I can't find a new job :-(

[violetsanddaisies]

I was made redundant last month along with everyone else as the company changed ownership. I can't find a new job at all and I'm getting really discouraged about it. I've had two interviews and not had a response at all from all the other roles I've applied for. One interview went really, really well and I'm so surprised to not even get invited to a second interview with them.

My main problem is I've always been a generalist, working for small companies/charities and have a humanities/social sciences degrees, so no specific area of expertise as such. I've always been the person in a small team who's happy to take on various tasks from project management (without any official PM qualifications) to copy-writing and training new team members and volunteers, or helping others with admin tasks and taking minutes at meetings. My most recent role was as a customer service manager and I've previously had service manager and co-ordinator type roles.

I'm finding the majority of job adverts now require previous relevant experience working in that specific area be it health care, environment, banking, housing or whatever. I worked in quite a niche area of e-commerce and also previously mental health. Would love to go back to mental health in the charity sector but I'm not getting any response to my applications and I worry the time away from that sector (5-6 years) is going against me. I know the charity sector has always been highly competitive so it's understandable.

I always tailor my CV and cover letter or application supporting statement to each role, and generally only apply for roles I'm genuinely interested in. I've done hiring before so I know what a good CV/application looks like. I don't understand what to do. I'm not against the idea of working in a supermarket or something (can't afford not to soon!) but I also worry that would make it harder to find my next role. I'm about to turn 40 and just didn't expect to be in this position after two degrees and working since I was 17.

I'm in London so there are lots of jobs available, just seemingly nothing for me. Others from my previous workplace are starting their new roles and I'm feeling embarrassed I can't find anything. 😞Are there sectors I haven't considered I should look at? Should I aim for more junior level roles? Are there recruitment agencies that help people like me? I'm using various websites including CharityJob, Indeed, Otta and Guardian jobs, and also keeping an eye on anything that might come up on social media.

How long have you been looking? Could it just be that they are having a high volume of applications at the moment it's taking longer to sift through them and get back to you? Don't be discouraged I just moved from retail to admin up north recently after years of trying to get out of retail in a small city. With your wealth of experience it's possible and likely you will get a new job very soon.

I know people who do jobs like that and the tiles are Operations Manager. Office Manager could be similar

where in London are you?

Try local government. Lots of generalist admin there.

I've been looking for about a month or so, it's exactly a month since the first (unsuccessful) interview I had now. Many of the advertised interview dates for the roles have been and gone now or are this week.

I'm in SE London with good transport links to central and some parts of north and east London in particular. Would struggle to get to some parts of west London or further up north (for example some roles I've seen in Watford are just too far to be worth commuting for the salaries offered).

You need to give it longer. I’m also in London and was in a kind of specialist role but doing quite general stuff (sorry that’s vague) but I wanted to move sectors. I have a lot of transferable skills but no direct experience in the sector I was applying for, so the opposite problem to you.

I have just got a new job, but it took me over a year of looking, I interviewed for and didn’t get 10 jobs and applied for at least double that amount. You’ve got to just keep going. You’ve hardly been looking for any time at all.

Have you let everyone you know know that you’re available for work?

Anything you can offer freelance?

Take a look at the Academic Health Science Networks (AHSN). My local one is Yorkshire but they have people employed from all over the UK due to remote working. There are usually programme co-ordinators and programme manager roles which may suit your skill set and they're based all over the UK. Don't be put off by the location, you're not likely to be required in the office but if you are willing to travel you might be able to "check in" every few months.

I'm also looking and have just done a project management course off my own bat (I still have the higher level to do). I'm getting sick of agencies ringing me with "project management roles" which are really just poorly paid admin and a lot less than I was on before.

You could do a PRINCE2 course in around 5 days which would open up a lot of project management opportunities.

What does your LinkedIn profile look like? Is it as good as your CV you send? Have you spoken to any recruitment consultants?

One other thing, are you applying for enough roles?

Its been shown that men apply for (and often get) a job when they meet 60% or so of the job spec but women only apply when they meet 100% of the spec. This puts women at a major disadvantage in recruitment so bear that in mind when reading job adverts. Use this opportunity to grow into a new role

Where have your former colleagues gone to work and what contacts do they have? Who do you know? Have you spoken to contacts and told them you’re looking for a job? Years and years ago I worked as a Search consultant ( in recruitment) which I hated but it did give me the confidence to get on the phone and hustle. It’s always a bit easier if someone can give you an introduction but you definitely need to get networking.

Have you looked at the Civil Service Jobs website?

I've done a PRINCE 2 course and just be warned some of the online providers are dreadful. Feel free to PM me if you're thinking of doing that.

NHS is absolutely teeming with jobs-I'd take a look

Thank you everyone for the helpful replies! I had an email from one of the jobs I've applied for inviting me to an interview a couple of hours after posting this 😅 Eeek, very excited and busy preparing for that. Even if I don't get the role, it's given me a confidence boost and reassurance my application technique can't be that bad.

Definitely look at CS Jobs, Jobsgopublic and NHS jobs.

Consider signing up with an agency e.g. Brook Street, Hays, Reed etc.

Fingers crossed for your interview OP

The interview went really, really well and based on the feedback I would have been their 2nd favourite. They ended up choosing a candidate who had experience in a specific area they thought was more useful for them, but they said I was appointable and a strong candidate.

So the search continues...

I'm finding there's very little that's kind of mid-level, where you don't necessarily need experience of doing the exact same thing before but won't have to start from being the most junior either. Everything is either an admin role at a low salary or managerial/project ownership with a considerably higher salary and a requirement to have had 5 years experience doing that role already.

NHS is a good bet but be warned staff are very burnt out across the uk and morale is awful.

managerial/project ownership with a considerably higher salary and a requirement to have had 5 years experience doing that role already.

Any way you could brand yourself more as this?

I read some crazy statistics about how men are far more willing to do this and as a result often end up in these types of roles with kind of pay.

If not, have you thought about setting up as a virtual assistant? They are pretty common in the industry I work in and I'll be looking for one myself in the next few months. Ideally you want one of those jack-of-all-trades type people who pick up things quite quickly and are getting-thing-done people, but not necessarily project managers. And the pay tends to reflect that middle ground between low-paid office admin and the big bucks for project managers. The key (I think) is to find a niche to serve and start to focus on learning or polishing the skills that would best serve them. Come up with your own process that they could slot their stuff right into and start taking growing clients that way.