Where to start?

Fuzzy_Duck

Hoping someone has advice for me. I've been doing my job for four years now- I started when I was 18 and I will be 23 next month. I moved half an hour's drive away two years ago and intended to get another job, but as it was a permanent position and my pension is decent I decided to stick with it. I'm now utterly sick of commuting- the train is crowded, expensive and my fare will almost certainly go up in January, and with the arrival of the winter timetable my usual train home has been cancelled, meaning I have to spend longer at work everyday and get home even later.

My boyfriend has been telling me for ages that as I have worked there a few years and I'm over 21 I should be getting paid more, or at least had an opportunity to get a better position. I started on 11k and have only inched up to just under 14k (which rised quickly in my first year and then stopped altogether). Unfortunately working in the public sector means there is no money to give me a raise, and there are no other jobs going. I'm starting to feel a bit depressed as quite honestly I expected to be doing better at this time in my life.

I have many good GCSE grades and A Levels, and I've had my CV checked over many times, but I just can't get interviews. If I receive a rejection letter it usually says I didn't match the job description enough. I work as an admin officer in a Democratic Services office, so it's not easy to find a job identical to what I do now. I know I could do the admin jobs I apply for, but I don't get a look in, even though I always stress how my skills could be applied to the job I'm going for.

Even if I did get an interview, I'd fall to pieces. I always get so nervous, don't understand the questions, forget the question I was going to ask at the end of the interview etc. Before the job I do now (which was also dismal- but I'm guessing I got it as the youngest, most inexperienced candidate who could be paid the least) I only had the kind of questionable jobs where you didn't even have a proper interview. The last interview I had was so awful I was put off applying for jobs for ages as I was so scared of it happening again.

So my question is (if you have got this far I salute you!) what should I realistically expect, and how can I achieve it? Am I asking too much applying for jobs paying around 16k? And what are my other options? I keep wondering if temping would be an idea, especially as I understand you don't always have to have a proper interview, more an informal chat about what skills you have. Extra qualifications are out of the picture really as I can't afford it, and need to work to pay my rent and bills anyway.

Sorry for the ramble- you can tell I've had no career advice ever

andy208833

Best advice i can give you is tailor your CV to match the Job description, use the same key words and phrases. Basically show you understand the advert and give a little bit more.

Where i work (with public sector workers) the job competancies are available on request either via the relevant website or on request. Make sure your CV covers them.

Oldernotwiser

I think you'd be daft to give up a (comparatively) secure permanent job in the public sector to temp.

Have you taken any further qualifications since leaving school, either through work or independently?

nomoreboomandbust

Not trying to be harsh, but at the age of 22, how many university graduates of a similar age to yours would love to be in your position,it's still probably a more secure environment than many encounter in the private sector despite all the talk of job losses in the public sector. You also mention your pension, I know its no good to you at the moment but its still a perk

SarEl

It seems to me that confidence is your major stumbling block here. "Your boyfriend says" .... well his opinion might be intended as supportive, but in terms of your employer, you are paid what you are paid, and tight budgets or not you will not get a pay rise without a promotion - that is the way things work in local authorities and you know that. Your job is graded at a level and that is the grade at which you get paid. And much as I hate to burst your bubble - I don't know any council that has failed to appoint the best person for the job in many many years, so the reason you got your job was because you were considered to be a great candidate with potential - not because they could save a couple of quid on you! But you need to get realistic - you have probably picked the worst moment in history to want to do something about your situation in the public sector, and this is definitely not the time to be giving up your pay and conditions (including that pension - and your protections against unfair dismissal, which if you move jobs now outside the sector will be lost for 12 months) because you are feeling at a loss and lacking in confidence. You should also bear in mind that in councils across the country (and in call centres too!) there are graduates with great degrees doing what you do, so your qualifications are useful, but by this time in your life, far less valuable than your experience.

But there are some positives. No matter how tight things get, council's still have a fair bit of internal training going on - everything from confidence raising, to interview skills, to new skills aquisition. And it sounds like all of them would be right up your street! Whatever jobs are going to being going over the next period will be internal only - there may not be many, but what there are are being protected for existing staff wherever possible so that complusory redundacnies can be avoided as much as possible. Oh, and I might add another positive - you are 23 and not 63! Gosh, you really aren't all that old yet! It isn't like your life is over, and you have plenty of time to get moving.

It seems to me that a really sensible option would be to sit down with your line manager in the first instance and go through this in a positive way. You liked your job once and I suspect that the biggest problem is that the challenge has gone out of it. Could they look to finding some pieces of work that are more challenging, could you look at the courses available to help build skills, expertise and confidence, what other options might there be? You might prepare by having a look on your intranet for what is available. Or maybe your manager could suggest someone in HR who might advise?

You don't get ahead by sitting on your hands and lacking confidence. You need to identify what the issues are and find ways of resolving them. You might feel that you lack confidence, but maybe you need to remind yourself that you got this job on your own merit and that you can do so again. It might take some time and effort, but in reality the current circumstances are only a hiccup - the thing holding you back is you, and that is something you can change. And don't think less of yourself because your boyfriend thinks you should be earning more. You are paid the rate for the job and your age or years in the job has nothing to do with it. There are plenty of people who would be grateful for your income and for the benefits you get. That isn't a reason that you shouldn't aspire to do more with your life if you want to - but your value isn't determined by what you earn either.

Fuzzy_Duck

Thanks for the input all, I do appreciate it.

andy208833, I must admit I don't spend nearly as much time as I should on my covering letter- I figure they're all pretty similar and I can just get away with a few tweaks, but I imagine potential employers see right through that one! I'll start from scratch next time and tailor them as best I can.

