Applying for jobs with peri brain fog and struggling

[DontEatTheMushies]

Our GM is leaving - we are a small office and despite the head office stating it will remain, I am not really trusting that it will.

So I am applying for jobs, but the issue is that I seem to have a complete gap from about 2020 to now.

I started to get brain fog about then, and in 2022 they decided it was peri (based on other symptoms as well).

Since then I feel that whilst I can do day to day tasks, if it require anything that has a recall over about 6 months I am struggling. This is currently making applying for jobs REALLY hard, as I am having to answer STAR questions for criteria and I cannot remember any specific situations.

I know in my last job there were a lot of examples as I was effectively promoted off the back of these and was working with the head OT on sorting out equipment stocks - but I can only remember the really routine mundane day to day data entry tasks (These same tasks I did tweak to make them more efficient as well).
I literally stream lined my own job at the time from 36 to 18 hrs a week. I managed to sort things so that we operated with 1 less person but at the same efficiency - but I cannot remember what it was that I did.
That job its self was fairly fast paced for its environment, and there were lots of situations that happened that were really actually par for the course of that sector - but for those on the other side would seem like a calamity.

It is actually making me feel really upset and anxious. I am in tears trying to get through job applications.

I am good at adapting to the role I am placed in, and I am not in a specialism so to speak (Admin).

Has anyone else weathered this? I am kicking myself that I didn't actually write down my significant achievements, as it never occurred to me that I wouldn't remember, but crap like my eldest dropping pizza on the new carpet at a job in 2013 is in there!

I now feel that maybe I have no option but to apply for jobs a couple of rungs down from where I actually am, as I don't know how to prove how I got to where I am level wise.

Do you have old job applications or performance reviews anywhere?

Do you have AI on work systems so you can ask it to help you answer based on your stored documents and emails?

Is there anyone you can ask at your current work?

Otherwise, can you think of situations which would fit the examples and embellish/lie?

I had an awful time during interviews because my memory is shot but for the application Copilot reviewed my projects and suggested ones that fit the examples.

Can you take your cv (update if necessary) and write out what you've done during those time periods.
I find actually writing things down helps me remember the positives that I've achieved. I was applying for something and the guidance was 'don't just write out your job requirements but what you've succeeded in'.
My initial response was 'aaggh' , but I managed to think of a few things. So adding them in triggers more memories.

I know what you mean though. Realised the other day that I couldn't remember my own Landline number, or my dad's which I thought i knew 😯. Have spent the week reciting them in my head.

Struggling - on no HRT period cycles are deemed as normal 45 years on.
You can still get pregnant if having normal period cycles but the ai bots know everything…,

Started new job 6 weeks ago alone in nhs where they don’t suffer fools gladly, been lonely hell.

Only today 2 women started together. Amongst ignorance of the peri/ or menopausal woman .

Sympathy here as I struggled so badly with brain fog I went onto HRT so I could cope at work (NHS clinical role). When I came off it the brain fog came back so badly I struggled to keep up and not make lots of silly mistakes. Would you consider HRT? Now I’m off it, I found Black Cohosh has helped quite a bit- maybe worth a try if you want to avoid HRT. Other than that, I got into the habit of double checking every email before I sent it, and every note entry before saving.

I now keep a note of things I’ve achieved or are out of the ordinary for me, otherwise I simply wouldn’t remember. It’s a nightmare though, so many really good pieces of work but can I remember the specifics…