Anyway Else Finding it Really Hard to Get a Job?

debtslave2024

I am in my early 50s, have Degrees in Business, IT, and Marketing, and very varied work experience from skilled to manual warehouse type labour. I only returned to job seeking at the beginning of this year, after being in stable employment since the 90s.

Returning to the job market, was a shock. It seems that the majority of jobs on offer are at the lower end of the skill market, and close to minimum wage. But the biggest shock was how long it took me to get a single warehouse type job in a supermarket. It took me 7 months and over a 100 applications. That job is a now about to abruptly come to an end, after I could not meet their physically impossible target of placing one box of goods every 40 seconds on the shelves for 5 hours solid (nobody can.)

When I was applying for jobs, I was also shocked that the vast majority of companies do not respond. Many even after taking the time, effort and money, to attend for interview. In one of worst cases, the manager for a well known supermarket who was meant to interview me, did not even bother to turn up himself.

I have had to delete my education from my CV, and essentially “doctor” it, so I have a slight chance of getting employment.

Is anyone else, having similar experiences? I have come to the conclusion, if this trend continues there is no way I can keep going financially till pension age, which is many years away!

p00hsticks

debtslave2024 said:

I have had to delete my education from my CV, and essentially “doctor” it, so I have a slight chance of getting employment.

Sorry to hear this.

 I'm not an expert but I wouldn't expect to still see an 'education' section on the CV of someone in their 50;'s, especially if they have held a wide and varied employment history since then, as it sounds as if you have.

 The advice I was given when jobhunting (thankfully in the past now) was to tailor your CV to match the position you are applying for. There is little point in saying that you have degrees in business etc if applying for a warehouse job in a supermarket - they are likely to flag you as being over-qualified and not seriously looking for a long term position.

debtslave2024

@p00hsticks Yes, I removed the Masters degree, and it looks like I will now have to remove the other degrees. I kept them on, to show I was reasonably intelligent. However, given the job market of 2024, it looks like I will also have to remove large sections of my employment over the years also. There won’t be much left on my CV!

lincroft1710

debtslave2024 said:

 I will also have to remove large sections of my employment over the years also. There won’t be much left on my CV!

Leaving employment gaps on your CV will at best lead to questions being asked, at worst automatic placement on the reject pile.

Lomast

The obvious question is if you have a masters degree why are you applying for unskilled warehouse work?

Marcon

debtslave2024 said:

I am in my early 50s, have Degrees in Business, IT, and Marketing, and very varied work experience from skilled to manual warehouse type labour. I only returned to job seeking at the beginning of this year, after being in stable employment since the 90s.

Returning to the job market, was a shock. It seems that the majority of jobs on offer are at the lower end of the skill market, and close to minimum wage. But the biggest shock was how long it took me to get a single warehouse type job in a supermarket. It took me 7 months and over a 100 applications. That job is a now about to abruptly come to an end, after I could not meet their physically impossible target of placing one box of goods every 40 seconds on the shelves for 5 hours solid (nobody can.)

When I was applying for jobs, I was also shocked that the vast majority of companies do not respond. Many even after taking the time, effort and money, to attend for interview. In one of worst cases, the manager for a well known supermarket who was meant to interview me, did not even bother to turn up himself.

I have had to delete my education from my CV, and essentially “doctor” it, so I have a slight chance of getting employment.

Is anyone else, having similar experiences? I have come to the conclusion, if this trend continues there is no way I can keep going financially till pension age, which is many years away!

I appreciate that there may be personal matters you don't wish to share publicly (and it's often better to keep it that way), but your post makes curious reading in the absence of any relevant background. 

Why have you gone from stable employment for the last 30-odd years, presumably at a level reasonably commensurate with your impressive academic qualifications, to getting a warehouse job?

debtslave2024

@Lomast  I worked in a niche internet job for years, one that was part of the fastest-moving industry in the world. The job I did was highly specialised and seemed like a stable career at the time. But now, as enter my 50’s, that job is well and truly over. The internet industry changes so quickly that what was once a sought-after role has faded into obscurity. It’s a stark reminder of how industries evolve, and how careers that seem secure can vanish almost overnight, leaving people like me struggling to find new opportunities.

