How the fuck do I get a job?

[CaptainCarrotsBigSword]

Just had another rejection, after a second interview that went really well. Crying now so please be a bit gentle (am not on AIBU for that reason). Also this might be long, sorry.

I am trying to get back into full time work. I used to be a teacher, got up to head of department but lost the love for it / got fed up with all the shit behaviour and long hours, so didn't go back after my second mat leave.

Had a couple of years off completely then started working for a further ed company; job title was quality manager but essentially I was there to try to get them through Ofsted. I understood that I was meant to be helping them to improve their practice so they would be compliant, came to realise they wanted me to find ways to trick them through Ofsted without really changing anything. Despite being on nearly double what I'd earned as a teacher, I wasn't happy with the level of dishonesty & deceit I was being asked to take part in and I decided to leave after 18months ish.

Was without work for around 8 months and then managed to get a very part time job (under 8hrs a week) with a branch of the local council.

I desperately need to get back to full time work. NOT TEACHING. We are on debt and struggling and it's not fair on my DH to have to shoulder all financial responsibility. But I have been applying and interviewing for months and I'm getting nowhere.

Essentially it's breaking down in one of three ways:

1. Applying for jobs at the top end of the salary/ responsibility / seniority that I've held in the past = not getting them as not enough experience. Fair enough tbh.

1. Applying for midling level jobs in terms of salary and responsibilities. Getting though to final stage interviews, but losing out to someone with more direct experience or just not scoring quite as highly as another candidate.

1. Applying for jobs at the bottom end of salary and responsibilities. £25k jobs. Not getting because they think I will get bored or want more money or want to move on too quickly. This was the case for the one I got rejected for today, even though I'd said very clearly in the interview that I was happy with the offered salary as I was moving into a sector I haven't worked in before and I was really enthusiastic about the role and the company (genuinely so).

What the hell do I do? It feels like a can't get a job no matter what I do. I have too much experience or not enough. I don't have enough qualifications or I have too many. I'm forty years old and I'm shitting myself that I am never going to be able to get another career. I can't go back to teaching, it fucked my mental health and left me suicidal, I'm still on and off antidepressants now, years later.

I just don't know what to do from here.

https://x.com/Penny_Ten/status/1637578564718542849?s=20

Every Sunday, this twitter user posts lots of school/education related jobs for people looking to use their teaching skills outside the classroom.

Good luck.

When I used to temp, the positions were actually quite lengthy, months long not weeks. I had 3 temp jobs through my 20s and I found full time work before any of the positions actually ended. One place did offer to hire me, though I already had a place elsewhere so did not accept. I think they're a really great way to earn some money and get to know people in various sectors (My temp positions were in a commercial real estate firm, at a museum, and at a software company).

I was SLT. The only person directly above me was the director of the company.

i know how you feel. I was desperate to get out of schools but just couldn’t crack it, couldn’t get through the civil service sift even, so you’re doing better than me in that, got down to the final two a few times in other sectors but never actually successful. I now work in school administration and it’s not too bad, a colleague of mine is also an ex-teacher and much prefers it. The money is not great, but the pressure isn’t comparable either. I do know how you feel though - would have loved a shot at a different career.

Thanks, @Gladespade . I just wish so much that I had never gone into teaching in the first place.

It's hard but you have to keep going with the belief it will come eventually.

I felt I was being left behind in my chosen career path and at the age of 40 I wouldn't be able to catch back up. Not the practical experience to win senior roles, but being expected to be more senior when going for mid range roles because of how long I've worked in the industry.

Some interviews I've come away from knowing it wouldn't have been a good fit, some I've really enjoyed chatting and thought I'd made a good impression. It's those that are more disappointing, when you feel you've done all you can.

I would say always ask for feedback. It's not always forthcoming, in any useful format anyway, but I have had a couple of people who've been really helpful in suggesting areas that I could improve. And keep trying. I start a new job next week, at a company I was unsuccessful with around 18 months ago. They remembered me in the interview and it turned out to be true when they said I was a close second last time around.

It is emotionally draining to keep putting yourself out there. Sometimes you do feel like you need a break from it. But keep going.

Less than honest but never talk badly of previous jobs and employers … no matter how bad they were. It somehow reflects badly on you, or they take it that you can be trouble!

Council/charity jobs … I worked in those sectors, the jobs usually went to people that were already working there. Supposedly equal opportunities, they”had” to advertise the jobs, but they were never really available to new candidates. I felt it should have been illegal.

if you can do it, sales reflect your ability and effort. Not for everyone but can be very well paid and flexible.

all the best

I don’t have any practical advice as you seem to have done a great job of applying for the right things and getting interviews.

But I wanted to just empathise and say this sounds truly shit. You will get through this, keep going, keep applying, as someone else said it is just a numbers game.

You will look back on this in the future and remember it was shit, but you will have moved on.

If it’s of interest, it’s worth trying again- civil service interviews work in a particular way and there are lots of resources online about how to do them.

Good luck.

Local council/local government jobs - sign up for job alerts. Yes, a lot to go to people already there, but even attending those interviews will hone your interview skills and you might eventually get one (I had 2 in the town I wanted to work and finally got one.)

edtech customer success roles. Some companies specifically recruit ex teachers.

Haven’t read the full thread so apologies if you’ve already said an agency won’t work for you, but I have converted many temps (from temping agencies) to permanent roles where I am. So may be a good way of getting some current experience on your cv and some money coming in. You can still look for other work but normally you have a really short notice period (like one week) so you’re not tied in. Good luck with your search!

