What am i doing wrong

PTH2009

I'm a 25 male

I have 2 fetac certs (media studies and office admin) and a third level higher cert

For the past 7 years I have worked in a part time retail job . I've learned a lot of skills such as money handling, customer service, working as part of a team etc

Everytime I hand out a cv I never get a reply or a call for an interview

What have I done wrong ??. Not educated enough etc

I live in Waterford city and its widely known as a who u know more than what you know for jobs

Captain Chaos

Do you providing cover letters targeted at the job you are applying for along with your CV instead of just a same template one for all jobs?

Unfortunately alot of it is who you know rather than qualifications of experiences.

Goshen

You're qualified to work in retail. You have a job. What sort of jobs are you applying for

Divisadero

Well the OP has qualifications in other areas. Perhaps he wants to secure a job in an area outside retail. Or are you suggesting he is only 'qualified' to work in retail?

Oryx

Have you proof read your cv? Ive seen so many poorly written cvs and honestly, those people are usually filtered out straight away.

Goshen

Media studies encompasses such conundrums as telling the difference between a tabloid and a broadsheet. Office admin teaches you how to make a letter bold. Basically, he is not qualified for anything but retail.

PTH2009

Oryx wrote: »

Have you proof read your cv? Ive seen so many poorly written cvs and honestly, those people are usually filtered out straight away.

I got a cv done through a recruitment agency . It doesn't list my leaving results ( Is there anyone online that u can send Cvs too and they give u advice ??)

I want a job such as an office job,travel agent or factory job but a lot of these jobs are who u know

Dog walker 1234

IMHO you need to look at your cv as someone else would see it. Is it clearly laid out and 2 pages max? Your cv should not be generic but reflect the experience that you have that is appropriate for the job you are applying for. While I agree that it can be who you know, I think a well prepared cv would catch the eye of an employer

Bongalongherb

Dog walker 1234 wrote: »

IMHO you need to look at your cv as someone else would see it. Is it clearly laid out and 2 pages max? Your cv should not be generic but reflect the experience that you have that is appropriate for the job you are applying for. While I agree that it can be who you know, I think a well prepared cv would catch the eye of an employer

I heard that the CV is supposed to be two pages, but 3 pages absolute max ?.

December2012

Don't you need qualifications to work in a travel agency?

Divisadero

I'm pretty sure you have enough sense to ignore the negative comments above and see them for what they are. But there is no need to remain working in retail for the rest of your days if you don't want to. Have someone look at your CV and try to have different versions of your CV highlighting your training and skills for each job. E.g. one for office work and another for a travel agency position etc. If you have no luck in Waterford you could consider applying further afield to try and gain experience. Sorry I don't know of any CV 'Doctors' but hopefully someone else can help.

Dog walker 1234

Bongalongherb wrote: »

I heard that the CV is supposed to be two pages, but 3 pages absolute max ?.

Yes I meant cv should ideally be two pages but three pages max! I think the OP needs to see what an employer is looking for in a potential employee, then reflect these attributes as best they can in their cv. Best of luck. 😀

highlydebased

Do you have any admin or media experience? To be honest experience is what will at least get you an interview. Qualifications are just a rubber stamp for jobs like those in general

lickme

Whats your third level cert in?

Administration jobs and entry office jobs are now generally filled by Level 8 business and I.T graduates which is the way the country is gone to gain experience in a working environment as jobs as scarce. You answered yourself that in 7 years you haven't been called for interview. More qualifications are needed is the harsh reality. A Fetac qualification in office admin just isn't good enough really. Theres probably 50 people are more applying for every role your going for with degrees and experience. Could you look into Springboard courses which are free college courses and get to keep the dole to upskill? Level 8 courses that can be done in one year.

Also I had to leave Kilkenny to find work and move to Dublin. Expand your horizons.

Mrs OBumble

PTH2009 wrote: »

but a lot of these jobs are who u know

So forget about the CV, and focus on who you know!

And done be giving back that you don't know anyone. Of course you do. But maybe you don't know the right people yet - so start getting busy doing voluntary or sporting activities that will let you get to know people.

