Twice a week we publish problems that will feature in a forthcoming Dear Jeremy advice column in the Saturday Guardian so that readers can offer their own advice and suggestions. We then print the best of your comments alongside Jeremy’s own insights. Here is the latest dilemma – what are your thoughts?
I am in my second spell of unemployment in three years, never having previously been unemployed prior to the first of two compulsory redundancies. I have a degree and professional qualification directly relating to my first career, plus two further professional qualifications and experience in other areas.
I appear to be constantly foiled by two things: I am overqualified for half the roles and under-experienced for the other half. When applying for a managerial role, I was told I needed more experience in that field, but when applying for a more junior role in the same industry I was told that I would not be considered as I was “too experienced in other areas”. My initial career path is almost completely blocked as the sector is shedding, rather than creating, jobs.
Having had to sign on due to family circumstances, I am subject to those wonderful people at the DSS. They will not let me get voluntary experience in the fields I am looking at as “the work could be done by someone who should be getting paid”. However, they also keep insisting that I apply for “any job I can do” irrespective of how many times agencies tell me I won’t be considered due to the factors in the previous paragraph.
Can someone please come up with a sensible and positive answer as to what on earth I am supposed to do next?
Do you need advice on a work issue? For Jeremy’s and readers’ help, send a brief email to dear.jeremy@theguardian.com. Please note that he is unable to answer questions of a legal nature or to reply personally.
