be looking for and highlighting those 'buzz' words. Also spelling mistakes are a huge no no purely as we dont expect people to be great spellers but there is spell check and it just shows a lack of attention to detail. (No spell check on here watch me look an idiot)
Good buzz words outside of the Job Description are Committed, Flexible, Approachable, efficient, methodical, rapport.
Even be honest and advise applications dont always show what you can offer and would love the opportunity to interview and if not ask for feedback on your application

You may not get it but if you state you are interested in applying again within the future and want to enhance your chances on the sift.

Dont be disheartened by the volume of applications over half are people who dont want the role and have to apply to often secure Universal Credit. Unfortunately.

Thank you so much for responding

I will look into the things you suggest, I thought the same type of thing should be possible for me but as yet haven't find an employer who seems to match but I'll keep trying.

Which do recruiters look for more? Experience or qualifications? I have a lot of work experience but lack qualifications, I haven't worked for over 10 years now because I'm a SAHM so would I better off gaining some qualifications before returning to work?

@walksonthebeach - Experience! If the qualifications are essential like a specific Degree, CIPD or CMI it can be a bit hmmmmm unless you have something alternative.
In terms of qualifications I think it depends what you want to do but I do find any form of personal development is always a perk. We have lots of people who we employ who were SAHM for a lengthy period but who did some short courses to keep skills relevant (and often to get out of the house for a bit)
Studying anything cant be quite daunting but I have never met anyone who regretted it. Hated it at the time. But knew it would help. Also if you have good experience and a lack of qualifications some employers will help with this and is something you could negotiate on such as a lesser salary until completed or part funded.
Also dont forget all the skills that come with being a Mum that are transferable to the workplace. Patience, multitasking, resillience, methodical!

@Graphista take a look at your local police forces website careers page or NHS 😊
SERCO, ATOS, Sopra Steria, Civil Service (Gov website) to name a few.

Good luck

Thank you so much for the reply 🙂

@Recruit2020

Just that. If I can help, I will. Its a difficult time right now so if I can offer any advice then fire away. Note: I work in the public sector with over 2000 employees.

You may be able to help me OP. If so it would be really helpful. I'm trying to write a personal statement for a CS Work coach job. I have to focus on communicating and influencing and am struggling to start. Any ideas. It's been afew years since I worked as I've been a stay at home Mum. I've only ever sent CVs not personal statements.

@mylosmum Work Coach is a great job! I think a good statement would include what you can bring to the role. Are you patient, do you have natural interest in others, able to engage with people from all walks of life. Maybe a bit about you as a person. Your background. How as a SAHM you understand the barriers about going back into the workplace. Encouraging others to better themselves. Are you a positive person who helps people in times of need and help them see things from a better perspective. Able to empathise with people. Do you make people feel comfortable with your approachable nature.

[quote Recruit2020]@mylosmum Work Coach is a great job! I think a good statement would include what you can bring to the role. Are you patient, do you have natural interest in others, able to engage with people from all walks of life. Maybe a bit about you as a person. Your background. How as a SAHM you understand the barriers about going back into the workplace. Encouraging others to better themselves. Are you a positive person who helps people in times of need and help them see things from a better perspective. Able to empathise with people. Do you make people feel comfortable with your approachable nature.
[/quote]
Thank you so much. Do you think I should actually give 'real life' scenarios?

Thanks for an interesting thread. You said up thread that you would strongly advise against jumping ship from a secure job in the current climate. Does this advice also apply to taking Voluntary redundancy from a good secure but unfulfilling / stressful role? I’m mid 40’s and long term /mid level in my current all rounder BA/QA/ PM/ anything and everything role, thanks

@mylosmum definitely it shows how you can relate to people. There are lots of barriers people face in terms of entering the workplace, if you can relate to any then great!

@channellingG if its a good package... I think thats a hard one really. If you want out and they have made a good offer then its something to consider but if you will then need to secure another role. I guess it depends on your personal circumstances and area in terms of job prospects.
Sorry I cant be of much more help. Sat on the fence with this. As I imagine you are!

Totally! But appreciate your frank reply, I would be looking to specialise as a Business Analyst. I have the experience but might consider a qualification as well and would definitely want another job asap. I could take a 20% drop in salary and would be More or less debt free. It’s just so uncertain at the minute but have heard jobs in the IT/Finance end that I specialise in are not as badly hit so far. But worry my age and length of time in the same Org would go against me?

Hi there, I just wanted to say that I think this is a lovely thing to do for people during these times 💐

Hi, hoping you are still checking this thread OP.

Asking on behalf of DH. He was made redundant in July, though we knew it was coming from June. He works in the charity sector at Head Of level. He has been applying for either Head Of or Senior Manager type roles for months now. He has had 5 interviews, twice getting to the last two. He has had NO negative feedback so really hard to know what he needs to work on/improve. Should he start to apply for the rung below him? Will he be overlooked as 'overqualified'? Is he struggling because directors/those above him are coming down a rung?

He is starting to get very down. There are lots of jobs he hasnt got an interview for that are the same field and level he is in which is dishearteneing. Any tips?

Hi everyone. Name changed but long time user. I just started another thread with the below but thought I'd post here too.

I'm after some advice and guidance please. It's a bit of a long story and a mess, so thank you for reading!

I'm mid-thirties, have 2 small children, not planning on having any more. Settled and happily married. My work/career, however, is a total mess. Since I left uni I have worked in a variety of jobs relating to my subject, both as an admin type person, as well as in more practical roles. I trained to be a very specific thing 10 years ago, and have been working in that role in between having children. I've worked in schools and hospitals mainly in this role.

I don't enjoy this role and find it hugely stressful. There are many reasons why and I have decided that I need to get out now and do something else with my career. I have thought about teacher training in the subject I did at uni and have subsequently trained in further. I suffer hugely from imposter syndrome, however, and I don't think this is ever going to go away (I've worked hard and overcoming this but it still looms over me). I always feel like I'm not good enough at this thing so why would I ever be able to teach it.

So. I think I need to do something completely different and unrelated to that subject, however I have no idea where to start. I have thought about what I enjoy and what I find stressful, as below:

Enjoy working with people as part of small team, enjoy being creative and thinking of new ideas, enjoy working with people, like stability of one place (so not moving around a lot), quiet and calm environments are best, talking and being with people I enjoy a lot as well as being able to get stuck into projects.

Things I find stressful include working in a very fast paced way, working in very big teams, talking in front of large groups, being put on the spot etc. Moving around a lot and not having a base I also don't like.

Can anyone suggest some roles/career paths that might fit with these things? I'm not hugely academic, much more creative, but I am a good communicator, work hard and am bright. I know I'm probably being too vague so happy to answer more questions if more info needed!

Thank you so much in advance, I appreciate any help I can get!

I'm disabled. As soon as I tell a recruitment agency they go from sending me lots of opportunities to nothing at all. Would you agree that recruitment agencies discriminate so as to avoid awkward questions with their employer clients?

There are a lot of temporary or part time jobs now, probably due to Covid. Very little full or permanent jobs.

Can you recommend the best job websites to look at? I'm in Scotland and I already look at indeed, s1jobs, myjobscotland, civil service jobs, goodmoves, and jobs.ac.uk - any other website is just English jobs.

Oh and to anyone else on here - recruitment advisers are not careers advisers. Completely different jobs and skill set.