CV and volunteering

Threebabes

hi

i have been a sahm for nearly 7 years and now would like to get back to work, part or fulltime.

Im currently completing a refresher maths course at my local college, to put on my cv.

I was hoping if anyone with HR experience, could tell me what else is looked upon favourably to have on your CV, for eg voluntary work?

I have applied for a handful of jobs and not been called back for an interview. I worked in an office/admin role for 17 years with Siemens Engineering, and the last course before my maths course was in 1998. Work used to send you on different courses.

Any advice would be great. I have enjoyed my time at home with the kids but if I had known how scary and hard it would be to get back to work, I think I may have thought twice and juggled childcare. Hindsight is a great thing ....

Thank You

cr1mson

Not HR peep but would say voluntary experience that ties in with the jobs that you are going in or if not an exact fit being able to demonstrate transferable skills.

BillyB

Im not in HR either, im a Job seeker but had CV advice and I would put voluntary work on your CV as well. Also, any courses you have done in the past.

dancingfairy

Volunteering is great because:
a) you get to meet different people
b) you can give something back to the community or a charity
c) you learn new skills -maybe pick up the latest windows, or office software skills (as well as other skills such as time management etc)
d) you may get a reference
e) it saves you go going spare

I would try and make the most of your time at home though. What skills have you got that would transfer to the workplace?for example time management, budgetary skills, creativity (ie entertaining the children, managing to cook healthily on a budget), planning (ie planning a family holiday) etc. Make sure you don't just dismiss it as time raising children. IYSWIM.

Next Step do careers help for adults. They also have a section on their website regarding different types of cv so maybe have a look there. Also maybe have a chat with them - they may be able to suggest suitable courses/careers/techniques for finding jobs etc. I've found them really helpful in the past although I guess it depends what they are like where you are.
Best of Luck
df

Threebabes

dancingfairy wrote: »

Volunteering is great because:
a) you get to meet different people
b) you can give something back to the community or a charity
c) you learn new skills -maybe pick up the latest windows, or office software skills (as well as other skills such as time management etc)
d) you may get a reference
e) it saves you go going spare

I would try and make the most of your time at home though. What skills have you got that would transfer to the workplace?for example time management, budgetary skills, creativity (ie entertaining the children, managing to cook healthily on a budget), planning (ie planning a family holiday) etc. Make sure you don't just dismiss it as time raising children. IYSWIM.

Next Step do careers help for adults. They also have a section on their website regarding different types of cv so maybe have a look there. Also maybe have a chat with them - they may be able to suggest suitable courses/careers/techniques for finding jobs etc. I've found them really helpful in the past although I guess it depends what they are like where you are.
Best of Luck
df

Thanks for that, I am filling in an application form and trying to come up with clever things to say about my time at home with the kids and how they would translate into an office environment....

:-)

National_Careers_Service

Hi Threebabes,

Have you started to look into voluntary work options yet? Here are a few websites that you might be interested in to help you to get started:

www.volunteering.org.uk
www.do-it.org.uk
www.timebank.org.uk

Have you also thought about contacting local charities and organisations directly to find out if they would be interested in taking you on as a volunteer?

As it’s been pointed out, not only will voluntary work enable you to brush up on the skills that you’d like to use in paid work, it will also provide you with recent example of experience that you can refer to in your CVs, application forms and interviews to explain how you have developed the skills that they’re looking for.

Here’s also a link to the CVs and Covering Letters page on the National Careers Service (used to be Next Step) site that dancingfairy mentioned. There could be some hints and tips on here that you hadn’t thought about.

You mentioned in your original post that you’ve already applied for a few roles but unfortunately haven’t been invited for interview – were these roles within Human Resources? Looking at the job vacancies, was it clear what these employers were looking for? Did you feel that you have the skills and experience that meets their criteria? Were there any gaps in your skills and experience that you could work on further which might help you to get to interview stage in the future?

Good luck with everything!

Emma