Any recruiters on here?

DollyDay

Hello all,

I have just been made redundant, and need to find another job asap.

I am a bit out of the loop in terms of how the job market is at the moment so I am hoping for some advice from any recruiters on here please.

I have been applying for jobs on Linked In, but every role I see that is suitable for me has over 100 applicants within hours of it going live, so I am getting nowhere fast and wonder also if my age (51) will be working against me.

I have also been looking on Reed, most of the other big jobs boards (Total Jobs, CV Library) seem to have all of the Reed jobs on them as well so lots of duplicates from what I can see.

I have signed up with a few local recruitment companies near me, but they don't have a large volume of jobs and hardly any that match my skillset and are near enough to me.

I'm looking for work along the lines of accounts/payroll/office manager/PA, either local to me in Surrey, or hybrid in London as I would only be willing to commute to London 1 day a week (2 days max).

I would really appreciate any advice, I have a solid CV and have only been unemployed for 8 days since my early twenties.

Brie

I was made redundant 2 years back at 64.  I found all the major recruitment sites horrible - as you say hundreds of applicants and frankly almost impossible to get good filters to things I was actually interested in applying for.

I had much better luck by looking at local industries, company names I'd seen driving to work the last however many decades.  Most had their own recruitment sites and I did a unique CV for different types of jobs that I could then tailor for the actual business.  

I wasn't in a hurry (large redundancy payment and near enough to retirement to be able to take pensions) but eventually I had 5 interviews, and eventually got hired. 

Don't let people tell you that age doesn't matter, it shouldn't but it does but work that in your favour.  You're experienced, know how to work as an adult, have learned to work successfully in teams under various stresses etc etc.  Not everyone actually wants fresh grads from uni.

Good luck!

theoretica

It is probably fairly obvious, but the easier a job is to find and apply for, the more applicants it will have, so searching for jobs which don't make it onto the big websites, or are listed but have their own application routes may pay off.  But also, jobs that are easy to apply for may well have hundreds of applicants, but many will be wildly optimistic and not serious competition for the job.

josephine82

How about looking on NHS jobs, for roles within hospitals or nhs community organisations? 

University of Surrey? Local council? 

I’ve always had the best experiences looking directly to organisations rather than LinkedIn/reed etc. 

Marcon

DollyDay said:

Hello all,

I have just been made redundant, and need to find another job asap.

A couple of weeks ago you said this wasn't redundancy:

 https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6518745/suddenly-losing-job-age-50-any-experiences#latest

Get your story straight - and keep it honest. Apart from anything else, you don't have to remember what you said to whom!

Have you signed up with the JobCentre? Don't let pride, or anything else, deter you from signing on if you're eligible to do so, not least because it normally means you get an NI credit while you're looking for work.

DollyDay said:

I have been applying for jobs on Linked In, but every role I see that is suitable for me has over 100 applicants within hours of it going live, so I am getting nowhere fast and wonder also if my age (51) will be working against me.

Most of them will be totally unsuitable and are either applying for everything and anything because they are desperate, or because they have to meet target numbers of applications in order to keep their benefits. Don't let the apparent number of 'competitors' deter you from applying for something you feel might be a fit for you. There's no need to give your age, although obviously there are ways an employer can make a rough guess based on your qualifications and length of experience.

DollyDay said:

I'm looking for work along the lines of accounts/payroll/office manager/PA, either local to me in Surrey, or hybrid in London as I would only be willing to commute to London 1 day a week (2 days max).

If you need to find another job asap, then you need to be much more flexible to maximise your chances. You might prefer not to commute into London more than 1 or 2 days a week, but if there's nothing local, what's the alternative, unless you want and can find a full time WFH position.

Alternatively, are you in any sort of position to look for a part time job and try and get some sort of fledgling business of your own off the ground? Most local authorities run courses through their various colleges on setting up a business etc, so worth a browse on the website for your authority.

Good luck!

zedonk

Try the gov.uk jobs website - it has (almost) all the public sector jobs plus some others too. The civil service is big on hybrid working. 

DollyDay

Marcon said:

DollyDay said:

Hello all,

I have just been made redundant, and need to find another job asap.

A couple of weeks ago you said this wasn't redundancy:

 https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6518745/suddenly-losing-job-age-50-any-experiences#latest

Get your story straight - and keep it honest. Apart from anything else, you don't have to remember what you said to whom!

