worked 7 years in childcare , studied 3 years. Do I include for call centre work on my CV? 2 April 2022 at 12:11PM edited 2 April 2022 at 12:12PM in Employment, jobseeking & training 11 replies 293 views

accidentalglixch

A Change of health circumstances has meant that I can no longer work in Childcare / Education.
I spent 7 years working in childcare jobs up until 2019 and studied level 2 & Level 3 Early Years education, taking 3 years of my life.

Looking at call center jobs as this is pretty much all I am able to do.

Do I still need to include these as work experience & education? My CV would be 2+ pages long if I include the above,
even when I shorten points. 

And yes, looking for a new job after 3 weeks. Please don't shoot but it's honestly atrocious!!

Grumpy_chap

I think you need to include the jobs even though they may be irrelevant in a different sector.  Employers like to see a full history as any gaps can leave questions and suspicions arise.

If you include a "Personal Summary" at the top of your CV, you can draw attention to the transferable skills from your child-care work that will benefit call-centre work and also explain in a positive way the reasons for your career change.

For each job, focus on those parts that are relevant to the new role applied for.  That should make it possible to get the CV to 2 sides max.

Jillanddy

I have perhaps missed something, but why is call centre work all you can do? You clearly have at least average intelligence (probably more) given your educational achievements, and your work skills must be transferable to many environments and roles. Not that I have anything against call centre workers, but it seems odd that you seem to think that is all your could possibly do. Especially since (and you seem to have a current grotty employer from what you say) call centre work is often highly stressful, driven by targets and often not a well loved career. 

I know that isn't what you asked about, but I am just curious. You don't sound motivated by call centre work - "Looking at call center jobs as this is pretty much all I am able to do" - so I am wondering if people can't help with suggesting a wider pool that might be of greater interest to you. 

accidentalglixch

Jillanddy said:

I have perhaps missed something, but why is call centre work all you can do? You clearly have at least average intelligence (probably more) given your educational achievements, and your work skills must be transferable to many environments and roles. Not that I have anything against call centre workers, but it seems odd that you seem to think that is all your could possibly do. Especially since (and you seem to have a current grotty employer from what you say) call centre work is often highly stressful, driven by targets and often not a well loved career. 

I know that isn't what you asked about, but I am just curious. You don't sound motivated by call centre work - "Looking at call center jobs as this is pretty much all I am able to do" - so I am wondering if people can't help with suggesting a wider pool that might be of greater interest to you. 

I am unsure what is out there for me but my Fibromyalgia limits a lot of what I can do. Not a lot of other places will take me because of frequent doctor visits especially now that they are weaning me off and want me to eventually completely stop my medication. When I am off my medication completely, I will most likely be bed-bound for a few days a week/month.

And yeah, I spoke to 4 different doctors arguing with them saying my medication is the only thing that is helping but apparently it's not about What I know would be helpful for me, it's about doctor's lessening the amount they prescribe so they don't get an earful from the big bosses.

Basic tasks are hard - I do it any way but I wouldn't like to do more physical work than needed. 

I prefer to work at home and husband is OCD / extremely fearful of catching covid even now so it causes less stress for me by doing so. 


I'd love to find out what's out there, i tried talking to a careers advisor but they weren't much good.

Jillanddy

You might try talking to Scope - https://www.scope.org.uk/employment-services/ - I have had dealings with them and they are very good.

accidentalglixch

Jillanddy said:

You might try talking to Scope - https://www.scope.org.uk/employment-services/ - I have had dealings with them and they are very good.

Thank you so much for this! I never knew this existed , I've applied for them to reach out. 

kinger101

I'd include them because potential employers don't like to see gaps on CVs.  You could also mention which skills this may potentially bring to a new job.  E.g., patience, communication, maintaining enthusiasm even on the bad days....

Andy_L

If child care isnt particularly relevant to the job why do you need to say  more than
2012-13 childcare with company x
2013-15 childcare with company y
Etc

Ie they arent particularly I interested in the differences between each employment (ie a full job description for each onep just what relevent skills/experiences you have gained during  7 years working in childcare

accidentalglixch

Andy_L said:

If child care isnt particularly relevant to the job why do you need to say  more than
2012-13 childcare with company x
2013-15 childcare with company y
Etc

Ie they arent particularly I interested in the differences between each employment (ie a full job description for each onep just what relevent skills/experiences you have gained during  7 years working in childcare

would this be okay?
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1WcDd_1MBQkK0nvPyIxoXM7IAcKvaJkJt4wPuAWfCHrY/edit?usp=sharing

mcpitman

Jillanddy said:

Not that I have anything against call centre workers, but it seems odd that you seem to think that is all your could possibly do. Especially since (and you seem to have a current grotty employer from what you say) call centre work is often highly stressful, driven by targets and often not a well loved career. 

Call centre work can also lead to many other job opportunities in that company or others.

Not all staff in Call centres are on the phones and many who are on the phones are probably more educated than your average person too.

@accidentalglixch - i would include your previous history, you may find your educational background helpful to move off the phones and be involved in training or coaching etc.

[Deleted User]

Hello. Can I send you a private message?