Poor work history/mental health - what should I do?

ScorpiondeRooftrouser

SpicyChickenBaguette wrote: »

Professional - something preferably office/business-to-business based, working with businesses or clients, using skills I have learned through experience and training/achieving qualifications? Something with a corporate/promotion structure.

Be an estate agent then. There you go, sorted.

Now all you have to do is persuade one to employ you.

Scorpio33

What I would say is to choose something you are passionate about, something you enjoy, and the money will follow.


There are no quick wins or easy way into a professional career, simply due to the state of the job market. Think about it from an employers perspective; they get 100s of CVs for a role and need to filter them out. So they discard everyone without a degree. Then they bin the ones without the relevant experience.


I am not saying you will not get your foot in the door of a professional career, but it will take time and patience.


Think about what you enjoy. If money was no object, what would you spend your time doing? That should give you pointers to where your career may lie.


When you say professional careers, I think of:


Accountants (Which you have discounted)
Teachers (Which will require a degree)
A trade (Builder, electrician, plumber etc) - which has already been talked about
Doctors (which will take years to get into).


All of which I think are a no go?


Think of what you enjoy, then think of a firm you may enjoy working for doing that job. Then get a job in that firm (any job), and you can talk to the people doing the role you want and understand how you can get into that role.


Here is an example for you.


A lady I know joined one of the big 4 accountancy firms as a secretary. She wanted to be an accountant, but didn't have the degree. She then started taking on accountancy type tasks in her role off her own back and so persuaded her employer to transfer her to a trainee accountant position. From there she qualified as an accountant and is no an FD of a large organisation.


It can happen, but the best way for it to happen is to know what you enjoy.

SpicyChickenBaguette

BigAunty wrote: »

I'm not going to push it because he doesn't have any interest in this area.

However, I wonder if you aren't overlooking the skills, experience and behaviours he would have gained during his voluntary work that could meet the competencies they seek.

The Civil Service is regarded as one of the most 'fairest' employers around that ask the least requirements from candidates for its entry level roles. It alleges provides a supportive and respectful working environment.

They are pretty much the largest employer in the UK? Hard to dismiss as an opportunity, though granted the OP is not interested in following it up.

It does seem a very "general" job? When people say they are a civil servant, it could genuinely cover a lot of things. Where are entry level civil service jobs advertised? I've just had a look on the .gov civil service vacancy site and even entry level jobs seem aimed at graduates.

ScorpiondeRooftrouser

BigAunty wrote: »

I'm not going to push it because he doesn't have any interest in this area.

However, I wonder if you aren't overlooking the skills, experience and behaviours he would have gained during his voluntary work that could meet the competencies they seek.

The Civil Service is regarded as one of the most 'fairest' employers around that ask the least requirements from candidates for its entry level roles. It alleges provides a supportive and respectful working environment.

They are pretty much the largest employer in the UK? Hard to dismiss as an opportunity, though granted the OP is not interested in following it up.

It does all these things. Because of this, it is desirable. Because it is desirable, there are many applicants.

If you believe the OP has qualities that would make him stand out among those applicants despite his lack of qualifications or work history, you're seeing something I'm not. Of course, neither of us know him.

ScorpiondeRooftrouser

SpicyChickenBaguette wrote: »

It does seem a very "general" job? When people say they are a civil servant, it could genuinely cover a lot of things. Where are entry level civil service jobs advertised? I've just had a look on the .gov civil service vacancy site and even entry level jobs seem aimed at graduates.

It could cover a huge number of things, it's essentially anyone employed by the government. At the bottom level it's simple admin roles. Even these are very sought after. Forget this.

BigAunty

By the way, don't dismiss your voluntary work.

Have a look at competency based interviews and skill based CVs to get an idea of your genuine achievements - team work, communication, organisation, meeting deadlines, customer service and note them down.

I repeatedly come across applications that offer candidates with limited work experience to use examples gained from their voluntary roles.