Talk to people about where they work. Ask them how they got started working there. Really listen to what they say. If someone sounds particularly helpful, ask them if they could keep an eye out for you as you're wanting to get into <whatever>>.

You might have to move to get the experience you need, my daughter has a job in a financial institution in the UK with out a degree, you wouldn't get an interview here let alone the job with out a degree its the reality of the situation in Ireland. There was an article in Saturday Irish times about 30% of Irish people being overqualified for the job they have.

The second thing is you are coming across as a bit vague and all over the place, you want to work in an office but doing what in an office? Travel has moved on line travel agency's are closing down not expanding although there will always be some need for them, also if you do get an interview you need a good explanation of why you didn't proceed on to a degree and finished with a cert.

You could try volunteering in the office of a charity on your days off to get experience of an office and that might help your CV, plus people involved in charities are also usually the type that have lots of connections in the community and know lots of people.

nibtrix

lickme wrote: »

Could you look into Springboard courses which are free college courses and get to keep the dole to upskill? Level 8 courses that can be done in one year.

I thought level 8 courses were Honours degrees? How can you complete it in a year if you don't already have an Ordinary degree (level 7)?

lickme

nibtrix wrote: »

I thought level 8 courses were Honours degrees? How can you complete it in a year if you don't already have an Ordinary degree (level 7)?

Have a look at the springboard site. Governments way of speeding up the process of getting an honors degree. Leaving cert students better off on the dole for a year. The do a level 8 course in one year and then do a free masters through springboard as well. It's bit crazy really.

nibtrix

lickme wrote: »

Have a look at the springboard site. Governments way of speeding up the process of getting an honors degree. Leaving cert students better off on the dole for a year. The do a level 8 course in one year and then do a free masters through springboard as well. It's bit crazy really.

Thanks, I had a look there. It looks like any of the Level 8 "degree" courses require a Level 7 qualification or a different Level 8 as a pre-requisite, although there are a number of Level 8 "Special Purpose" certificates that only require a Level 5 or 6 qualification to get into.

Sorry if this is dragging the thread off-topic!

johnnyivan

I'm becoming more and more convinced that 'who you know' / networks are everything when it comes to having an enjoyable career.

I'm also more and more tempted to cut off all connections with agencies an ignore them from here on. They're mostly useless.

Most decent employers don't need their expensive services and going through an agency will often get you lower pay because the employer will subtract the 10k or whatever the fee is from your salary.

John

FizzleSticks

This post has been deleted.

nibtrix

Have you tried signing up for temping agencies? It can often be a good way to get your foot in the door in a company. I started as a temp in my current place (now there four years) and had a temp in as my assistant - after temping for six months she was offered a contract with a completely different department in the company. She had the qualifications to work in that department but no experience, and she would never have gotten an interview if they hadn't known her. The fact that I was able to recommend her helped a lot as well!

nibtrix

nibtrix wrote: »

Have you tried signing up for temping agencies? It can often be a good way to get your foot in the door in a company. I started as a temp in my current place (now there four years) and had a temp in as my assistant - after temping for six months she was offered a contract with a completely different department in the company. She had the qualifications to work in that department but no experience, and she would never have gotten an interview if they hadn't known her. The fact that I was able to recommend her helped a lot as well!

Nitrix can you recommend some good temping agencies? I am having a similar problem to the OP, I have a four year degree and have just finished college but am struggling to find anything and am thinking of temping but really have no temping experience apart from short work experience in clerical work in the public service?:)

nibtrix

Deleted User wrote: »

Nitrix can you recommend some good temping agencies? I am having a similar problem to the OP, I have a four year degree and have just finished college but am struggling to find anything and am thinking of temping but really have no temping experience apart from short work experience in clerical work in the public service?:)

Are you based in Dublin? To be honest, every temp agency has it's good and bad points. I was with Adecco and found them quite good, many years ago I was with Hall Recruitment and found them excellent to deal with, but they were a bit smaller than some of the others and occasionally I was waiting a week or two between jobs.

I would sign up with 3-4 agencies and see which one can find one work first. If you're left hanging for ages then jump ship to a different agency!