Oldernotwiser, you're right, I've been saying that myself for a long time and that's what convinced me to stay in my job when I moved away. I think my problem is that I'm constantly aware of how quickly time is going, panicking that I'm losing precious time to climb the ladder and earn more money. It sounds ridiculous but it hardly feels like I've spent 4 years here and I've seen so many other colleagues come and go. I guess I feel like I'm being left behind.

In answer to qualifications, I went to college to take A Levels after school, and other than that I've only had in-house training, which looks relatively decent on the CV but of course doesn't count as an actual qualification. I have been looking into those courses you can take in your own time from home but I'm not sure how useful it would be, and I'm not sure what I would study anyway. We've talked about a qualification at work a few times, but it always boils down to not having the money needed.

nomoreboomandbust, I know and I appreciate that, and whenever people have nagged me in the past about getting a job closer to home I've banged on about the pension. At the moment though lots of people are losing their jobs and those jobs aren't being filled. The more people that leave my team the more responsibility I have, and yet my grade has never been reviewed. Whilst I am grateful for having the job, I can't help but feel a bit screwed that I do so much for so little.

SarEl, I think the issue is my boyfriend is a few years older than me. He's at the age where he wants to be buying a property and we have no chance of doing that until I earn more (of course I'm also aware that few people can afford to buy a property- unfortunately I have rich friends who can so I forget this sometimes!) At the moment we don't have enough to save any money and I think both of us are glum that we have to live on handouts from time to time.

I'll have a look into what training is available. We always discuss it at my appraisals and I'm pretty sure it's mostly all IT-related but maybe that's changed since.

You're all right, it is a terrible time to want to change jobs and I should be grateful for what I've got. I think my main issue is other people expecting me to do better, and the fact I'm obsessive about money, because I run out so quickly. I'm always thinking "oh god, just been paid and most of it's gone on this bill and that bill... if I was earning just a couple more hundred a month that would really help!"

Thanks again, I am really grateful for the advice I get here and it helps to get some perspective. We do cope on our salaries, I think it just gets a bit crushing when you depend on the bank of mum and dad (especially for boyfriend who is nearer 30 and until recently had a well-paid job he really enjoyed). Just got to remember that it's not just us suffering, and we have more than some people do.

I'm thinking I'll have another look at the courses you can take in your own time, focus on other ways of bringing in a bit of extra money and continue to apply for better paid jobs. You never know, the less hung up I am about it the more likely I might get some interviews!

nomoreboomandbust

Well done for evaluating all replies and taking them all as being constructive in one way or another, your posts demonstrate great maturity (sorry if i sound patronising in any way) and I am sure you will achieve what you aim for eventually.

Your last comment in your initial post about not having had good career advice, well I think you made a great choice going into public sector.

Fuzzy_Duck

nomoreboomandbust wrote: »

Well done for evaluating all replies and taking them all as being constructive in one way or another, your posts demonstrate great maturity (sorry if i sound patronising in any way) and I am sure you will achieve what you aim for eventually.

Your last comment in your initial post about not having had good career advice, well I think you made a great choice going into public sector.

Not patronising at all, and thank you, I really appreciate those words I really have found people on MSE to be very helpful, and considering how despondent I felt earlier I feel a lot more positive now.

I think I have my dad to thank for that, he encouraged me to go for a job here! It's a shame I have to commute for it now but if I brush up on my MSE skills I'm sure I can make it more affordable (not to mention simply go with the flow when trains are delayed/cancelled, rather than being furious- doesn't get you anywhere!)

Oldernotwiser

I should have added that your salary has gone up from £11,000 to nearly £14,000 in 4 years; not many people's salary has increased by 25% over the same period.

I'd suggest that you look at courses available with the OU, you don't have to commit to a full degree and you could study a variety of different things such as IT, Business Studies or Management (including the public sector)

eamon

Do you have an interest in the subject/content of your work? If so upping your qualifications is one way of making yourself more valuable and hence more marketable if and when promotions are possible. You should really give the OU serious consideration as means of achieving this. Use your appraisal (PDP) as an opportunity to get your ambitions across to management.
Don't forget that leaving aside the recruitment freeze and budget reductions, Democratic & Legal services still have to happen. There are many EU & national directives that need to be adhered to and additionally our government has got a current fixation re elected Mayors with powers. All this needs people that are intelligent, clued up, interested and sufficiently motivated to make sure that the various KPI's are met. Find out the skill sets of all the SO & PO grades (their salaries must start at £26K) that work in your office, that will give you a good indication of what you need to do.
As SarEl has stated think very carefully about leaving the LA. The competition is fierce out there and you would probably lose out on accrued benefits (flexi time, holidays, good pension scheme etc)

AnonymousForObviousReason

Hi,
Whilst others are correct in saying that you are in a lucky position with the current economy it shouldn't deter you from looking around, nor should the lack of success so far, you only need to be good for a new job once.

Yes there is a pay freeze in the public sector but that only applies to your current job and responsibilities. Have you thought about staying where you are but looking at the options to progress? The appraisals are a good place to raise this but if you've got a long time to go before one pop into your manager and raise the question about more responsibility, you may have to wait 6 months for the pay increase but still good.

The other option as mentioned before is training and qualifications, ask if the company will pay for some (perhaps a HNC), won't help you in the short term but would in a few years. I've made various deals with employees that we'd fund the qualification and if they stayed with us, after 6 months they'd get the increase or in the case of another they got a bonus for successful completion and a year later a pay award.

For your CV if you can demonstrate new things you've introduced or savings made, these are likely to attract positive attention.

Probably best to remove the below if you've the same line on your CV

I only had the kind of questionable jobs where you didn't even have a proper interview.

Anyway good luck.:T