Volunteering & anxiety & references.

HappyG1rl

Voldemort wrote: »

Hi,

I'm 20 and currently seeking work after leaving university due to bad anxiety and the wrong course choice. I have zero on my cv, no references (none that I would like to approach anyway) or work experience to show to any potential employer, so I was thinking that voluntary work might help me get these.

I understand that without a degree I am going to have to start right at the bottom. My confidence is at zero level and I am socially inept, but I really do want to get over this and have someone just give me a chance.
You are managing to put yourself over fine on here and are clearly articulate from the way you have written - so the first thing is to stop putting yourself down.

Has anyone done voluntary work? I was thinking about doing some charity shop volunteering just so that I can apply for basic retail jobs and build up my confidence before trying to find something more permanent... Does anyone know how long is necessary to work before it is kosher to ask for a reference? Is one month enough, providing that I put in quite a few hours per week?
Why not just go for it and apply for retail jobs? You are young and nobody ever did any job without some form of training and you can build up confidence whilst working there and earning.

Would like to hear from people in a similar situation, as I am a nervous wreck so a little encouragement wouldn't go wrong! Also, what is shop-work like? Might it be difficult for someone with social anxiety?

Try applying for admin jobs anyway too as you will be surprised what you have learnt on your course that will help you, irrespective of the subject. What subject were you studying anyway?

It 's good that you realised you were on the wrong course - better to have done that than wasting your life doing something you really don't want to do.

On the subject of being an Accountant, you could always see if you can start on an Association of Accounting Technicians course at night school. Some colleges give free courses to the unemployed - it's worth looking into. You could do it whilst working and then develop from there.

lamb7994

Hi

I work for Help The Aged in Reading running some of their charity shops.
Most charity shops always need volunteers (or at least ours do).
We ask for 4 hours a week from our volunteers but some do more and some do less. generally we will give a reference from 1 month onwards but speak to the shop manager about it because you'll get a more accurate reference if they get to know you. Also it depends on the charity.

To find out more about volunteering for Help The Aged visit:
http://www.helptheaged.org.uk/en-gb/HowYouCanHelp/OurShops/Volunteering/default.htm

Feel free to p.m me if you want any further info.


James

Pauper_Princess

Voldemort (cool name! Did you like the last book??)

You sound exactly like me 13 years ago! I left school with one A-level and had no idea what to do with myself. I suffered absolutely crippling shyness and my CV was non-existent.

I applied for absolutely every single job I could, no matter if I wanted it or not, from rag pickers to care asisstants to printers assistants... anything I could apply in writing to, with a letter rather than an application form!

My very first job was a Christmas job in a temporary glassware shop that was only open for 6 months. They rang me and another girl for the interview and I was the only one who turned up :rolleyes:

Working in a shop didn't bother me at all after the first day, the girl I worked with was dead confident so I had a "mentor" so to speak!

While working for this shop I got an interview for a job as an accounts assistant, which I was rejected for. With Christmas looming I had no job to go to in the new year... then the accountancy firm rang out of the blue asking if I was still interested. Another junior had left and to save money on advertising they'd just rung round the list of rejections!

That was 13 years ago and I'm now a chartered accountant, going out to different places and meeting different people every week!!!

If I can do it, you can

My first ref's were my 6th form tutor and my boyfriend's mum

Voldemort_2

^We really do sound alike, it's quite alarming actually! I hope that I grow out of this anxiousness because aside from that, I think I'm a pretty decent person and could do very well if I just applied myself and got over some of the rather strange/completely irrational fears that I have. So yes, thank you for that little glimmer of hope!

To the person who asked about my course - I was at quite a prestigious university doing English Literature; my parents were so disappointed in me for leaving! I didn't even tell them I'd left for three months ... but I think that if I am honest, I only went there in the first place because they expected it of me.

My A levels are good (AAAB) but I really do not want to go back to university - I need some life experience!! At uni I didn't socialise because I didn't have to. At least if I work, I will HAVE to mix with people.

