I have started volunteering, but still can't get damn job!

bugslet

Hedylogos wrote: »

I really want to get some qualifications or something, but i am struggling to figure out what to do. What would be my best option to make it easier to decide what i want to do? I have been unsure of what to do for so many years and i don't have anything in particular i want to pursue that would require qualifications. It is really frustrating as i feel i am just going through the motions and no direction. It feels like my only option is to create my own work somehow, but i don't know how to. I keep going in and out of a depressive state and feeling down when i think about a career & future. I mean i feel glad that i am doing the volunteering work, but i still feel like i am not moving forward that much. The biggest hurdle for me is what i want to do.

That was always the easy part for me, I wanted to be a rich man's bimbo and live a life of luxury. Unfortuantely as I didn't have the relevant qualifications in beauty and obsequiousness, I had to settle for being a van and fork lift driver.

Life isn't about doing what you want to do, ( though :beer: to you if you have got the job of your dreams), it's about doing something useful, taking pride in it and learning as you go along what the best bits of any job are and trying do more of the good bits and less of the boring bits.

Hedylogos

topaztiger1983 wrote: »

I found that volunteering help me to believe I had a purpose in life, it also gave me an insight into the retail sector and speaking with customers so it helped me to find a full-time job

I have recently started volunteering :beer: it gets me out the house and interacting with people at least. The frustration from my side is more so that i have no idea what i want to do as a career. It is really bugging me and getting me down. I gotta stay positive though.

Hedylogos

Flyonthewall wrote: »

To find out what you want to do you perhaps need to try different things. Even if you become self employed you still need to know what you want to do.

If you go to college see what they can offer you such as seeing a careers advisor and other courses.

What are your interests? What jobs are there relating to them?

I have many interests and it's tough to actually think of a main interest that i could pursue. When people leave college or uni they have a vague idea of what they want to do, so they go and study for it and graduate or finish then go on to that path. The thing with me is i have such an eclectic and vast array of interests and i am struggling to decide on what i find the most interesting to pursue. My interests include - Music, Art, Politics, History, Writing, Sports (football, boxing, tennis, martial arts/ufc, gymnastics), Travel and Cultures, Anthropology, Languages, Psychology (i have a deep, genuine interest in people and enjoy learning how people think), Health and general well being, Biology, Anatomy, Fashion, Technology, Cooking. I can't think of more right now, but i am sure there are more.

I have never known what i wanted to do entirely because there are so many different options to choose from. I guess if i had a gun to my head and was forced into making a decision on what i wanted to pursue, i would go with maybe Music because i have written songs before and would like to get into producing, as well as being a relatively decent singer (so i've been told) or Writing because it lets me express the wild imaginative world in my head space. However, i am starting to get into Politics and it's interesting to me, but i am a newbie to it all. Politics can be really confusing and overwhelming if you're new to it. I also enjoy learning about people, and have a strong interest in people so Psychology is interesting too.

If, Hypothetically speaking, a member here was a career advisor how the hell would you advise me of a career from the list above? Here is the thing, i would love to work in all these industries but it's impossible because for the majority of them you either have to have a high level education and qualifications or a lot of experience in the industries. Ideally i would like to try my hand in all these areas because i like to learn more about all these subjects. I guess my brain is a bit like a scatter gun, i enjoy many things and get bored with the same thing. Maybe i have some other undiagnosed mental issue, wouldn't be surprised because i am a bleeding hopeless case lol.

Hedylogos

Tiddlywinks wrote: »

No - the biggest hurdle for you is your state of mind.

You just keep procrastinating. Stop dithering and just do something. You have no qualifications - go back to college part time to do Maths and English... these will vastly improve your chances AND will show self motivation.

As I've suggested before, if you can't motivate yourself then ask for help - MIND, your GP, the Job Centre will have a disabilities advisor etc.

You have been given so much information over the last six months yet you are still saying you don't know what you want to do.

I've got news for you - people who have been out of work for years and have no experience or qualifications NEED to take what they can get... no more thought required!

Just get on with it - colleges are now taking spring term entries - do some studying to fill your time... what else are you busy doing? What have you got to lose?

I am going to do the Maths and English, but the course doesn't start yet. I have been enquiring and i will attend the pre-GCSE course which involves 6 weeks (i think) of pre-study to prepare the person for the full GCSE course. I was advised this would be the best option considering i haven't studied my GCSEs for a long time. I am taking the advice here, but sometimes there is a lot to take in and i may miss some posts or things people have said, it's not deliberate. I do appreciate the advice of course. When i say i don't know what to do, i mean i have no specific thing in mind. Apart from the GCSE, i don't know what other courses to study, of which would be useful to the workplace. Any advice on useful qualifications? I am thinking of maybe office type work.

torbrex

Do you really want a job or are you holding out for a career?