A couple of weeks ago, I was not aware of the process, all I knew was that administrators were being called in and we were not going to get paid so I thought we were effectively going to be "sacked".

Now that it is happened, I have found out that we are in fact made redundant by the administrators, although still not being paid, so my previous post reflected my lack of knowledge about the procedure, I did not intend to be dishonest, as you have suggested.

For someone in my line of work, integrity is key and it makes me feel very uncomfortable that you feel I deliberately intended to mislead.             

DollyDay

Thanks to all for your replies and advice - they are much appreciated.

LinLui

DollyDay said:

Marcon said:

DollyDay said:

Hello all,

I have just been made redundant, and need to find another job asap.

A couple of weeks ago you said this wasn't redundancy:

 https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6518745/suddenly-losing-job-age-50-any-experiences#latest

Get your story straight - and keep it honest. Apart from anything else, you don't have to remember what you said to whom!

A couple of weeks ago, I was not aware of the process, all I knew was that administrators were being called in and we were not going to get paid so I thought we were effectively going to be "sacked".

Now that it is happened, I have found out that we are in fact made redundant by the administrators, although still not being paid, so my previous post reflected my lack of knowledge about the procedure, I did not intend to be dishonest, as you have suggested.

For someone in my line of work, integrity is key and it makes me feel very uncomfortable that you feel I deliberately intended to mislead.             

You shoudn't feel uncomfortable at all. It would have been very simple to ask why there appeared to be a discrepancy between your posts, not imply that you are a liar, which it does very much feel was the case. You have done nothing wrong.

I would agree with others here - it is more time-consuming, but I would be looking at employers sites rather than the generic "job postings". It may feel old-fashioned, but actually many employers stick to the tried and tested methods, and many do not use LinkedIn, or "job sites". Some may use agencies although many still don't. 

If, as Jospehine suggested, you are interested in public sector employment then make a list of the local councils, trusts etc., and create accounts at each - they all have the ability to sign up for job alerts, but signing up usually allows you to enter/upload information once where is is saved, meaning that you only have to add a supporting statement for each role. That can save loads of time. 

If you are really desperate for employment and have some flexibility, there are many social care roles because employers generally can't recruit enough people. It may not be for you, or it may not be a long term thing, but it's an income....

Have the administrators advised you what your rights are about your payments / any redundancy pay?

DollyDay

LinLui said:

You shoudn't feel uncomfortable at all. It would have been very simple to ask why there appeared to be a discrepancy between your posts, not imply that you are a liar, which it does very much feel was the case. You have done nothing wrong.

You shoudn't feel uncomfortable at all. It would have been very simple to ask why there appeared to be a discrepancy between your posts, not imply that you are a liar, which it does very much feel was the case. You have done nothing wrong.

I would agree with others here - it is more time-consuming, but I would be looking at employers sites rather than the generic "job postings". It may feel old-fashioned, but actually many employers stick to the tried and tested methods, and many do not use LinkedIn, or "job sites". Some may use agencies although many still don't. 

If, as Jospehine suggested, you are interested in public sector employment then make a list of the local councils, trusts etc., and create accounts at each - they all have the ability to sign up for job alerts, but signing up usually allows you to enter/upload information once where is is saved, meaning that you only have to add a supporting statement for each role. That can save loads of time. 

If you are really desperate for employment and have some flexibility, there are many social care roles because employers generally can't recruit enough people. It may not be for you, or it may not be a long term thing, but it's an income....

Have the administrators advised you what your rights are about your payments / any redundancy pay?

Thank you LinLui - I really appreciate your good advice. I have actually applied for a care-giving job this morning, so I had the same thought. Maybe this will lead me to take a different direction with my life, who knows.

The administrators have advised us of our rights - with more details to follow. We can claim unpaid salary, holiday pay and redundancy pay from the government, albeit capped. And I think notice pay eventually too. Someone mentioned the possibility of a protective award because there were over 20 people made redundant without notice, but I am not sure exactly what that is or how it would work at the moment.

Thanks again - you gave me some great advice

LinLui

I don't think I can post links yet, but to claim a protective award you need make a claim to a tribunal - and it can be made as a group so you all claim together. I wouldn't wait - it costs nothing. Speak to ACAS about bringing a claim. The administrators probably won't help you with this, but it really isn't difficult to do. And it's all money in your pocket. You only have 3 months less a day to claim, but it could be up to 8 weeks (capped) pay. That's not to be sneezed at when you need money.