career change

miaoww

After 23+ yrs of veterinary nursing I'm looking for a career change but it just seems impossible - I have edited my cv to highlight transferable skills such as admin/ stock control / reception duties but just can even seem to get to interview stages with applications. I dont know if this is due to algorithms?  Does anyone have advice on how to adapt things so they fit with finding a new role as medical secretary / admin assistant / customer services roles. 

XzavierWalnut

Only thing I can think of if you have not done it already, is try to put words in your CV that are the same as those in the advert or in their mission statement.

Brie

Are you submitting your cv as a word document or a pdf?  I like the idea of a pdf as it stays as I've done it but I've heard that the AI that scans for words/phrases matching the job requirements only work on word documents.  

Other option is to actually register in person with a recruitment agency so you have someone who will work on your behalf.

Marcon

Brie said:

Are you submitting your cv as a word document or a pdf?  I like the idea of a pdf as it stays as I've done it but I've heard that the AI that scans for words/phrases matching the job requirements only work on word documents.  

Other option is to actually register in person with a recruitment agency so you have someone who will work on your behalf.

No - works on a pdf.

miaoww said:

After 23+ yrs of veterinary nursing I'm looking for a career change but it just seems impossible - I have edited my cv to highlight transferable skills such as admin/ stock control / reception duties but just can even seem to get to interview stages with applications. I dont know if this is due to algorithms?  Does anyone have advice on how to adapt things so they fit with finding a new role as medical secretary / admin assistant / customer services roles. 

Possibly, but it's hard to see how 23 years of veterinary nursing would give you the specialist skills needed by a medical secretary (although you'd probably have a head start in terms of being able spell the names of various drugs - but unfortunately many of those used on humans aren't likely to be much of a match for those used on animals).

You don't just need transferable skills; you need the skills required by the job you have in mind. If you look at the requirements for the role, how well do you actually match them, if at all? You also need to give a clear indication of why you want to change job and why the job you're applying for is a good fit for your new career aspirations. Employers don't want someone who'll try something for a short period and then quit because oops, not what I expected. 

I'd go with Brie's suggestion of going to an agency in person, which might be much more productive.

Jaguar98

To change from veterinary nursing to jobs like medical secretary or admin assistant, highlight your skills, share your career goals, and consider getting help from recruitment agencies.

Marcon

Further thought - you might also look at some (free) online courses and brush up your skills in areas which would be needed in a new career. Pretty much anything requires good IT competence! Try https://alison.com/

Own_Worst_Enermy

the problem is you are trying to get out of a hard profession.  Sorry but you are I looked into vets receptionist (in my quest to be a gp’s receptionist which lasted less than a year of wanna be) but everything came across it was hard.  A vets receptionist post pretty much full-time was presented as hard. Sorry. 

maybe you have spent to long in a role to be considered sorry a lady in one of near towns spent 50 years with the same employer and a mate of nearly 30 years, in same role, I’ve worked for many different types to the one who’d give you their actual drunk bottle to recycle to know it is far from pleasant as masqueraded on these forums how easy it is to change jobs.

Marcon

Own_Worst_Enermy said:

the problem is you are trying to get out of a hard profession.  Sorry but you are I looked into vets receptionist (in my quest to be a gp’s receptionist which lasted less than a year of wanna be) but everything came across it was hard.  A vets receptionist post pretty much full-time was presented as hard. Sorry. 

Why is that a problem? OP's issue is getting into a new job, not getting out of one!

Own_Worst_Enermy said:

maybe you have spent to long in a role to be considered sorry a lady in one of near towns spent 50 years with the same employer and a mate of nearly 30 years, in same role, I’ve worked for many different types to the one who’d give you their actual drunk bottle to recycle to know it is far from pleasant as masqueraded on these forums how easy it is to change jobs.

This makes no sense.

Sarahspangles

miaoww said:

After 23+ yrs of veterinary nursing I'm looking for a career change but it just seems impossible - I have edited my cv to highlight transferable skills such as admin/ stock control / reception duties but just can even seem to get to interview stages with applications. I dont know if this is due to algorithms?  Does anyone have advice on how to adapt things so they fit with finding a new role as medical secretary / admin assistant / customer services roles. 

If you want a job in an NHS Trust you need to apply with an application form not a CV. Recruiters will claim they work with the NHS but most jobs are traditional recruitment. Once you’ve completed your first application you can reuse the same details - they’re saved in the NHS Jobs website. Many Trusts will actively support people to identify career paths if you contact their recruitment team.

amysquie

I've worked in admin roles in the NHS for 13+ years. In my experience they don't really look at CVs, it's all about the section where you detail how you meet the person specifications and why you want the job. You have to go through each point of the essential and desirable criteria and show examples of how you meet them. The biggest things would be dealing with distressed/angry/abusive people, attention to detail and keeping up with the fast pace in terms of short staffing and constant software changes. Managers may not realise these same issues exist in the vet world and have a perception that you think admin will be easy, or that your only experience is with animals, not people.
They need someone who is tech savvy, very adaptable, and who can learn quickly/hit the ground running as there will be very little time to teach you. So highlight any big changes in tech you've had to adapt to.
The key question recruiters will want to know the answer to is why do you want to go for something different and will you find it satisfying? Can you go for admin roles in the vet sector as a segue?
As someone else said, they may be worried you are just trying things out and will move on to the next thing quickly. Perhaps joining your local NHS bank or temping might be an option to build up your experience in  admin/customer service roles.

Elliott.T123

You might not want to hear this but a big part of it is out of your hands. A lot of it is going to come down to who else applies as well.

If you are applying for a medical secretary role and there are other applicants who have experience you can highlight every transferable skill you like, if they have done the role before and you haven't you're not getting an interview. The same for the other roles you mentioned, if you're going up against people with previous experience then unfortunately you wont even be considered.