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Returning from Self Employment
13 Years ago, after an 8 year stint with Microsoft UK, I started my own small Retail/Repair PC outlet in Essex, during the 13 enjoyable years, i focussed on 1 rule, Customer Satisfaction, whether it be the end user at home, or a Golbal Support Contract, Last December 2006 an ex employee of mine kindly emptied over £30k from the Business Account, emptied also my personal account and put my card to its limit, He is now serving his sentence HMP , but i almostlost my house, and out of desperation, sadly had to sell my established Business.
Since then i am applying online through web sites like this, but i have not even had an interview, I have BSc (Hons) Information Technology, MCSE, and soon finishing my MCSA, Maybe it's my style or approch to companies, but because it's been a long time since i applied for employment i am starting to get very dis-heartened, as my skill and knowledge level is excellent, as is my Customer Relations Skills, I just dont know where i am going wrong, I am almost 40 now, is it my age?I thought Vista was going to make available thousands of IT vacancies(so i read) Can anyone give me any pointers please, i specialise in PDA,Laptop,Networking, HTML,XML,Java and pretty much anything IT related, what am i doing wrong?
Thanks in advance to any replies
Comments
I've found that, when coming back from your type of self employment, translating your host of skills into a form that employers can immediately see will be of value to them is extreamely difficult. However, once you've got over this hurdle of how to present your skills the road to new employment should be to long or difficult.
I was lucky and had a friend who had been through a similar change a year or so previous to me so I got advice from him on how to write my CV. If you've not got a friend like this I guess you could talk to a professional CV writer, but check they've successfully got people like you back into work before using them.
BTW - once you get to interview be prepared to explain why you'll be a good colleague as an employed person (rather than self employed), I forgot to prepare for this in my first interview!
Jack - February 28, 2007 8:52 AM
Come now. You're doing nothing wrong. Snap out of it and stop feeling sorry for yourself. Your only lapse in judgement was trusting one of your employees/colleagues/partners too much. Something most of us tend to do consistently and often; yours truly included.
Being out of the mainstream of full-time employment puts you in a non-standard category as far as agencies and organisations are concerned. They want to see conformity and consistency and you don't qualify on either front, from their perspective. So don't bank on them to provide the next opportunity for you.
You've already backed yourself through your previous business. Capitalise on that with the clients who trusted you then. They will recognise your skill, your integrity and your diligence and because they will have trusted and respected you as a person as well as your skill, they should be your first port of call. Whether they can or will provide you with full-time, part-time or even contract work, they will also help to re-establish your self-esteem and self-value, which is currently at an all-time low. And if nothing else, they should, at the very least, be delighted to refer you to friends, colleagues and business partners they work with.
Cheer up; it's really not as gloomy as it looks. One lapse in judgement doesn't suddenly make you incompetent.
Charlie - February 28, 2007 9:23 AM
Have you considered putting your CV and skills on a database that is searched by potential employers? I ensure that it is marked as "searchable" by recruiters, and review and update it regularly.
Perhaps your CV could be improved? Putting the emphasis on your skills and strengths is, in my opinion, more important than your work history and educational achievements. But adding a "currently studying" course increases your chances too, demonstrating that you are still willing to learn new skills - there are plenty of free online courses that you could consider.
Gill - May 13, 2007 9:50 AM
Perhaps you should brush up on your spelling when making written applications.
40 is not over the hill. I am 54 and having been nearly killed in my last job (through comapany negligence) I have taken time to recover but recognise that my skill set has value. I am therefore quite optimistic.
Think about what you have to offer and lose the chip as I did.
Gordon - May 14, 2007 11:57 AM