how do i convince potential employers that i want something permanent now?

[overthemill]

i have made a good living for the last 6 years freelancing and interiming in my specialist field. It has fitted in with the needs of my family - but now they are older/not so ill all the time (haha except today taht is) I am deparate to geta permanent post. I am sooo tired of always trudging from place to place being all cheerful and always the new girl. So I have started applying for perm jobs but I have not even been shortlisted for things I know I am qualified for (ie jobs i used to actually do). And feedback today was (apart from one other thing) said they weren't 'sure how i would manage the transition back into a permenant role and whether i would settle into a perm role again.'
now i am so desparate to get a perm 'real' job that I am prepared to go full time, take a cut in salary, commute even!!before this i had a short cv with a few key long term jobs, inetriming has been away of eating while looking after my dd who has a chronic condition. any ideas please???

overthemill are you addressing this issue in your applications? You need to do so if not. Make sure it's clear in your cv and covering letter that you have enjoyed freelancing but you are keen to move back into permanent employment so that you can make a longer term positive impact on the organisation you work for and develop relationships and build your contribution to one business, having the reward of seeing longer term development and enjoying developing your work in line with the organisations long term objectives, having more of an investment in the organisation you are working for, more of a buy-in to what their aims are. Waffle waffle, you get the idea.

Think about what their concerns might be and have positive answers for them. Concerns might be restlessness, boredom, difficulty working in teams, difficulty working for a line manager, difficulty coping with difficult periods and not being able to walk away.

Make a statement in your covering letter and cv that reassures people that permanent employment is genuinely what you now want, for positive reasons. They feel they would be taking more of a gamble with you, so they need to be convinced it's worth it. Recruitment costs thousands of pounds each time, so they don't want you getting itchy feet in six months.

thanks, flowery. I have varied it - sometimes saying 'while freelancing has fitted in with the needs of my young family I now wish to find a permanent role again that builds where I can use my skills and abilities and see the end results of my work' etc sometimes not stating it explicity ' this role meets my desire to return to a permanent role (in xx field'
i really do - what else can i do? i'd thought about going for a long term inetrim contract or a fixed term but genuinely i want to get a job where i could stay for 3 years or so and then get something more senior in the organisation. I used to be a director but haven't been shortlisted for any of these so am now trying 'head of' roles thinking that they may need recent evidence of senior management ability (though managing the projects i have done i'd have thought it would show that tbh).btw, these are nearly all through a recruitment consultancy (big names) and they will se my name coming in for several jobs at once - is that an issue?

I think you need to state it explicitly - people will have doubts reading your application and you need to spell out that this change is a deliberate decision and show that you have properly considered it.

Senior management within an organisation and all its issues and politics is a different ball game to managing a project as a freelancer. You may feel you have used many of the same management skills, which you may have done and by all means you should highlight, but someone shortlisting may have definite concerns about you not managing in the context of organisational politics and structures. You may well have exactly the experience they need, but in your case you need to specifically address these concerns, not assume that project management will show what they need, because unless they have it spelled out they will prefer someone who has been managing at a senior level in an organisation recently.

If these roles are through a recruitment consultancy are you discussing your application with them in terms of how best to frame your experience? Or is it one of those - 'send your application to our consultants' things where there's no discussion?

In terms of whether it's a problem do you mean several organisations are using the same recruitment consultant? In which case your application with different organisations shouldn't be discussed with each other iyswim? If it is the case that several are using the same RC I would consider seeing if you can discuss your cv with someone there.

oh also meant to say presumably all these jobs you are applying for are very very similar in very similar organisations? If you are applying for all sorts of different stuff in different types of organisation it might raise an eyebrow with a recruitment consultant as you will look like you don't know what you want to do. At your level you ought to know exactly what you want to do and focus on it. Which I'm sure you are, but you get what I'm saying!

thanks, very useful. I have been a Director 6 years ago, interim'd in Director roles at the start and Heads of (really huge councils on more money than i was on as a Director!) and since then tended to go to people by word of mouth. lots of experience across whole sector and always asked back to do more things. did a couple of short (deliberately) contracts to get exp in other areas. been a NED in health (eqiv to Director in status on board iyswim) & another public appointment - quit ehugh profile. .really wanted to go back to director roles but the salaries are HUGE these days and i dont need that much money - i would be happy with head of but worried that they wouldnt understand that. all i want is a decent job with a decent amount of responsibility/decision making ability, pension and a bit more stability. what do you think? EC are big types some phone and have a chat others just call/email to say no. today's was helpful though as it pinpointed something i hadnt thought of - thought as i'd stayed up to date deliberately i would be ok.

cross posted. i have gone for 2 types of job - one health & social care and one startegy type. these are the 2 areas i have specialised in before and after

and just thought - i started freelancing as i got made redundant during reorganisation at a point when my youngest was chronically ill. couldnt find perm job closeish to home and freelance/interim worked better as i could take days off when necessary. she is older and in better health now and about to go up to middle school. she has a longer day there and i am just so keen to get back to what i see as 'real' work - what i have done is great but i never get to see the end result or work with a local community which is what i want to do. btw sometime RC contact ME and ask me to apply and then they dont shortlist me. [hmmm] why not?????i am quite well known in my field and get asked by national/regional bodies to do work/step in to sort out problems!!!feel very immodest now but i need to get back into selling myself i think

I do think you need an in depth discussion with a recruitment consultant handling this type of post.

If you were at director level, quite high profile, well known in your field, people who know you/of you may be confused if you are applying for posts that could be seen as lower level.

When you get to that level in your career, it's can often be more of a networking/headhunter-y type scenario, not just sending off applications for jobs and maybe not even hearing anything back. I think you should make an appointment with maybe a couple of the recruitment consultancies that are handling this type of role and talk to them about you, what you have to offer and what you want from your next post. Start with the ones that have invited you specifically to apply.

that's brilliant advice - thanks I will do that. will keep in touch if that's ok?

Of course, that's fine.

i would try to use my existin network in your position...talk to your previous organisations/managers lots of things happedn through word of mouth