Potential employers think I haven't done much IT work.

[Auburngal]

After 17 years of working at a supermarket, I am looking for work. I have applied for many and get many rejections.

I think people don't realise that retail uses computers. Of course we do and the use of IT has increased so much in the 17 years of being there. For example, training test papers were on paper, now its done online via the staff pages. Same with booking holiday, had to book all the next year's holiday on paper. If you realised you needed to change dates, you had to write to the manager. Now its done on an app and can book holidays as and when. That's two changes and there are others. When the checkouts and lottery terminal were playing up, it was me that tried to fix them myself then ring up IT as most of my colleagues were clueless when they rang them and used IT jargon on them.

Believe some employers when looking at my CV, think, 17 years in retail, she has little IT skills and put me in the no pile.

I also use computers at home as well. Also done a 3 week course which had qualifications which refreshed my skills in call centre and IT skills.

How do I convince potential employers that my IT skills are better than they think. I need to do some refresher stuff online for Excel etc.

@Auburngal I agree with pp you need to do a qualification in MS products. The National Careers Service and your local Council plus Adult Education establishments should all have courses.

This would elevate your CV.

Common office programs are not IT work. Neither are they rocket science. Whoever said people with a year's training were incapable of using them - really? I find this incredibly hard to believe. Most 16-year-olds I know could pick this up for an entry level admin role with no more than a quick onboarding. (Which, in any decent company, includes examples of the expected standards, templates and filing systems.)

OP, my best guess is you'll be fine once you're in the job - but you do need to get your application right to get a look in. Make sure to list your experience in enough detail in your CV and focus on transferrable skills. You'll absolutely need to connect the dots for hiring managers as they will not bother doing it themselves with the volume of applications they're likely to get.

Here's one link that might be helpful in getting you started (and there's lots more out there, of course):
https://www.torontomu.ca/creativeindustries/internships/creative-industries-internship-and-career-resources/how-to-describe-your-transferable-skills-retail-service-industry/