Wanting to return to work after 4 years of being off sick.

babymoo

I am after a bit/lot of advice.

I am 24 years old and have been poorly and in and out of hospital for the last 10 years. I have several health issues and the ones that have stopped me having any kind of job at all are now somewhat under control.

I still have health issues but last month I contacted my local volunteer centre to ask if they had any office based volunteer vacancies, I explained that I wanted to build up my experience and see how much I could cope with, how often I would get tired, ache too much and need painkillers etc.

They were more than happy to help and so far I have been doing on average 12 hours a week for them for the last 4 weeks and have learnt so many administration, reception and customer service skills. I feel that I am coping brilliantly with it and could even do up to 20 hours a week in the right setting.

I can't do anything physically demanding but admin work appears to suit me down to the ground. I have also enrolled myself on a course which is 2 hours a week to get myself the equivalent of the English GCSE. This starts mid September. Once that course is finished I intend to do the Maths course. Unfortunately I spent the majority of my GCSE year in hospital either having or recovering from major surgeries so I was unable to get any qualifications.

I have spoken to the manager of the volunteer centre who is more than happy with the work that I am doing for them, they have told me that I am very motivated, more than capable of the work that I am being set to do, completing work off my own back etc. They are happy to write me a reference when the time comes for me finding paid work.

I feel that I have put the wheels in motion as much as I can to get myself back into paid employment. Is there anything else I can do? I need to write a CV and this is something that I have no experience of. I also have no idea what to write on a covering letter that gets sent with a CV.

I know most employers are going to take 1 look at the massive 4 years gap in study and employment and probably just shake their heads. I am hoping that everything that I am now doing will show that I am willing and motivated to want to work again and doing everything I can do make sure that I am safe and capable physically in a working environment.

The job centre are fairly useless unfortunately, I have had back to work interviews with them and all they tell me to do is search for jobs and apply. Would it be worth contacting Agencies? If so, how do they work? I am very computer literate, I love dealing with customers either face to face or on the phone and currently I deal with a lot of confused and elderly customers who can be testing at times and have been praised for the way that I am handling them.


Thanks so much for reading and for any advice you could give me.

Babymoo x

Mr_Falling_Star

Fair play to you! You should be in some form of job in no time. I wouldn't worry to much about the four year gap. There is a good reason for it and you have been volunteering. Plus you have a very real advantage over over candidates in that you have no notice period to serve and can supply a up to date reference.

As for covering letters I just adapt the ones on this website to suit you

http://careers.guardian.co.uk/cover-letter

Seems to work as I did that a few weeks ago and had my Interview today.

Just to give you some idea Banks, Building societies, Call centres and Bookmakers are always looking for staff and usually offer part time hours. Look on their website because that is usually the only place they advertise.

One last bit of advice, don't listen to to all the naysayers there are out there, if you want it you will get something :T

babymoo

Thank you ever so much. Thats made me feel loads better. My plan tomorrow is to write a CV inbetween hospital appointments and then hopefully start dishing them out to everywhere I can think of.

My confidence has been shot the last 10 years but I am getting there with it and I know if I get knocked back that it will knock my confidence but I also know that the job market is tough and I will have to take the rough with the smooth.

Thanks for the link, I have bookmarked it and will have a look at it tomorrow. Fingers crossed I will have an interview in the next few weeks, that is such a scary thought. I was 17 last time I had one :eek: It did land me a job for 3 years tho.

Fingers crossed for you that you get a job out of your interview that you had today.

akin_drum

Credit to you for being so pro-active. I think you sound motivated, enthusiastic and capable. You're doing everything right and I agree, it will surely not be long before you are at work and earning. Don't get too disheartened if you don't get the first few jobs you apply for. It does take time. Keep positive, ask for lots of feedback and keep at it. You'll get there.

skintandscared_2

You are an inspiration - wish there were more with your attitude!!

If you need help with a CV, all you need to do is break it down into 4 main sections.

1 - personal stuff at the top - name, address, phone number, marital status, number of dependents

2 - Education. Just list your last main school or college and the qualifications attained or studied.

3 - any work experience. Literally anything from a Saturday job to your voluntary work (and list the skills you've learned/software packages you can use).

4 - Interests/hobbies, clean driving licence (if applicable) and either the name of your referee or just put "reference available on request".

Try to keep the CV to one page if you can, and ask someone to check it for you for any typos!! I am a PA and still used to get someone to check mine for me!!

In your covering letter just give a brief explanation of your break in education/work. You don't have to tell them your whole life history.

Lastly, if you feel up to it, a lot of CV's these days have a photo attached. Put on your brightest smile and send a pic!

Good luck to you!! :T

SarEl

Ask to see a specilaist disability advisor at the Job Centre - they are a lot more capable of supporting you than a general advisor. Check whether there are any charities which cover your condition(s) many of them also employ specialist advisors on job serach - or can refer you to other aegncies that can help.

newmumincov

You are 24 - some people of your age have nothing on their CV even though they've not been ill and have no reason why they haven't got qualifications/experience.

You are already doing voluntary work - that's absolutely great. Keep at it as it'll prove that you can handle a job and get you valuable references.

Whilst I got some paper qualifications, I didn't really have a career or a proper job until I was in my 30s (no excuse except lack of drive), and yet now (at nearly 40) I earn a decent wage and have a job I enjoy. You're definitely not too late.

Naf

Googlewhacker wrote: »

well done for the positive attitude! Refreshing!

I agree with the above with the one exception that the CV can be 2 pages, this is more than acceptable if you have that amount of information.

Absolutely, love to hear about people looking for work, keen and eager to get stuck in.
I was going to point out the 2 page thing; also try and make it stand out in some way. So many CVs these days just have a list of stuff, centred down the page; no real consideration to layout etc. (My sister's for one; its atrocious).
I'm sure there's plenty people here who would happily give what you come up with a look over if you posted it up. Your attitude will get plenty of positive feedback, and ignore anyone who doesn't; they're not worth bothering with.

marksyx

I do not have any advice, but really wanted to say bloody go you youre a legend, it can't have been easy for you to take these first steps. I wish you all the best

LondonDiva

First things first; I'd suggest you get yourself to a temp agency - that way you'd build up a range of different references and ease your way back into work.

As an employer, the main thing I would be looking for would be reliability and an assurrance that you would be there consistently. The underlying fear would be that you would be hired and then be off for a week here and there or worse, months at a time.

The temp work gives you the chance to get lots of potential references, try out different employers and contexts and is the best / easiest way to land a job as most employers if given a choice will go with the try before you buy option and prioritise a reliable temp over the hassle of going out to advert.

Best of luck in the hunt and remember to hit all the recruitment agencies close to you & those int he city centre, as well as the local hospital bank. Once they have your details, follwo up calls once a week or so to keep high on their mind.

You don't say whether you are on JSA or similar. If so, I would suggest while job hunting that you try to do an ECDL course and practice a few tests on word, excel, Access & PowerPoint.

babymoo

Thanks all for all the feedback. There is lots for me to go at tomorrow!

I did ECDL 2 years ago because I wanted something easy to do, back then it tired me out just doing that so I knew I just wasn't ready for work or anything else.

I shall write my CV and attempt a cover letter tomorrow.

Thanks for all the praise, its very much appreciated. I just often wonder how anyone is happy jus sat round. Mentally I've been going crazy for so long with nowt to do.

I am worried that an employer will worry ill be off a lot but that's 1 reason I started volunteering, to try get a good track record for being reliable and consistent.

How do I go about getting into temp agencys? Need to research. Thanks all x