Unemployed and panicking - what do I do?

[SunDragon]

I was made redundant around a year ago. I started applying for other jobs the day I was made redundant and for the past year I’ve spent every day writing job applications. No holiday, no break, just job applications.

I’ve not managed to get any work since. For context, I was at a fairly senior level, think for example, Head of Marketing (not that, but that sort of level). Jobs at my level are not overly common and often go to someone in the team ready for promotion, so it’s hard to get as an external candidate. I looked into senior-level consulting in the relevant field but didn’t get any interest. Jobs at a more junior level are turning me down for being over-experienced and likely to move on quickly to something else (real feedback received multiple times), even though I make it clear I’m willing to commit.

I’ve also tried to get “just any job” that everyone suggests would be easy. Cleaning, supermarket, etc. I’m not managing to get anything at all! No one will give me any work.

I’m running out of money and I’m in a state of panic about what to do. I applied for benefits, I get some money each month but it doesn’t cover all my outgoings so I’ve used up all of my savings and I’m starting to build debt.

Panic panic panic! What do I do? How can I get some work - any work at all? I’m desperate to earn some money. Any suggestions really welcome.

Im so sorry about your predicament.

I'm not questioning what you've said, but I am not aware of Civil Service actually making redundancies per se, normally they do offer alternative roles including within OGD (Other Government departments).

Had you worked as a CS for many years? Certainly in my branch of CS they are clear that they do need to downsize, however they are not offering redundancy (for obvious reasons, any redundancy = taxpayers money) so it tends to be assisting the employee to find other opportunities. Did you take union advice at the time?

in my government dept the scheme is called Voluntary Exit scheme and even if you apply for it (for example if you are coming up to retirement so it's a good time to leave a little sooner). There is a timeline which includes a cooling off period for example you apply in Jan, get accepted in Mar, then have an opportunity in Jun to retract your application, if you do not then you leave in Sept. Just adding the above for the record because your comment / recommendation about Voluntary Exit isn't entirely accurate.

i would recommend persevering finding a role in CS even if the grade is lesser. Look at the CS Success Profiles and map your experiences to things like Seeing the bigger picture, change and improvement etc. highlight that you were a CS and have had difficulties locating new employment. They view cases like yours sympathetically.

until you find a suitable job for your experience and qualifications, trim down your resume keeping it basic as possible so that you can just get “any job” to keep you sbovr water. You can then keep looking for the right one, whilst employed

Could you try teaching in FE/Uni? Using your example, you could teach marketing at a college.

Not true unfortunately. We are being made redundant from the school I work at due to government budget cuts meaning there’s not enough money to pay staff.

Could you work with children?

it’s a tough job but lots of schools use agencies for TA work, once they see you are good at the job most schools will keep asking to book you, especially if you’re proactive and eager.

Have you tried applying for warehouse work op? Not ideal but they often offer lots of different shifts.

With temp agencies and care agencies you need to keep actively contacting them and asking if there is any work. Just signing up and waiting doesn't work.
Things around me that gets work is house cleaning and home dog sitting and walking. Also think about being a virtual PA.
Online tutoring is also a good one if you are a bit academic.
Its so hard out there. Your tenacity is very impressive and will eventually pay off.
Volunteering is a good shout because it will get you out and about meeting people. And at least, you know you'll be doing something worthwhile.

Have you tried teaching assistant? They are so shitly paid that they are always short of them. Or try a teacher assistant agency, a little better paid but zero hours contract. It’s better than nothing and it’s easier to look for a job while you’re in one.

My husband is in the same position, he's 50+, he was in a senior role and was redundant (stupidly took voluntary, but at least we have some money to cover essentials) almost 1.5 years ago. Can't find work at all. When he used his "transferrable skills" CV, on the interview he was asked what he was doing before and why he decided to change a vector of his employment. It looks like lots of peope do not realise how hard to find any employment now, especially if you are 50+.

Can you down play your cv if you haven’t already for the ‘any’ job options. Delivery drivers seem to be advertised a lot here. Have you tried advertising as a self employed cleaner/babysitter? Get yourself a dbs check. Nursery jobs often need people. I retrained with a degree and got a student loan at 40 that could be topped up by benefits sometimes? I think you need to look at long term options if your last role is not looking likely for you to return.