I was in the private sector then became a teacher for a few years (in my 40s) then returned to the private sector. I was astonished at how valuable my teaching experience was and could apply it.

Don’t overlook the value of your transferable skills: you will have amazing organizational skills, working under pressure, creativity, presenting, problem solving, group work, troubleshooting, data management, the list is endless.

I realised that teaching is excellent for facilitating, eg big events, conferences, workshops and anything related to project management - maybe an area to explore?

Also what did you teach? If you have science/geography-related knowledge, eg sustainability, you could consider technical writing/editing, if that appealed.

Hope that’s useful, just chucking a few more ideas out there.

I think civil service is a slightly weird institution but the recruitment can be random and a bit of a numbers game - so yes try again. Although they will definitely do sucesses / behaviours and sometimes stregnths which no-one really understands

Join exit the classroom and thrive on Facebook all for teachers trying to leave (I know you don't teach now) but some excellent advice and templates to use. I made my exit from the classroom with lots of help from there.

Look at civil service jobs
Charity Jobs
Council jobs

When I was trying to escape I applied for 45 jobs in three months. Had 8 interviews and was offered four. It's a numbers game. Exhausting for sure.

Good luck

Nah, you've almost 30 years left to work, age isn't a factor. Plus no more mat leaves which is a bonus. Taking 10 years off work is the issue unfortunately. Just keep trying you will get something! Then when you build up experience again, you will get back to where you were.

Look at Jac Williams CS interviews on YouTube too. Loads of good information. I had 6 interviews with CS and was offered four of them. Just because you don't pass the first time doesn't mean you can't apply for something else

Would you consider a graduate scheme? Something like social work. It's crap pay for the first two years but the long term trajectory is ok. Lots of ex teachers joining.

I am writing to Gillian Keegan today. My daughter is a Headteacher, her school is close to a local hospital so she needed to keep her school open during COVID to provide childcare for key workers. She has turned the failing school around and she has done a brilliant job. She works very very long hours.
She lost 50% of her staff at the end of the summer term. Hardly any of them were leaving for other teaching jobs. They all want cosy wfh jobs. I compare the working conditions of Civil Service with teaching. Civil Service has huge flexibility. Much of it is wfh ( junior levels)
My daughter has been called for jury service ( her civic duty). She will miss the Easter school holiday. No flexibility about being given time off in lieu. She has young children.
The Government has to do something about the huge disparity between teaching conditions and working conditions in the Civil Service, Government Departments and Local Government.
The current situation is not sustainable. Teaching is haemorrhaging teachers. The Government knows it but is at a loss to make teaching flexible and have comparable working conditions to other jobs.
Threads like this highlight the reluctance of teachers to accept current working conditions compared to government institutions like the Civil Service. There was a thread on here the other day from mothers who successfully work from home and look after children. One poster said she managed to fit in working during her daughter's day time nap.
Gillian Keegan who is responsible for teacher retention and recruitment needs to urgently bring teaching conditions in line with all the easy going wfh jobs that so many women now appear to access.
COVID highlighted to society what life was like without schools. I think it needs to be sharply reminded again about what life will be like when teachers disappear and children do their own work in school halls supervised by non teachers.
I was a teacher for thirty five years. I retired in my mid sixties. It has always been a really hard job in the average comp. I didn't have the financial luxury of being able to work part time or not to work at all. I had to keep working for my family. We could not afford for me to be picky.
I have a lot to say to Gillian Keegan. I am sure she is already aware of the causes of the current crisis. She needs to find a way of addressing the huge issues involved in teacher retention.

What about as an account manager for a company that supplies schools ? You would need to understand how schools work and be able to engage with schools. Or a bid writer? I work in Facilities management and we are always keen to get people who understand how our clients work.

I would look again at your local universities in their professional services/specialist admin departments - lots of transferable skills that are relevant!

NHS admin?
HCP?
Mentor?
Something in a college or university?
Mental health support worker?

I was in a similar situation to you OP and my way into a new sector was by going into a maternity cover role on a one-year contract. I was lucky in that I was hired to a permanent job in the company at the end of the contract. But even if that doesn't happen for you, you would have a good year of experience in a new field to help you get another job.

I am ten years down the line from you and also job hunting in a similar sector (after having also job hunted in 2021) and do think something has changed in the last couple of years with the advent of working from home.

The ‘field’ for each job has hugely increased and I think even more so for the jobs that you are likely to be looking at (flexible, drawing on skillsets where there is a high degree of female representation). A mid-level job in a London charity would probably have previously only attracted those within an hour’s commute of London. Now it is advertised as hybrid with just two office days per week, the job seeker from Birmingham or Portsmouth may well decide to give it a shot.
Obviously it is great news for those who were previously restricted to local job markets, but the odds of any one applicant being appointed are much worse!

I follow a popular working from home page and it has 130K followers!

Employers seem far more specific in wanting someone who has done almost exactly the same job before - there seems to be far less emphasis on transferable skills. After all, they get a huge field and only need to find one person…

The forthcoming election will also be creating uncertainty in the public and voluntary sectors, suppressing recruitment. I wish they would just call it and get it over with!

I work in a project management role for a university (I came from FE teaching) and I work with a lot of ex teachers!

I didn't walk straight into the role though. I had to take another crappy and relatively low paid job at the uni for 12 months to get my foot in the door. It was pretty soul destroying but a means to an end.

Once you're in, there are so many opportunities in a university and if you're good, it won't take long to move up.

A lot of universities also want temp staff for admin, invigilator roles etc so it might be worth exploring that too