Please help me get a job! Feeling defeated

[Daffodildreams40]

So I am 40, my background is retail and customer service. With a large gap in the middle of being a sahm.
I currently work in an office customer service role , the job is difficult for me and is causing me stress so I want to leave.
I have applied for 50 jobs through Indeed over the past month and I haven't heard back from any of them.
Where I live (midlands) I don't know if there is a shortage of jobs or what, but even when you search all jobs the only things that come up are other customer service roles which I don't want to do/care work which I don't want to do and the odd shop work role which I have applied for but the hours listed are terrible.
Is there anywhere else I could be looking for jobs? I don't use LinkedIn etc as I don't feel I have the right qualifications/level of experience for roles on there.
I just want something in admin or retail Mon to Fri, or a school office
On indeed when I apply it's telling me there has been around 400 applications for each Job I apply for
I feel my age is going against me due to the rise in minimum wage next month, I think these places are wanting to take on the younger ones

I'm feeling more and more disheartened and trapped in a job I hate. Any advice?

Honestly the best advice is to get off websites like Indeed and look directly for jobs within companies you would want to work for.

Indeed the majority are “fast apply” AKA no effort involved and just whacking the same CV through for every single job, majority never even get looked at.

Look at direct applications for jobs and you will probably find you have much better results.

Also make sure your cover letter and CV are personalised for each job you apply for. You say you’ve applied for 50 jobs, so have you wrote a personalised cover letter and statement for each one? If not, and you’ve just copy & paste, that may well be why.

If you arent getting past the application stage then you are not meeting the minimum spec requirements and need to take another look at your CV or application.

You need to make sure you are ticking as many points in their job/person spec as possible,

Lots of companies are using automated CV sifting now so it will look for keywords that match between your CV and the job spec and score it.

It's where you live. Sexist, ghastly and depressing. You only have to look at the mess Birmingham City Council are in to realise it.

I tried to get a decent job in the midlands for a year, after 25 years working at senior exec level in the south. Didn't get a single interview. Carer, cashier & cleaner were all that was really on offer unless you are a GP or similar profession.

I gave up, moved back home (south) and got the second job I applied for.

If you don't have a presence on linked in that might be letting you down if you're looking for office based roles, a lot of recruiters I know will search potential candidates on linked in. So it might be worth setting up a profile there. They also have a lot of job adverts. Glassdoor.com also has jobs. Total jobs is ok too. If you want a civil service or local council admin role, they tend to advertise on their own websites, as does the NHS for their admin roles I believe. Some industries have specific recruitment websites too. The other thing I would do is look at the recruiters on Linked in and Indeed, who have jobs you might be interested in, and check their websites directly for other suitable roles, and see about registering with them etc.

Use Glassdoor/LinkedIn/Indeed to find openings, but apply directly on the company websites.

Always check your CV against the key words and competencies outlined in the job description, and update it accordingly. Say for example, if the role expects someone to have project management experience, but your CV doesn't explicitly state it in the exact terminology they've used, you need to tweak it to reflect the job description. I'm not advocating for lying, just ensuring that your CV will get past the sifting stage and in front of a real person. It's tedious, but it works. Save a new version of your CV with the job title of the role you're applying for, so you can refer to that version in an interview.

Thank you so much.really useful advice

I'd agree with applying directly on the company website. We had a vacancy recently and asked that applicants completed our application form.it was clear what applications came via Indeed as they didn't have the right form and were just generic CV's. We didn't offer any interviews to the applicants from indeed. Indeed is good for finding vacancies initially but I'd always the apply via the company website.

Improve CV, as good and generalised as possible. Have a high brow and downplayed one just in case
Hit one click apply
Phone round local recruitment agencies

Always apply direct with the company. No need for Linkdin unless that is the only channel to apply.

I agree, apply directly to the employers and taylor your CV and cover letter to the job description. Maybe get someone to help you check it. Good luck!

I think Indeed is your issue. It's rubbish!

I would:
Review your cv and make it the best it can be, get advice from friends
Get in touch with agencies who are advertising roles in your field
Register with them
Build agency relationships, keep in touch to remind them you are looking
Set up a Linkedin profile
Tailor your cv and cover letter for each role, as PP have said
Contact past colleagues if they've moved, let them know you're looking

Also, decide on your official reason for leaving / looking for another job- you can't say "too stressful" in an interview, you need a positive reason for moving on. All people want when they ask is a quick, believable answer, you don't need to go into detail. So "I am looking for a fresh challenge" or "I've gone as far as I can in this organisation" or even "I wasn't looking but your role came up and it looked interesting because <xxx> and I think my skill set is a good match"

So you need to be more targeted. Whoever said there's no work in the midlands and Birmingham is wrong, there is plenty, I promise I know this! Although the council is in the shit, agreed, don't apply there!

Thanks for the comments
I don't have a career at all and never have had
I worked in a shop from 18 to 21 part time whilst at uni. Then I worked for a utility company for 8 years customer service. Then had 10 years off to be a sahm. Now gone back to the same job for a different utility company.
I don't want to work in customer service any more

Following with interest as I am in a similar position! Helpful advice so far, thank you.

Get on Linked In. Get a CV typed up and if necessary tweak some of your duties so you include e.g. Word/Outlook etc skills.

You could also see what local businesses are in your area (in my area there are about 6 estate agents, 2 solicitors, 3 dental practices etc) and send or hand in your CV in person there.

Try to do some free courses (government are offering them now), especially on MS Office suite (Word, Outlook etc).

Reception might be a good option for you. You have to be smart though and well presented. With your background this could work well for you.

Following with interest

You have had a career. Don't downplay your skills. If anything up-play them. Customer service means you multi task, problem solve, are good with people, working in a shop again shows organisation, managing money and card machines, dealing with stock, customers etc.

Look for words like proactive, resilient, meticulous, adaptable, self-starter, resourceful, quick learner etc - and add those to your CV.

Make a list of everything you did in all your jobs and look at jobs where you'd like to work and see what they put in their job descriptions.

Where would you like to work? If you'd like to work at a certain company then say so. Maybe at a school as school secretary or TA.

Look on the civil service and NHS websites.

I've had a few school office jobs. The best thing is to apply directly - they don't let you apply through job boards (where I am anyway). I have found that the best way to get a foot in the door in schools is to express a genuine interest in the wellbeing of the kids - even if you aren't going to be teaching or working with them very much. It is all about the children at primary and secondary. I think that's where people sometimes fall down applying for jobs in schools.

There are some jobs where they will get applicants with experience of the exact same role or just lots of experience of working in schools. If you don't have that, it may work against you a bit. I actually started as a lot of people do as a midday supervisor in a big secondary school, then found that lots of other opportunities turned up in the same school.

Pay is terrible fwiw, but the hours work perfectly for me and I enjoy it.

Also add the attributes

reliable and punctual
attention to detail
trustworthy

especially for schools and financial services applications.

I work for the NHS in a clinical role but can confidently say we do recruit admin staff with no prior admin experience. Being keen, a good communicator (at interview) and able to demonstrate that you work well in teams will go far. Even better if you could do some sort of entry level training, basic stuff like using Microsoft Office or excel would demonstrate commitment to a change of role.