so unskilled now

affordmylife

I haven't job hunted for a couple of years now and last time I did I had one interview and got the job.

this time around its so much harder.

I now live in a rural village so although I have a car cost and time has to be factored in.

there are millions of care jobs about but that's not my thing. loads of minimum wage jobs but I want more than that.

loads of jobs working weekends but I don't want to.

ive been working as a teaching assistant for the past 7 years which means that my office skills (my previous jobs) are now outdated.

loads of jobs want sage or things ive never heard of.

and loads of jobs want you to do a million things for minimum wage.

its looking very grim out there x

DB_XIII

'I don't want to'.

In the current situation that isn't the attitude to progress and isn't the attitude employers will look for.

1940sGal

It's incredibly grim out there and I'm afraid you might have to be a little more flexible with your job search.

No one really wants to work for minimum wage but millions do. It may be that you have to take a NMW job until you can get something better. It's not ideal, but it's not an ideal environment right now unfortunately.

Dunroamin

Have you looked at updating your office skills?

paulsad

I've applied for a lot of jobs with little joy and my once in demand 5yr apprenticed skills are now all but redundant ... so; you have to bury your pride and bite your lip and crack on.
At 55 it's very hard; to be honest and all this "no substitute for experience" and "dependability" sounds very laudable on paper but in practice when you are interviewed by an 18 year old lass and the next in line is a young Brad Pit lookie likey is she really going to pick Grandad? Doubt it somehow.
Get ready for condescending automatic email responses from the "non ageist - non sexist" organisations...
I did manage to get an interview at the airport this week for a 6 month minimum pay contract job 21 hrs a week where you have to be able to work any shift from 4am onwards including weekends ... as well as dressing up and maintaining the impeccable high standards of the airport... they don't want much for their £6.54 an hour do they?
I could go on but you'd want to kill me...
Still best of luck - sorry to be a misery 'ole!

Takeaway_Addict

affordmylife wrote: »

I haven't job hunted for a couple of years now and last time I did I had one interview and got the job.

this time around its so much harder.

I now live in a rural village so although I have a car cost and time has to be factored in.
Whose choice was it to live here?
there are millions of care jobs about but that's not my thing. fair enough loads of minimum wage jobs but I want more than that. surely its better to be on MW than benefits?

loads of jobs working weekends but I don't want to. This narrows down your likelyhood alot, we are a 24/7 nation now.

ive been working as a teaching assistant for the past 7 years which means that my office skills (my previous jobs) are now outdated.
Time to learn again then!
loads of jobs want sage or things ive never heard of. Alot will be feasible to retrain on

and loads of jobs want you to do a million things for minimum wage. and?

its looking very grim out there x

Its only looking grim because of your negative attitude. There are plenty of positives out there and opportunities, you just need to know how to sell yourself and have a plan of progression.

And if you don't want to do what employers want for NMW then why not look at self employment somehow or somewhere.

Takeaway_Addict

paulsad wrote: »

I've applied for a lot of jobs with little joy and my once in demand 5yr apprenticed skills are now all but redundant ... so; you have to bury your pride and bite your lip and crack on. What was it?
At 55 it's very hard; to be honest and all this "no substitute for experience" and "dependability" sounds very laudable on paper but in practice when you are interviewed by an 18 year old lass and the next in line is a young Brad Pit lookie likey is she really going to pick Grandad? Doubt it somehow. Most companies are not ageist and 55 means you still have 10 years plus of employment.. I have people working for me that are over 80 and are fantastic employees, this is
Get ready for condescending automatic email responses from the "non ageist - non sexist" organisations...sometimes you just aren't the best candidate, alot of people applying....employers market!
I did manage to get an interview at the airport this week for a 6 month minimum pay contract job 21 hrs a week where you have to be able to work any shift from 4am onwards including weekends ... as well as dressing up and maintaining the impeccable high standards of the airport... they don't want much for their £6.54 an hour do they? The expectations 30 years ago would be the same so why is it hard to stomach now? Surely whatever the trade you did back then had standards at a price and as they say if you don't like it then don't do it.
I could go on but you'd want to kill me...
Still best of luck - sorry to be a misery 'ole!

And again if you don't like the opportunities out there why not become self employed and take all the risks involved and then maybe offer a salary to an employee for more than you thinks not worthwhile now, though bear in mind you have all the extra costs that go with employees.

james_smitha

as you've been a teaching assistant, why not private tutoring-As in children who are behind in a subject or need extra time at a subject have assistance from you in their own home at what ever rate you feel people will pay

affordmylife

we chose to move to a rural village for a better quality of family life. there will be no benefits husbands wages are above the threshold.

I am not negative I want to work and work hard but I expect to be rewarded for those skills.

I am going to continue my search but I take on board all your kind comments x

Daedalus

affordmylife wrote: »

we chose to move to a rural village for a better quality of family life. there will be no benefits husbands wages are above the threshold.

I am not negative I want to work and work hard but I expect to be rewarded for those skills.

I am going to continue my search but I take on board all your kind comments x

The skills you value are obviously not in demand. Your other skills, like those of a carer, are in demand, sell them or don't. It is your choice, you will get little sympathy if you moan about not getting the job you want for the salary you want, people just don't care.

doinkthemonkee

May I please say tho, and I am speaking as a support worker, PLEASE PLEASE, PLEASE DON'T go get a job in care ANYONE if your attitude is 'at least it is a job' etc. Care IS low paid for everything you are expected to do (& the list is getting longer), the hours tend to be lousy, the conditions can be less then good. People who require care and support need people who are dedicated to providing them with a good service, not those who are task orientated.

Please understand I mean this as no offence to the OP, esp as they said that they knew care was not for them!
It is more a plea to others. It is not a job just anyone or everyone can do. Just like banking, factory work, chef, mechanic etc isn't.
That said, there ARE many people who do take to it later in life and are blinking brilliant carers/support workers!