The First Step Back

As a single parent who has been unemployed since 2018, (the year my daughter was born), the time has come for me to take that first step back into the world of work after spending two and a half years raising my little one. However, applying for jobs isn't the same as it was. Especially with the pandemic having a huge impact on the jobs market.

I decided to start applying work back in August 2020, and over the past few months, sent off many applications for jobs I was well qualified for. Frustratingly, I often didn't receive a reply.

My confidence began to wane and I wondered whether it was something to do with the fact I had been out of the loop for so long, that I had simply forgotten how to get noticed or that I just wasn't good enough. I then saw a statistic that said job postings on the online job site Indeed had reduced by 53%! No wonder I wasn't getting a look in. The market had become saturated due to the pandemic with many job postings reading 'many applicants' next to them. Employers must be inundated with applications.

This is something I have no control over of course but I've decided to do something that I DO have control over. I want to boost my confidence, improve my chances and obtain some career advice, perhaps some new sought after skills to add to my CV.

After some research, I was invited to apply for a government-funded course run by a brilliant organisation called Successful Mums. They specialise in providing the tools, skills, and confidence to mums who, after a gap in their employment due to maternity leave or raising their children, would like to return to the world of work!

With all the hardships our city has been facing, it feels like a ray of hope to have the chance to learn some well-needed digital and employability skills and gain insight into which sort of career path might lay ahead for me while at home in lockdown. An open road.

We had our first webinar last week and I met 23 other lovely mums on Zoom! One thing I noticed, in particular, was that no matter what working background our mums had - each had experienced the same problem in finding work. To have this reflected back really helped me to feel that I was not alone.

Listening to the struggles of the other parents made me feel so emotional and I did tear up a few times during these stories. But it made me feel part of something really special and I'm excited going forward to not only get to know my fellow students better but maybe even make some friends along the way.

I also had my first 1:1 with my Successful Mums coach and we spoke about the sort of work I'd perhaps like to get into. I told her that I'd love to work in a secondary school setting once it's safe, as a part-time teaching assistant in Religious Education (Last year I completed a part-time subject enhancement course in RE during my employment gap). I'm also very interested in child counselling in schools. I have a BSc in Psychology and some Music Therapy training. This is something I could pursue eventually with a post-graduate diploma and some work experience in a school.

We also looked at these goals on a timeline, on how I could potentially make this happen. It feels really good to have something to aim for.

We also discussed other skills I would obtain during the course such as improving my CV, cover letter writing, digital skills (such as how to be a pro on apps like Zoom and Trello), and also mental health awareness. This will really come in handy when applying for mental health-based work in schools for example.

We all meet again on Tuesday during the second week of the course. The course itself runs for 12-weeks and I will commit 15-20 hours per week, which of course, won't be easy with a 2.5-year-old, but I feel confident that I can do it. I know that working together, we'll get through and hopefully resulting in a new job for some of us or at least with the confidence to go back out there and find our new careers.

Until my next post- enjoy the week ahead!

Candi