This kind of job disappearance isn’t new. Decades ago, we saw the collapse of heavy industries in the UK—shipbuilding, coal mining, and manufacturing, to name a few. Even farmers in the UK, whose families toiled on the land for centuries are now under threat. Entire communities were built around these jobs, but when they disappeared, many workers were left behind, unable to adapt to the new economy. The rapid decline of these industries was devastating, and we’re seeing something similar happening today with the rise of technology and automation.

Now, with the rapid advances in artificial intelligence, we’re on the brink of another wave of job losses. Millions of people working in call centres, as accountants, or in other information-based jobs could soon find their roles replaced by AI. What’s happening to me and my niche job is just a small part of a much larger shift. As AI becomes more capable, even highly skilled positions that seemed safe are under threat. We’re entering a new era where technology will reshape the job market faster than ever before, and many will face the challenge of finding their place in it.

debtslave2024

@Marcon Yes, it is a curious story. As I tried to explain to Lomast, I worked in a very fast moving niche internet related job since the early 2000’s - that line of employment is now well and truly over. I then moved into internet related e-commerce activity for a very specific retail niche. That particular retail niche was hammered after the pandemic, and is now struggling terribly (as many independent retailers are in my city centre.) My income after the pandemic was cut by 50% overnight. I held on hoping things would improve, but they didn’t. Hence the predicament I find myself in today.

Even in the supermarket setting, where I will shortly lose my employment, things are changing rapidly. Remember the days, when there used to be rows of till operators to process your transactions at the checkout? They have largely been phased out - in my supermarket there are rarely more than 1 or 2 people on the tills, and they often have to attend to other duties when required. In Japan, they are also working on robots to replace the warehouse replenishment types such as myself, however so far the technology on that front is very poor.

No joke, the way things are going - it could happen to almost anyone. You just do not know what is around the corner! 

MattMattMattUK

I would say the economy is not great at the moment, I do not thing it will improve in any meaningful way until the BoE starts substantially lowering interest rates. Business is cutting back investments because of increase costs, consumers are cutting back expenditure because of higher interest rates, Brexit is substantially hampering UK competitiveness compared to EU business. Many businesses will also be holding fire until after the budget, they are likely expecting a rise in corporation tax, possibly an er's NI increase and in all likelihood other tax increases that target both business and investors (increases in CGT and dividend tax are likely, possibly business rates for non retail and hospitality). Most businesses will be holding back on all but essential recruitment until after the budget. 

Are you also geographically limited in any way, away from a major urban area?

That being said much of the Christmas recruitment has already begun, the local John Lewis is advertising as are the supermarkets so that may present a short term opportunity. It also seems that supermarket delivery drivers are in short supply and whilst general couriers are as well the latter is probably a job I would avoid. 

You are also obviously a intelligent person, one does not obtain multiple masters without being at least somewhat above average intelligence and whilst your specific skillset might now be outdated, the general skillset acquired and the ability to acquire new skills is likely well above average. I work with three sectors that are still recruiting, whilst one probably holds little relevance to you the others, e-commerce and analytical and data integration software are crying out for skilled and high quality employees, so much so that some of them are even offering retraining programs for people with proven track records but outdated skills. As an example if you are anywhere near an Amazon depot then you could have a look at their options, something in AWS is likely something you would be able to excel at and there are huge career opportunities, as well as a safe career path for the next decade or more. 
https://www.aboutamazon.co.uk/workplace/upskilling

theoretica

It is interesting to me that there seems to be much comment from employers about skills gaps and finding it hard to recruit new employees with the skills they need, but I haven't been able to find a good list anywhere of what skills are needed, where, and how to get them.  Obviously some, like NHS Consultant are likely to have extremely long training, but some do have more practicable routes in (such as the teach-first programme, if that appeals).

Grumpy_chap

With the various degrees that the OP has, are there any transferable skills from past work experience that can help the OP migrate into more senior level roles with different industries?
For someone with so much academic qualifications and workplace experience, the applications for unskilled manual labour roles are quite likely seeing the OP as overqualified.