Jobhunting… feeling heartbroken

[Historian0111101000]

Is anyone else completely demoralized by the job market right now?

I have a PhD in History and have worked in restaurants, bars, volunteered in museums and libraries, and taught at university level. I have loads of transferable skills, but it feels like no one cares.

When I apply for entry-level jobs, I’m “overqualified.” When I apply for anything more senior, I’m “not specialized enough.” Academia feels dead, and heritage or museum roles are just as bad — I’ve had interviews where it was obvious they already had someone internal lined up.

I’m not even asking for a big salary anymore — I just want a job. I spend hours every day applying, writing cover letters, researching organizations, but it never seems to go anywhere. My CV and cover letters are solid (I’ve had them reviewed), but employers always go with someone who has “more experience.”

How are you supposed to get experience if no one will give you a chance?

At this point, I’m honestly wondering if it’s just me. I’m feeling really low about it all. I’ve even started thinking that maybe I should just give up and be a SAHM — at least then I wouldn’t feel like I’m constantly failing at something I worked so hard for. I love learning, I have so much to offer, but it feels like none of it matters anymore.

He does all of that @FlappicusSmith- and he's had his CV and LinkedIn profile edited professionally, but the recruiters he has spoken to say there are just too many candidates and not enough jobs.....

You're lucky that you can afford to stay at home with the children. You say you've done some tutoring, but need to justify the childcare costs. Could you do tutoring in the evenings and at the weekend, when your DH can look after the children? Or when they're in bed? Have you considered looking for a history or language teacher job at a private school or academy - you don't need a PGCE for that. I'd also really think about what you could do on a self-employed basis. Working for yourself has so many advantages. When I've had job issues, I've set up various small businesses. And looking back, those have been the jobs I've enjoyed most and which have given me most flexibility.

That is a really interesting point.

I’ve wondered if I changed small business owner from childminder to football coach or mechanic I’d get better outcomes? Mine, as childminder is mostly a female role.

Thank you regarding the PGCE info and the chat GPT ideas. Going to do that ask chat GPT about my C.V today. I'll get time because after a couple of hours at my job, there's nothing to do unless the phone rings and it seldom does.

You absolutely can get student finance for PGCE despite having used student finance to pay for your undergraduate and MA. It's exempt from usual rules because teachers are in demand (it's something I looked into recently myself).

With your experience, you could probably also apply for a paid school based teacher training program too.

Does this not kick the can up the road though we’re suddenly going to have a glut of teachers who are unemployed with extra layers of student finance because people are doing PGCE instead of being unemployed? That’s absolutely what happened in the late 90s?

I have just looked on the gov website findajob and searched the word history and this came up:
https://findajob.dwp.gov.uk/details/17207215

Look really interesting!

There were also a lot of history teaching jobs. Lambeth council are looking for an archivist.

I am in the same position. Very well educated, which feels a bit pointless when I can't get an interview.

It is a number game. You have to keep at it. In the meantime, do some courses to keep up your IT skills, Alison.com has loads of free stuff. Maybe learn to touch type, that is on my list.

Sign up for alerts on all the job sites. Why there isn't one website that pulls all job sites together is a mystery.

Civil service do blind recruiting and cover all sort of departments.

You will have to change your mindset too, hard as it is and start expecting to get a job.

Isn't this job about medical history rather than academic history though?

OP, the National Archives have a few jobs going at the moment, might be worth a look if you live within reach..

@PirateDays and @Panicmode1 you both have my sympathies, my dh was made redundant quite some time ago: the applications, ghostings, multiple rounds of interviews leading to nothing seemed relantless. Fortunately, he has now started a new job which matches his skill set, and which seems to be going well (fingers crossed).

