I've been told to pretend I don't have any qualifications!!!

studentphil

scheming_gypsy wrote: »

i started on YTS and now i'm on 30k in the same industry, It's like experience college.

It does not still exist now. But it is not a million Miles from the New Deal today.

Compound_2

OP, see this thread for Martin's view on the matter:
http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?t=483338

foreign_correspondent

sounds like you were given bad advice to me! - I have been involved in recruitment and selection, in my opinion even irrelevant qualifications show a level of commitment and intellect!

Ok, so you may want to leave out your bronze swimming certificate, or CSE needlework, but most other stuff will be evidence of transferable skills - self motivation, time management, organistational skills, ability to learn etc etc.

Also, delete them and you will be left with 'gaps' in your CV - as an employer those would be ringing warning bells to me!!

I would advise you to leave them in, only outline any less relevant ones in brief detail, and consider grouping together some of the lower level courses. (for example, instead of Sept-Dec 1998, food hygeine certificate, Bloggs college, and Dec 1998 - June 1999 Food technology Cert, Smiths College etc etc, put 1998-1999 Catering courses leading to Food Technology Cert - IYSWIM!!)

For more recent, higher level courses, do try and identify to yourself what you learnt and developed from doing them that might be useful for the post you are applying for, ie, try and pick out the transferable skills!

As you are working as well you should be able to show quite a good balance of training and work experience on your CV. Trust me when recruiting people if I see someone has done a lot of study (even if its totally irrelelvant to the post) i have much higher expectations of them and more respect for them than for someone with a sketchy, gappy CV. Also, I feel like they are a 'tryer' and likely to be motivated to do well in a post!

Be proud of your qualifications and use them well!

black-saturn

Thanks, I've decided not to go to that group anymore. I went there to try to gain a bit more self confidence but they make you feel like your a piece of scum for going there and I actually come out feeling worse. From now on I'll be passing on their career 'advice'.

andyrules

[- try www.reed.co.uk or www.hays.com. They have both temporary and permanent jobs in number of fields.

Don't bother with Hays, I recently applied for a clerical job with them (don't know where, they don't specify unless you are interviewed), and after several weeks received a letter telling me off for bothering to apply through them as I'm not suitably qualified.

The job was asking for basic GCSEs, which I have, also have degree in English.

I think they are accountancy specialists, so no idea why they had this one on their books.

shelovestobuystuff

black-saturn wrote: »

I went to a lone parent help group at my local job centre today as I would like to get back into full time work (have 3 part time jobs at the moment). A woman offered to devise a CV for me (even though I told her I already have one) and asked me what qualifications I have. I started to go through my A levels, BTEC diplomas and my degree and she said I had to forget I ever did them. She said employers are no longer looking for high qualifications but are looking for practical experience. She said having a lot of qualifications will only hold you back.

Now I wonder why I did all those years of hard work and scraping and saving at uni and why I just didn't go on a YTS scheme like everyone else.

OMG:eek:
Maybe she was just too lazy to type all your qualifications into the computer once she realised how well educated you are.
Stick to your guns,complain about that rubbish advice.
You know your own worth,don,t take that sort of put down from anyone.

andyrules

Surely any qualification, relevant or not, is evidence that you:

a) are literate
b) can write a report/record information effectively
c) have communication skills
d) can learn new facts/concepts
e) are able to develop professionally/undertake additional training.
f) actually have an interest in work
etc

Aren't these all transferable skills or am I missing something?

foreign_correspondent

Yes, the group doesnt sound at all helpful or inspirational!! I remember being sent to a place by the jobcentre (just after leaving uni) where they tried to make you go, for help writing a CV (which I didnt need) and free statonary and stamps to ake job applications.

It was actually a very sad place, frequented by lots of the towns elderly drunks, who were obviously there for a sit down in the warm and a cup of tea, rather than to consider job opportunities!

It was a bit grotty and smelt awful, despite an attempt to mask it by burning a joss stick. I found it immensely depressing and not at all helpful. It was not quiet enough to write a half - decent job application anyway, and I could do much better with the privacy of my own kitchen table.

I complained at the job centre that it was nhelpful and demoralising and refused to go, eventually they backed down. They do come up with some strange ways of 'helping'!

Perhas the lady who advised you wasnt as well qualified as you are and felt threatened!! stick by your guns and be proud of thosequalifications tha you have worked for - they show determination and application - what employer doesnt want those attributes in an employee??

liney

Now i have read into this differently. Perhaps she was trying to say, that you should not automatically expect to get a position simply because you have these qualifactions; experience is of the upmost importance.

Many people wrongly assume that when they have a degree they are entitled to wonderful job, which obviously is not the case. Could she have just been warning you not to take that attitude?

I don't know how the conversation went, but could you have misconstrued what the advisor was saying?

andyrules

liney wrote: »

Many people wrongly assume that when they have a degree they are entitled to wonderful job, which obviously is not the case. Could she have just been warning you not to take that attitude?

Now why wouldn't people hope that? Your whole school career is geared towards those wonderful qualifications, without which you will doubtless end up in a dead end job. We are given statistics about graduates earning twice or whatever the figure is salary than a non-graduate over their lifetime etc etc. Colleges/schools are judged on how many students go to uni.

So having worked hard and scraped by for years, grads should not assume that they will be more employable?

And sadly, i actually think that is true - even the DWP blatantly ignores qualifications in favour of a 'fair' internal test.

Makes you wonder.