I am in the same situation. Made redundant and still out of work over a year later. I have never seen the job market this bad before (it's worse than 2009ish!). Many of my amazing ex colleagues are also in the position and in the cohort we have

1. Engineers
2. Scientists
3. Data scientists
4. Project Managers
5. the entire marketing team
6. Software engineers

It's scary to think these people who once had brilliant careers are now unemployable.

I've personally signed up to all temp agencies, applied to be TA, looked into retraining but the suggestions tend to be to roles I know have been made redundant... it's horrible out there!

LinkedIn is a very bleak place at the moment. Most of my feed is AI bollocks and the other half is men out playing golf and posting about selfies with their Teslas 🫠

More and more people are deleting LinkedIn completely

Look at local colleges… as you are on a low income there is funding available for adult learner courses.

Cleaner? Our neighbours are always looking for a reliable cleaner and having someone intelligent who can speak English is a huge bonus. Pay is now up to around £18/hr. If you post on Next Door you will get takers.

Have you tried working in schools? Back office staff are often hired for transferable skills as opposed to working in schools previously.

best job sites are eteach and Tes jobs

Higher education isn't the most stable sector right now but universities are doing some recruitment even if its fixed term. Worth a look. We recently advertised and whilst we got a lot of applications we've still ended up needing to go back out to advert. Might be worth a look on the academic jobs website.

Have you got a degree? You could do a fast track course to become a social worker? Tends to attract mature students, and a good career at the end of it. It’s also a very AI proof career.

Would you be willing to move? Have you looked for work outside of London and considered selling and relocating to a cheaper area?

School jobs are always sort after, I wouldn’t bother with those.

LinkedIn is a very bleak place at the moment. Most of my feed is AI bollocks and the other half is men out playing golf and posting about selfies with their Teslas

that's your feed, with your network. It isn't typical of everyone's feed.

LinkedIn is a good way to build up reputation with the content you create. I've used it for several years, with connections across my profession and industry sector, which ripples to other networks, of likeminded professionals. I don't get golf, puppies, kittens or any other Fb type rubbish.

If anyone posts garbage then I take them off my network, but everyone in my network is professional and knowledgeable and don't do stuff like that. Curating and culling on a regular basis is an important part of using LinkedIn as a tool in the toolkit for promoting yourself.

AI is often used, you can tell because of the characteristic emojis but in a particular way for example "convert this 100 word narrative on Business Change into a LinkedIn friendly post". It formats your own content in a nanosecond. Another tool in the toolkit with capabilities that people need to learn how to use in this AI era.

A few suggestions here to become a teaching assistant. The two biggest academies near me are making TA's redundant. Which will probably mean more 40+ women looking for work soon!

Our local NHS and Council are also making redundancies

Basically, the fallback sectors are no longer an easy option.

I feel like the media aren't really covering this much at all. (Apart from graduates)

Have you looked into work you can do from home such as AI testing? Someone on my team was made redundant towards the end of last year and picked up work of that nature which they did alongside a couple of other things. Since then they have got a home-based customer service role.

Community care are always desperate for staff, especially if you can drive. I know you said you are registered with an employment agency but you need to apply directly to the care company.
I live in a city and I called all the community care providers in my area and almost every provider had jobs. I had very particular hours I needed and I found someone who could accommodate those hours. If you aren’t fussy with hours there’s definitely jobs. It’s not for everyone but If you are willing to get stuck in you will get a work.

It's a tough job market right now.

Is there anything on PSR that would suit you? DEFRA are looking for policy roles on there.

https://www.cfcs.org.uk/ might have advice/ support.

OP you've probably tried this too, but there's a website called CV-Library where you upload your CV, and there's a big chance that a recruiter or a company looking to recruit will find you. I uploaded my CV to that website years ago and a recruiter found me and I got a good job. Then years later, when the company announced a restructure, I activated my profile, uploaded my updated and now stronger CV and started getting calls from different parts of the country. Remote work is so common now, and if the job is too far, let's say up north, you may be required to commute to the office only once a month.
Also try international job websites. There will be remote work options that you can do online.

Not just TAs, but teachers too. All the pay rises that were given out over the last few years were unfunded 🙄