Consider a new voluntary role to build up on your skillset and experience.

Consider free online courses that have a vocational bent to refresh your skills and demonstrate to an employer that you are willing to increase your capabilities and be responsible for your own development.

SpicyChickenBaguette

Scorpio33 wrote: »

What I would say is to choose something you are passionate about, something you enjoy, and the money will follow.


There are no quick wins or easy way into a professional career, simply due to the state of the job market. Think about it from an employers perspective; they get 100s of CVs for a role and need to filter them out. So they discard everyone without a degree. Then they bin the ones without the relevant experience.


I am not saying you will not get your foot in the door of a professional career, but it will take time and patience.


Think about what you enjoy. If money was no object, what would you spend your time doing? That should give you pointers to where your career may lie.


When you say professional careers, I think of:


Accountants (Which you have discounted)
Teachers (Which will require a degree)
A trade (Builder, electrician, plumber etc) - which has already been talked about
Doctors (which will take years to get into).


All of which I think are a no go?


Think of what you enjoy, then think of a firm you may enjoy working for doing that job. Then get a job in that firm (any job), and you can talk to the people doing the role you want and understand how you can get into that role.


Here is an example for you.


A lady I know joined one of the big 4 accountancy firms as a secretary. She wanted to be an accountant, but didn't have the degree. She then started taking on accountancy type tasks in her role off her own back and so persuaded her employer to transfer her to a trainee accountant position. From there she qualified as an accountant and is no an FD of a large organisation.


It can happen, but the best way for it to happen is to know what you enjoy.

What you've described is what I've thought for a while, that even if I did have a degree I wouldn't have any relevant experience. I'm literally bottom of the pile and it's frustrating. I know everything won't just land on a plate for me, but it's hard to even know where to start.

In terms of what I enjoy, very limited - films, video games, gym/fitness.

Someone suggested I become a personal trainer but a friend of mine who is a personal trainer said not to even think about it and that he is looking for another career himself - he struggles to pay his fees to use facilities and struggles to gain clients.

Like I said I'm happy to work in any industry as long as I can get my foot in the door without a degree and as long as there are promotion opportunities.

BigAunty

SpicyChickenBaguette wrote: »

It does seem a very "general" job? When people say they are a civil servant, it could genuinely cover a lot of things. Where are entry level civil service jobs advertised? I've just had a look on the .gov civil service vacancy site and even entry level jobs seem aimed at graduates.

Yes, its a baggy term encompassing many different types of employment and services.

You maybe missed the huge recruitment external (Level 4) campaigns that happened nationally for entry level DWP and HMRC roles that I outlined. They tended to seek no more than 2-5 GCSEs from the candidates.

These happen over different times of the year - you should be able to sign up for email alerts.

But it doesn't really seem to be your thing and don't worry if its not.

ScorpiondeRooftrouser

SpicyChickenBaguette wrote: »

Like I said I'm happy to work in any industry as long as I can get my foot in the door without a degree and as long as there are promotion opportunities.

How are you going to get your foot in the door? What have you got to offer?

For any job that's desirable there will be better candidates than you.

You have to make yourself a better candidate by doing an undesirable job for a while.

So an employer can at least say "Well, this guy has held down a warehouse/retail/call centre job for 2 years; he must be a decent worker."

There's no quick fix, and there's no magic career path.

That's it. There isn't any more to say, and everyone knows it really.

missbiggles1

SpicyChickenBaguette wrote: »

I am! Did you not understand what I wrote in that reply? I was just using accountancy as an example of how a non-degree qualification can lead to an entry-level job in a professional industry.

I definitely don't want to become an accountant, I'm useless with numbers beyond GCSE level.

It was purely an example of the kind of qualification I'm looking for - one that will open doors to an entry level professional job without needing to attend university.

There's no need to be rude!

Entry level, non graduate and professional are 3 expressions that don't go together in the same sentence, I'm afraid.