Job seeking advice

So I received my National Insurance number in early March (I'm on a spouse visa) but COVID-19 has made it even more difficult to find a job, especially as I have never worked in the UK. While in the US, I mainly worked entry level jobs. I did data entry in an accounting office, I had a work from home job where I made my own hours, and I worked as a rehab aide at at an occupational therapy/speech therapy center for children that I really loved. I have a Bachelor of Arts in Family and Child Studies and would really love another job where I can help children with autism, as I am diagnosed with Asperger's myself. I applied for a role as a teacher's assistant at a SEND school for September but didn't get an interview and the feedback they gave was they were looking for people with more experience. I also applied for an office assistant role at a company in London that helps children with autism and ADHD but wasn't offered an interview for that either. I have applied for many data entry/administrative assistant/office assistant positions on Indeed but rarely hear back. Any advice would be appreciated.

From one Aspie to Another  - Don't give up. In the BC (before Covid) era  jobs were not easy to get, really. Now, they're going to be scarcer than hen's teeth. I had 40 years in the workforce and retired early, but I was having to fight to even get a foot in the door to entry-level jobs over here when I first arrived, and they didn't pay worth a darn. Thankfully, I have been able to live on my retirement. That doesn't help you much, though. To that end I would echo what I heard many times on this board, and believe to be really sound advice:  volunteer. Find some volunteer opportunities in related sectors and do as much of it as you can. Once you have "in-country" references, I think things will go a bit better for you - or would have, BC. What will happen now is anyone's guess, but having the experience and references won't hurt you in the long-run. They can only help, I think.

Best of luck!

Hey, send me a PM. There are some autism specific employment resources, and depending on where you live one of my friends may have connections. (She's an autism education speaker for schools and employers and does a ton of volunteering on the South side of London.) There are a lot of autism orgs you can volunteer with, and there is a research conference going on right now if you want to tune in, you can register at autistica.org.uk . SEN is horribly underfunded and post covid things are getting much much worse,. It'll be hard to get a foot in the door without the knowledge of how the system works and you can learn that with volunteer roles.

The job market here is rough. If you can't in your cover letter make it clear how you're qualified for the job you probably won't hear anything, and right now the market is just completely saturated. As a whole they don't believe in transferable skills, and have a lot of weird qualifications. There will be exceptions to that, but it may take time to find the things that match your experience. If you can do any retail or coffee shop type jobs in the meantime that does sometimes tide people over (but is a lot riskier right now than it used to be!).

Sent from my Pixel 3a using Tapatalk

From one Aspie to Another  - Don't give up. In the BC (before Covid) era  jobs were not easy to get, really. Now, they're going to be scarcer than hen's teeth. I had 40 years in the workforce and retired early, but I was having to fight to even get a foot in the door to entry-level jobs over here when I first arrived, and they didn't pay worth a darn. Thankfully, I have been able to live on my retirement. That doesn't help you much, though. To that end I would echo what I heard many times on this board, and believe to be really sound advice:  volunteer. Find some volunteer opportunities in related sectors and do as much of it as you can. Once you have "in-country" references, I think things will go a bit better for you - or would have, BC. What will happen now is anyone's guess, but having the experience and references won't hurt you in the long-run. They can only help, I think.

Best of luck!

Thank you. I will keep applying for entry level jobs and look for places to volunteer. 

Hey, send me a PM. There are some autism specific employment resources, and depending on where you live one of my friends may have connections. (She's an autism education speaker for schools and employers and does a ton of volunteering on the South side of London.) There are a lot of autism orgs you can volunteer with, and there is a research conference going on right now if you want to tune in, you can register at autistica.org.uk . SEN is horribly underfunded and post covid things are getting much much worse,. It'll be hard to get a foot in the door without the knowledge of how the system works and you can learn that with volunteer roles.

The job market here is rough. If you can't in your cover letter make it clear how you're qualified for the job you probably won't hear anything, and right now the market is just completely saturated. As a whole they don't believe in transferable skills, and have a lot of weird qualifications. There will be exceptions to that, but it may take time to find the things that match your experience. If you can do any retail or coffee shop type jobs in the meantime that does sometimes tide people over (but is a lot riskier right now than it used to be!).

Sent from my Pixel 3a using Tapatalk

Thank you. I will take you up on that PM. 🙂

I worked in retail for years in the US, but I am trying to avoid that kind of work. It was extremely stressful for me, and I was often burnt out from dealing with all the customers. It is also riskier now like you said. I am not sure if I am high risk, but I was often hospitalized for asthma as a child, and I don't want to risk getting a respiratory illness. I am willing to do some volunteer work though and hope I can find something. Even a part-time job would help.

Definitely agree with the volunteering suggestion. It’s hard to find a job here when you have moved from abroad. It took me a very long time, just keep trying!

Thank you again for the advice. So far I have a virtual interview lined up 20/10 for a volunteer position that meets once a fortnight  on the weekend. They assign you a child to work with, and you go on trips. I am trying to get my DBS sorted for that. I ended up getting a credit card just so I can get a credit statement for my DBS. I don't have a driver's licence, we don't own our flat, and my husband keeps changing things with the utilities so I am no longer on the gas/electric bill for now.
I also applied for another teaching assistant position. There were good reviews of the school on Indeed, and people mentioned having volunteered there. So if I don't get that job, I will look into volunteering. I am concerned about the rise in COVID-19 cases and the possibility of another lockdown though.

Sent from my SM-G960U1 using Tapatalk