Poor career prospects threatening my future

LegacyUser · 27-01-2015 7:58pm #1

I'll try to keep this simple and brief. I am 32 years old and married. I left a good job a couple of years ago to go travelling, which had been a dream of mine since childhood. I/We came home 2 months ago. I have been going through the registration process (a requirement in my field of work) since then and hope to be able to look for work soon (once I am registered). I have 2 issues

1. Should I look for other work (any office work etc) in the meantime? I am not in dire financial need but an income would be good even if I hate the work :-( and maybe having some recent employment history (even if in an unrelated field) would look better when I apply for 'real' jobs.

2. Given the state of the economy and the fact that I haven't worked in my field for over two years, I am worried that it may take a very long time to get another good job. Time is an issue for me because of my age. If it takes too long, I may not be able to buy a house (ever!) or start a family.

I realise that I have put myself in this position and was aware of these potential problems when I decided to leave - but now that I'm here, I'm panicking! Does anybody have any advice for me?

TheSheriff · 27-01-2015 11:23pm

Hi !

What field do you work in? Can you use your qualification outside of the "registered" domain of work?

i.e. can you still get a related job where you use your skills but are not registered?

jimmycrackcorm · 28-01-2015 2:18am

You said it yourself, you are panicking. It's difficult to answer without knowing what field but generally a gap means falling back to perhaps a more junior position than you'd expect to be in.

As for getting other work, again it depends on your field but I'll give you one perspective. I once interviewed a girl for a junior IT development job. She had actually worked in the specific area but left and worked in retail, then wanted to return to it. Because she hadn't made any effort in the intervening time to keep up to date, I had to explain that her skills were now out of date and I couldn't progress her. She cried during the interview and I felt terrible.

She could have easily gotten the job had she shown that during the gap she had made an effort to ensure all that effort university hadn't simply gone down a drain for a few years.

LegacyUser · 28-01-2015 12:46pm

OP here. Thank you for your replies. I'm a primary school teacher. I know that often a gap means going back a step. I was thinking to begin by subbing, once I am registered. That gives me a way back into teaching, gives me a greater chance of getting a full-time teaching job (more contacts etc) and at least I will be getting paid for the work I do (rather than volunteering). However, it will probaby take another 6 weeks or so until I am registered (i.e. until I can work as a teacher) and I am wondering what to do with myself in the meantime

castaway_lady · 28-01-2015 1:48pm

Its always too soon to panic!

Don't regret the travelling, if it was the other way around you'd be on here lamenting the fact that you had the urge to travel a couple of years ago and didn't.
Now it's just the next phase of life you need to actively get working on. Are your original skills out of date or is it an industry where this can happen easily? In other words do you need time to become employable again? If not then you have to source the jobs and get interview ready. If you do need time to upskill then get any job in the meantime. That wont harm your employment prospects- you have to eat!!
Get ready to answer the travel interview questions. What did you gain from it that you can bring to your new role? etc Don't talk about regretting travelling in any interview.

Get active with applications, you cant be productively active and panicking at the same time.

Gregor Samsa · 28-01-2015 6:51pm

It's always easier to get a job when you're in a job. Employers won't mind at all if you came back from travelling and took a job outside of teaching to tide you over. Everyone needs cash to live on, and it shows initiative and a decent work ethic - two positive traits that are transferable to any career. In the current climate, it's obviously not uncommon to have job applicants that are out of work, but any advantage you can make for yourself will help you stand out from the pack.

tara83 · 29-01-2015 12:53pm

If you are 6 weeks away from registration can you do some up skilling in the meantime. Online courses or something similar which may be of benefit in interviews.

Getting a temp office job may take longer then 6 week's and would limit you regards availability for teaching interviews.

happysunnydays · 30-01-2015 2:28pm

I thought as a primary school teacher with at least 5 years experience you are entitled to a sabbatical where you can take up to a number of years off and then return to your post. Is this true or not?

LisaMarieB · 30-01-2015 5:29pm

I think you should definitely go through the route of subbing... You're getting your name out there and showing perspective employers your abilities! If not, maybe try to get some work as an S.N.A.... Probably easier said than done, but at least it's in and around the field of teaching and again, you'd be getting known!

Poor career prospects threatening my future

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