My mum cannot get a job

[SausageShop]

Mum is in her 50s, worked in retail since she was 18.

She's been in the same job now for around 25 years - a small family run shop who haven't treated her very well so she's desperate to get out of there.

Between us we must have applied for up to 40 retail jobs for her in the last few months and she can barely get an interview!

The hardest thing is that we just get a generic, mass "we've decided not to progress your application" email so there's no constructive feedback to work with.

We've tried all the big supermarkets, Indeed is about 5 pages worth of Aldi jobs but if you're not successful for one role (e.g. Store Assistant) you can't reapply for any other role at the same level (e.g. cleaner) for 6 months.

It's do disheartening and I really feel for her and worry constantly about what this is doing to her mental health. What can she do?

Her CV looks good (we've shown it to others for feedback) and she's clearly well experienced so what's going on??

Any advice?

Is it obvious how old she is on the CV? What personal details are on there?

Arrange an appointment with the national careers service, they're really helpful. It's possible her cv isn't including the right keywords to get past the automated filtering systems & the careers advisor can help with that. It's free.

Has she tried for a paid post in a charity shop? They are more human in their processes!

Agree with PP re charity shops and I’m going to take a wild guess and say 25 years in a small family run shop would be more appealing to them than a big supermarket.

I was going to say this. No need to include a DoB.

What is her job history like? I would edit to the most relevant recent few to the job currently being applied for. I didn't include all my retail experience once I had relevant clinical experience for my current role for example. Also means that there are fewer age related cues on the cv. Sad but true that it makes a difference.

Can she apply for independent stores and do so personally? My dp did this ( different line of work but late 50s) and the amount of feedback and actual job offers was amazing, with the consensus that many small businesses want older, experienced staff.

I think the large supermarket job process are flawed as rarely does anyone see the CV. My son got a job in one but many of his friends couldn't so there seems to be a screening process that isn't transparent.

She will get a job so keep her confidence up, it's just very difficult currently due to NI changes.

Has she considered changing to something like care work to help her confidence

B&Q? They go out of their way to employ over 50's

That's great, we'll try that thanks!

Agree, Waitrose and Sainsbury's do as well

She's applied to a few care homes, yes - don't think she heard back at all from those!

Pop her CV into ChatGPT (take out the personal details) and ask it to make the CV stand out for jobs in retail

Yep - my sister works there so we thought she had a good chance but no luck!

Asda, Morrisons, Sainsbury's, Aldi, Tesco, Dunelm, B&Q, local shops like Co-Op etc... admin jobs, care jobs...

It feels impossible!

I'll get her to try dropping in to charity shops if she hasn't already.

No DOB on her CV but I suppose you could work out the age of someone who's worked in one place for 25y and had previous jobs too!

She thinks this might be the case. And also like a PP said about the process for applying to large supermarkets. The managers of the stores don't even see who's applied, it's done centrally I'm told.

i thought job application were only meant to include the last 10 years, i could be wrong though.
could she do care work?
i thought they were desperate for staff

I work in one of the convenience size supermarkets and can only speak for my store but I know they prefer younger applicants (possibly ageist but this is what our manager has said) because the work is very physically demanding. There is a lot of heavy lifting, unloading deliveries etc and it's quite fast paced. Working on your feet for upto 9 hours is tough sometimes. I think she'd have better luck with other types of retailers like clothing, pharmacies etc

P.s our manager definitely does see all the CVs and is able to choose who she wants to interview

any facebook local groups, looking for cafe work etc.,?

Has she tried to apply for Civil Service jobs? They are much fairer than the private sector

have you tried marks and spencer?

The civil service is about to shed 10000 jobs.

And the OP would need admin skills (not clear whether she has).

The newer advice on CVs (for the UK) is to:

• Exclude date of birth
• Put your qualification (e.g. 'Leaving Certificate') but exclude dates of study
• Include only the last 10years' worth of jobs

I would second trying M&S, if you haven't already. It's odd to see anyone under 45 in my local one.

Is your mum's CV clear on the skills she brings to a role? I'm not familiar with retail, but I would imagine there are some skills that will be needed in every store e.g. trained to use the register, confidently manages cash and card payments, knows how to rotate stock, can do stock takes, up to date on relevant legislation, can open and close the shop (including balancing all the tills), manage other staff, great customer service etc.?

Independent jobs again as well Join Our Team I think key is not to get disheartened but to keep applying.

I think it’s actually quite difficult to find a job right now. At the other end of the spectrum, my 18 year old dd was recently looking for similar jobs and never made it to the interview stage.

Even without a dob on the CV it's pretty easy to work out a rough age. For example if you put O levels rather than gcse you are clearly about 55. Dates from employment history also give clues.
As pp have said, focus on her skills and responsibilities. Age shouldn't come into it but unfortunately it is probably what is happening here.