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Is there hope of employment for me?

funkyzoomContributor23 Feb 2018, 5:43 pm AEDT

Is there hope of employment for me?

I am programmer (32 year old male), living and working in Australia since 2 years now. I was diagnosed with clinical depression, anxiety and BorderLine Personality Disorder when I was 13. My profession is too stressful, and I am no longer able to be good at it. It is taking a toll on me, and my toxic workplace is making things worse. Stress levels are at an all-time high.

I made the scary yet correct decision of resigning from my job, although I don't have another job offer. I do not want to get into programming again, because it will certainly make my mental health worse.

Once I am done with my notice of 4 weeks, I just need a job - any job - which lets me pay my bills. Hisorically, I have never been able to find a job which is not a programming job. I keep hearing the term 'It is about who you know, not what you know'. And I don't know anyone around here. My social anxiety makes it really hadr for me to meet and befriend people.

I am done being a programmer. I bumped into this forum while trying to search for help in finding work as a mentally ill person. At the moment, I am clueless. I can't afford to stay unemployed for too long because if I run out of savings, I'll be homeless.

Where do I even start looking for a job? I have previously visited over 70 small shops and business and physically handed over my resume (which of course does not menton my exeprience as a programmer), but I always get a 'no vacancy' response. I am wlling to do any job which pays me at least minimum wages.

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In response to: Is there hope of employment for me?

BunniekinsSenior Contributor23 Feb 2018, 6:28 pm AEDT

Re: Is there hope of employment for me?

@funkyzoom Hi funkyzoom welcome to Forumland 🙂 If I were you I would go straight to Centrelink and they will direct you to employment agencies which will be able to give you advice on how to have a job change. Now from my experience there are employment agencies and employment agencies so you might have to look around for one that suits you best.

Then I would (like you appear to have done) phptocopy your resume and hit the streets with it. Again if you have no luck what would be stopping you creating your own business endeavour?

Personally I would keep the programming information in your resume and explain that you want/need a change because the potential employers will want to know what you have been doing work wise.

At the end of the day you are still young so you could go back to uni and do another degree using some of your subjects as credits.

I wish you luck.

The pea

In response to: Is there hope of employment for me?

funkyzoomContributor23 Feb 2018, 6:37 pm AEDT

Re: Is there hope of employment for me?

@Bunniekins

Thank you for the kind response.

From my personal experience, employers in Australia are unwilling to hire someone without an internal referral. And I don't have anyone who can vouch for me.

I am not eligible to register at Centrelink from what I have been told, because I am not a citizen.

Starting a business will require wagonloads of money. I currently don't have it, and that is the reason why I just need a job to pay my bills.

I can't really afford to pay for university, and I am not eligible for FEE-HELP because I am not a citizen.

I want to put my torrid programming days behind me, and start from scratch with a new hope. My mental health makes it pretty hard for me to work with people, and my borderline traits turn them off. This is one of the reasons I initially chose to be a programmer. It allowed me to work mostly by myself at the job, without too much human interaction.

In response to: Re: Is there hope of employment for me?

BunniekinsSenior Contributor23 Feb 2018, 6:41 pm AEDT

Re: Is there hope of employment for me?

@funkyzoom Sorry I was of little help. Maybe one of the @Former-Member s will have a few ideas for you. I wish you good luck anyway. Please let us all know how you go 😄

In response to: Is there hope of employment for me?

BunniekinsSenior Contributor23 Feb 2018, 6:45 pm AEDT

Re: Is there hope of employment for me?

@funkyzoom

In response to: Re: Is there hope of employment for me?

NikNikSenior Contributor23 Feb 2018, 7:22 pm AEDT

Re: Is there hope of employment for me?

Ahoy @Bunniekins I'm sure funkyzoom would much rather hear from you guys than boring old us

Hi @funkyzoom - welcome to the Forums.

It's worth using the 'search' functionality on the desktop and tablet version of the forums to see if there are any other similar discussions.

Greenpea had a great suggestion to head down to centrelink. I don't know what type of visa you're on (and even if I did, it's not an area I'm across), so while they may not be able to offer you money, some of the employment support programs could still be available. It's worth just checking in to see what you can and can't access.

Great of you to welcome our new member @Bunniekins - any other members had similar experiences in job seeking?

Nik

In response to: Re: Is there hope of employment for me?

girl99Senior Contributor23 Feb 2018, 7:27 pm AEDT

Re: Is there hope of employment for me?

@funkyzoom

Have you looked online? Maybe you could try: seek.com.au or some other online job sites?

Also there are employment agencies that can employ people on a contract basis. You could look online for big recruiment agencies like Hays or other ones ?

I agree that you should include your programmer work experience on your CV as it is a good skill you have, even if you don't want to use it anymore, it shows you have some computer skills that a future employer might want. Employers do like computing skills!

If you are not a citizen of Australia, can you also maybe think about applying for jobs in other countries where the employment opportunities might be better for you? You could also look online as lots of overseas companies advertise jobs on the internet. I'm sure your skills will be snapped up. Good luck

In response to: Re: Is there hope of employment for me?

BunniekinsSenior Contributor23 Feb 2018, 7:27 pm AEDT

Re: Is there hope of employment for me?

Ahoy me hearty NikNik *giggles* 😄 @NikNik

In response to: Is there hope of employment for me?

SleepyPandaSenior Contributor23 Feb 2018, 10:19 pm AEDT

Re: Is there hope of employment for me?

Hi @funkyzoom

How long ago did you resign from our job?

I'm just wondering if you considered taking sick leave and workers compensation. You may be entitled as your work environment may have contributed to your mental health concerns.

SleepyPanda

In response to: Is there hope of employment for me?

funkyzoomContributor24 Feb 2018, 10:29 am AEDT

Re: Is there hope of employment for me?

@NikNik

Thank you for that info about Centrelink. Will see if they can assist me!

In response to: Is there hope of employment for me?

funkyzoomContributor24 Feb 2018, 10:38 am AEDT

Re: Is there hope of employment for me?

@girl99

Moving to a different country is not really feasible for me at the moment. I will be eligible for Australian citizenship in 2 years, so I don't want to blow that opportunity!

But i will have to find a way to find work here. Thanks for your tips!

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