Job hunting is proving so stressful

Prudent

It is not easy balancing a being a single parent & work (been there), but eventually you will find a way through. I am wondering if it would be possible for you to take on cleaning jobs as you could work when the children are in school. If some of your children go to schools in more affluent areas, you maybe able to find work close to the schools and fit it around the school run.

Lieja

One of my friends does the online bingo hosting too, she said it was really easy to get into and she can put her feet up with a cuppa while working! She works for Tombola, but there are loads so it might be worth looking through each site to find how to apply.

Are you registered with any agencies? Lots of temp admin work and it will help boost your CV. If you're not already, then register with a few and something suitable could pop up, and there might be an opportunity for longer term work.

My OH has terrible problems with the same condition as you with his feet. Granted, what works for one won't work for another but he never got on with the prescribed exercises or insoles either. He managed to figure out for himself that bike riding worked wonders in terms of building the muscle, and he buys particular boots that he finds really support his ankles/feet. He's worked 40+ hours per week as a doorman for about 7 years now and although he still has pain, it's not enough to stop him working.

Good luck, OP. Hopefully something will come along for you soon. Trick is just to be as proactive as possible and not let the rejections get you down.

tomtontom

Toomuchdebt wrote: »

The exercises and insoles the doc recommended actually made it worse to the point where I couldn't walk at all and had to half hop to the car(automatic and my right foot was better than my left)-what's helped is actually ballet exercises(pre pointe exercises). I can now walk over 5 miles a day without pain but standing still just seems to set it off.

11 and 14 year olds do walk to and from school every day.

I don't have very many friends. Those that I do have either don't work at all or work part time while their children are in school mostly as cleaners.They however do less than 16 hours a week as all3 friends who do this are married and just want to earn a little bit of extra money. I have not found any employers that are flexible such as yours. All specify hours. Actually I did find one but the company wanted someone with 3 years experience in a busy office. I have 6 months experience 20 years ago in a very quiet office

Shelf stacking sounds ideal for you, or warehouse work?

topaztiger1983

Something office based may be the way to go as you don't have to stand up

Anything that involves standing is going to be a no go (I have suffered with painful heels too!), so things such as warehouse work, factory (although some sitting positions are available), catering & hospitality, most shop work or anything involves walking long distances are out

I really hope that you find something soon

FBaby

OP, I apologise and take back my words when I said you didn't seem to want to work. I pick up that you really do, but I think you are trying to juggle to many issues at the same time and therefore getting nowhere but in circles.

The first think you need to do is decide what exactly you want to do with work. Do you want to find a convenient job that will bring just enough and give you a bit more flexibility, or do you want to try a career, ie. nursing. If it is the second, then make it a mission, that is, looking into how you can get to the Uni (one hour is not that unreasonable), or plan your move, in which case, you can try to find a area where both primary and secondary schools are ok.

If you are looking at smaller jobs trying to keep the status quo, then I think you need to reavaluate what is important. You say that the primary schools were you live are bad? Have you actually gone to visit them? When I moved with my partner, we assumed my DS would get a place in the very large local school...not so, he only got a place at the other school that had been put under remedial measure (encouraging parents to change their kids school). My initial reaction was that no way he was going to go there, but professional people told us the school wasn't bad, just poorly managed and being on remedial measures was the best that could have happened. Indeed, that prompted the Head to go and was replaced by a wonderful one. We visited and were very impressed by the pupils and teachers. He was there for 3 years and I couldn't have praised the school any better. He ended up with very high SATS results.

As for your eldest, surely she must not be the only one going to that college around where you live. Can she walk with others? I fell to believe that everyone has their parents taking them and bringing them. Failing that, if that is the only thing that stops you getting a job, surely your daughter would have to understand that she might have to fit around you and accept that she might have to be dropped there early or picked up late.

You really need to stop focussing on how your life is limiting you and start considering possible solutions. I found myself surprised how things I thought impossible turned out ok when I was a single parent working full-time. I found that people were very aware of my situation and willing to help and offering to do so (as I have always been too conscious to actually ask). Networking is absolutely essentiel when you are a single parent and there is a lot you can give back to to help.

tomtontom

topaztiger1983 wrote: »

Something office based may be the way to go as you don't have to stand up

Anything that involves standing is going to be a no go (I have suffered with painful heels too!), so things such as warehouse work, factory (although some sitting positions are available), catering & hospitality, most shop work or anything involves walking long distances are out

I really hope that you find something soon

The OP says she can walk five miles a day.

theoretica

Rather than looking for someone to take your eldest all the way to school could you look for someone who would just take her to the bus stop? You say you don't think you could find a childminder who would do all the different school runs. How much more expensive would it be to have different help for the different children? Could the 11 and 14 year old look after the younger ones while your 16 year old studies but is around in case of emergency?

Good luck!

topaztiger1983

tomtontom wrote: »

The OP says she can walk five miles a day.

Really I didn't see that, when I had my bad heels I couldn't walk for 5 mins without being in a lot of pain

But warehouse work could still be out, there is a lot of walking involved, 1 i applied for said about 8 miles+

Toomuchdebt

tomtontom wrote: »

The OP says she can walk five miles a day.

I can walk no problem.Mind you I don't do 5 miles in one go LOL.It's half on the way home and half on the way back to school. It's standing that makes my heel worse. I have no idea why. Shelf stacking won't work as it's too much standing at one time.

Toomuchdebt

topaztiger1983 wrote: »

Really I didn't see that, when I had my bad heels I couldn't walk for 5 mins without being in a lot of pain

But warehouse work could still be out, there is a lot of walking involved, 1 i applied for said about 8 miles+

When my heel was really bad I couldn't take more than 2 steps without being in pain, but a year on and exercises every day and walking is ok-it's purely the standing-I think because all the weight is then on the heels whereas when I walk it's not all the pressure in one place all the time.