Hedylogos

BigAunty wrote: »

Would you mind outlining to the OP the benefits that you got from your volunteering, both personally and professionally, and this might help them look forward and see the bigger picture?

I always regretted not taking on additional activities, such as classes and voluntary work, when I had long periods between jobs, as I look back and feel that I coasted along, wasting my time and stagnating when I could have been developing. It's very easy to get into a rut.

Now I am in employment, I would love to have that amount of free time to spend on my interests and wonder why I couldn't summon the energy and motivation when time was limitless and commitments were few.

Some days I leave the house at 9am and get back at 9pm and on those kinds of shifts, I struggle to complete basic household tasks like cooking, cleaning, shopping, responding to emails, dealing with post. On shifts where I start and finish early, in theory I have more free time but I'm also fatigued and don't accomplish much, taking myself off to bed at 9pm. My days off seem to be spent catching up on sleep, laundry, shopping, personal admin.

Hopefully the OPs voluntary work will give them a more structured routine, a buttress against loneliness, a boost to confidence, a social outlet, an increase in skills, etc.

What do you do for work?

Hedylogos

missbiggles1 wrote: »

Then use the services available to help you work it out.

https://nationalcareersservice.direct.gov.uk/Pages/Home.aspx

I tried that site before and the career choices were vague and unhelpful. I will take a look around the site again and see the careers list to try see what would fit me. It's tough deciding what to do for the rest of your life, especially when one has to focus on one or two things. What do you do missbiggles?

missbiggles1

Hedylogos wrote: »

I have many interests and it's tough to actually think of a main interest that i could pursue. When people leave college or uni they have a vague idea of what they want to do, so they go and study for it and graduate or finish then go on to that path. The thing with me is i have such an eclectic and vast array of interests and i am struggling to decide on what i find the most interesting to pursue. My interests include - Music, Art, Politics, History, Writing, Sports (football, boxing, tennis, martial arts/ufc, gymnastics), Travel and Cultures, Anthropology, Languages, Psychology (i have a deep, genuine interest in people and enjoy learning how people think), Health and general well being, Biology, Anatomy, Fashion, Technology, Cooking. I can't think of more right now, but i am sure there are more.

I have never known what i wanted to do entirely because there are so many different options to choose from. I guess if i had a gun to my head and was forced into making a decision on what i wanted to pursue, i would go with maybe Music because i have written songs before and would like to get into producing, as well as being a relatively decent singer (so i've been told) or Writing because it lets me express the wild imaginative world in my head space. However, i am starting to get into Politics and it's interesting to me, but i am a newbie to it all. Politics can be really confusing and overwhelming if you're new to it. I also enjoy learning about people, and have a strong interest in people so Psychology is interesting too.

If, Hypothetically speaking, a member here was a career advisor how the hell would you advise me of a career from the list above? Here is the thing, i would love to work in all these industries but it's impossible because for the majority of them you either have to have a high level education and qualifications or a lot of experience in the industries. Ideally i would like to try my hand in all these areas because i like to learn more about all these subjects. I guess my brain is a bit like a scatter gun, i enjoy many things and get bored with the same thing. Maybe i have some other undiagnosed mental issue, wouldn't be surprised because i am a bleeding hopeless case lol.

I'm a qualified and experienced careers adviser, which is why I've suggested that you get proper careers advice from the organisation above.

However, I would definitely say that you need to get away from the idea that the leisure interests you've listed above are likely to be the basis for a choice of job - most of them are hobbies.

BigAunty

Hedylogos wrote: »

What do you do for work?

My interests are music (I play percussion instruments), yoga, meditation, mindfulness, cinema.

My job is processing forms. I could s*x up the job description a little, parts of it could sound impressive if I tried, but that's the nub. I am unlikely to become a professional performer, yoga teacher, mindfulness/meditation guru or film director anytime soon.

Due to the shift patterns, its hard for me to enrol in regular classes of any kind as I would like to join a local choir or drumming group. I have tried to secure Mon to Fri 9-5 employment but have not been successful with over 20 job applications in the last year. Even skilled, experienced, qualified graduates find the job market brutal.

I do self-study to improve my playing technique, following Youtube tutorials, analysing performances of fellow players and have bought a couple of tuition DVDs. There's a strong online community that has led to me meeting up with fellow players to share our instruments. I also hope to attend workshops and festivals which are held all over Europe.

tiger_eyes

Hedylogos wrote: »

If, Hypothetically speaking, a member here was a career advisor how the hell would you advise me of a career from the list above?

Forget writing as a career right now. The constant rejection and financial insecurity is soul-destroying for anyone, let alone people who already have depression and anxiety. I'm not familiar with music careers, but I suspect it's just as bad. When you already have a stable job and your mental health is in a good place, that's the time to think more seriously about trying to turn your art (be it writing or music) into a side business - and if the side business goes well, that's when you start to look at it as a full-time career.