Can anyone help me with regard to the Accountancy stuff? Where do I start?! Is there anywhere I can go for careers advice? I know of Connexions, but they seem to only caters for people up to 19 (so I'm a few days too old for them to deal with :P). Do the JobCentre give careers advice? Aside from that, I have an appointment with the Volunteer Centre in my area at the beginning of September but I'm hoping I'll have found somewhere to volunteer on my own before then.

Thanks for all the replies, they've really made me think about what I want... instead of avoiding the subject completely!

Savvy_Sue

I'm worried that you're not telling your parents things, and they're probably worried about you too. Is there any chance you could sit down with them and tell them what you've told us, that you're wondering about doing some voluntary work to get you some experience before looking for a job? If money is an issue then just start applying for jobs, go through agencies, do whatever it takes!

lynzpower

I agree -= you sound like a brilliant person to be volunteering! Your obviously keen and want to build up your skills so thats fab.

Ive done a few things in my time, mainly working in social care, which can be harrowing and i wouldnt suggest that for you unless you REALLY wanted to.

Another one I did was working with Crisis fareshare and they used to collect the days unsold sandwiches at pret/ M&S etc, so someone used to collect them in a van, bring them back to the depot, then my job was to sort them out, and fill various boxes, then drivers would take the filled boxes round to homeless hostels. There was a nice little atmostpohere there, everyone was nice and chatty, and lovely and busy.

Working in charity shops also a good one.If you are looking for admin there STACKS of it on do-it.org so do check that out.

Im going to start doing a bit more voluteering again, always nice to meet new people, and learn new skills whether you are employed or not!

lynzpower

Ive just been looking on do-it.org and found this http://do-it.org/oppdetails.do?id=1136001

Im searching in the london region, yet the ad says derby, so I presuime its nationwide?

this could help you pick yourself up a bit with working towards an NVQ.

there may be other options, so do check it out.

bestpud

I volunteer for a community information centre and it is great for building confidence. I'm still at uni (a mature student) but I also need to build up some work experience and references. I would just say it may be wise to check who you will be working alongside and what you are expected to do/what sort of experience you can hope to gain - you are giving your time so don't feel you have to take the first volunteering role that comes along - some will be better for you than others.

Other than that, try and build a positive history for yourself (as in, the truth, but put a better way iyswim). If you can show you have personal insight and have learnt from mistakes, it may go a long way to cover up your low self-esteem.

There is nothing wrong with having a friend as a personal referee, as far as I'm aware. I always thought that the person was meant to know you personally, but not family obviously!

The only other thing I can think of is to have a chat with your local college about evening accounting/book keeping classes. You may even be able to start in September. That way, you can say you enrolled on the wrong course but have now decided what you really want to do and you want to work alongside it to get experience? References will be less relevent if you can account for the lack of them in a positive light.

Good luck, I'm sure you'll get there. It annoys me how employers can be side-tracked by confident people as being able to 'talk the talk' may not mean they will be the best at the job! Luckily for you, me and lots of others, there are employers out there who can see past the interview!

beautifulgorgeous_2

There will be many part time retail jobs in the run up to Christmas that will pay the minimum wage and will not require references. My DD worked round studying for her A levels. This would let you meet people and get a little money at the same time.

Pauper_Princess

Voldemort,

If you're at all interested in accountancy (not the best job in the world, but it pays well eventually!), have a look at the AAT (Association of Accounting Technicians) website.

With good A-levels you can start on the ACCA (certified) course, but some of the girls I worked with started this way and found it too hard, without any experience or prior knowledger. The AAT is more "grass roots" and teaches you everything about basic book keeping and such.

I did this for 3 years at night school, and my employer paid for it (think it was about £300-£400 for the year then). You can fund it yourself whilst you look for a job, but I think by 2nd year and definitely 3rd year you need to be working in an accounts environment.

At your age with good A levels you should be a good prospect I'd have thought. One thing I found really helpful was, starting as a junior in accountancy practice, it gave me chance to build up my confidence, as I wasn't expected to deal with clients too much to begin with. I had plenty of older people to watch and learn from!!

Hope this makes any sort of sense, rushing off now to walk pooch and face ironing