During the time he was looking for an appropriate role, he worked on a couple of side projects, which bring in a little bit, and he also worked a sub-minimum wage job a few times a month. Additionally, he did a few major DIY jobs around the home which gave him a sense of purpose and achievement. This summer, he took a break from applying for jobs, and it really helped him come back fresh, which I believe made the difference, as he had been starting to feel he wasn't coming across well at interview before he took a break. In the past, he was always confident that he was a strong candidate, but these days he felt his age (not quite 50) created bias with some interviewers.🙄

If your husbands work in tech, I'd advise signing up with hackajob.com, my dh got a quite a few interviews from there (the employers look for candidates registered on there, rather than the other way round), although he got his current job through a recruiter who actually did what recruiters used to do properly a few years ago, before the job market became awful.

OP, it's not just women who are affected, although if you feel that making your application more 'unisex' might help, then do whatever you think it will take. Perhaps charityjob.com might be a good place to look for organisations who might see you as a suitable candidate?

Thank you @smallnotfaraway and well done to your DH. We are almost 18 months and 100s of applications in...he got rejected last week after four rounds and a presentation to the board, getting down to the last 3 and he feels that was his last chance 😞. I said it means you DO still have relevance and experience to offer but marketing has seen 1000s of redundancies in the past 2 years so he's not hopeful at all. He's tried so many avenues - fractional work, consultancy etc and he always gets within a whisker of quoting/contracts and then they don't convert. He's currently volunteering and doing a min wage retail job but his morale is v low and he's bored!!

Anyway, I have suggested he has a complete break until the New Year so he can start refreshed and/or give some time to pivoting to something else. It's the 'what' he's struggling with.

@Panicmode1 you're absolutely right - getting to the final round of a series of interviews definitely shows that he still has relevence and can compete. His time will come, but fingers crossed much sooner than it did for my dh - he was approaching 2 and a half years post-redundancy when he finally landed a job. Like marketing, software development has experienced huges swathes of redundancies, and a lot depends on significant industry experience with a particular languages or tech stacks. Going on the law of averages, there will be some company out there which requires exactly the same skills as a person has on their CV.

My dh gave up applying for jobs which he KNEW he could do, but wasn't a 100% fit (maybe 90%) because of the way the job market is these days, you could bet there'd be someone applying with a perfectly matched tech stack, and dh wouldn't even get an interview. It's a shame, because good software developers can easily learn a new language on the job - that's a known thing - and I know that a whole lot of companies missed out on a great candidate with really excellent soft skills!

So yes, taking a break is a good thing for mental health and to reset. Hope it will turn out to be New Year, new job.

That's exactly DH's issue - he's more of a generalist - he's been CCO for car brands, watch brands, financial products, global travel etc but employers won't employ you unless you've only worked on 'widgets' or 'flugelbinders' or whatever, even though if you are good at your (marketing) job you should be able to sell oil to Alaska....but your DH's story gives me hope for mine. Watching the person you love go from being confident and outgoing to a shell of who he was, is really hard to watch, and he's actually been incredibly positive until now....which is why I think a break and a reset would be best for him.

Hello everyone,
I’m sorry I’ve been neglecting this thread, but I’ve been very busy with applications and interviews. A quick update: I had a few interviews, but I didn’t get the jobs. To be honest, I’m not heartbroken about it, as they weren’t very good fits.

However, I did get an interview for Probation Service Officer—@Aweekoffwork thank you so so much for the suggestion! I think my main goal for now will be to focus on getting into the Civil Service, even though I know it’s competitive. I’m looking for job security and opportunities for progression, which I think would be ideal for me.

Wish me luck!

That's great news OP - you sound more positive too...

Good luck with the probation officer interview.

Congratulations! That’s brilliant news!
Good luck!

Good luck, that sounds positive. To even get interviews in the current climate is a win.. I've recently joined the civil service which has been eye opening compared to the private sector, but I can't fault the job security/work life balance - and the pension....!

Have you tried temping - I know loads of people who found great careers this way - talent doesn't go unnoticed when they get a temp in who is keen as mustard, you never know where it might take you - all sort of industries to be explored.