Looking for work

Hi @TopDeck,

I think its worth trying to find work if you can. It's a tough road,. A lot of it comes down to luck and. Persevering. Don't get down if you don't find something right away. It's tough at the best of times

Welcome to the forums.. Quick tip, if you press the @ yyou should get a list of names, that will notify people of your reply.

Take care

hi @TopDeck

I have schizophrenia & rage issues. That made me unemployed for 7 years. Then I went on anti-psychotics. Then I was able to do volunteer work 5 hours/week.

After a year of volunteering I applied for jobs. It took 5 months of job searching. That was pretty much helll but I got there in the end. I now have 2 casual jobs. It's good to have money coming in, I just bought a new (used) car and my self-esteem is better.

It may be hard for you to get kitchen or IT work with quals but no experience - employers generally want experience. Volunteer work is a good way to get experience and good references. My bosses at my volunteer job were referees & gave me really good references, they got 2 paid jobs for me.

My psychiatrist would say choose the work that you like, want & are passionate about as he thinks jobs are mega satisfying & fulfilling.

If you already have 2 quals I don't see what use another qualification would be. I'd build on what you've already got by getting some work experience in one of the areas of your 2 quals.

@TopDeck That's a bummer about the Police record. How long till that expires? 7 years?

The guy I used to volunteer with had a Police record. Dunno what for. They accepted him as a volunteer, guess they felt it was ok to give him a chance. He'd already been a regular client at there (a community house) for a while so they already knew him that way.

You're super young!!! (I'm in my mid 40's) Young = employable so that's a big plus for you.

I had to pay for my own working with children check. About $120. Does the police record mean you wouldn't pass the WWC check?

Don't worry about the gap on your CV. Not an issue. I had a 7 year gap and no-one ever mentioned it in the 5 job interviews I just did. I just had my volunteer work as the most recent job & that seemed fine. My volunteering was making hot lunch for homeless/unwell people and I got 2 jobs in public libraries - go figure, the two are totally unrelated. I think good references go a long way so don't underestimate the value in that.

You just need to prove yourself somewhere, get a good reputation. Are you friendly with any organisations yet, like as a client? the salvos, your local community house, local council volunteer org? They are all good starting points, the more they see of you the more they can trust you, you'll develop a good reputation. I got my volunteer job at the community house because I went on the weekly walks with the walking group (as a client) The Manager got to know me that way & one day I just said, "I'd like to volunteer for you". She interviewed me but it wasn't very formal & she never checked my references or police check or WWC check (she was too busy). I just started working & did a good job.

For your next step, I'd look at local orgs you can link into. Community Houses (aka Neighbourhood houses), local council volunteer service, local welfare orgs like salvos or church if religious orgs don't irk you.

I'm sure you can do this. You just gotta take steps.

The only plus about doing another qual would be if it includes a workplace placement. I did a library diploma & it had a 6 month, unpaid workplace placement in a library in it. That placement got my foot in the door.

@BryanaCamp Not really sure when it expires, I got it earlier this year around June. Moved to a different area, have been living in the city for 4 months so far. Dunno if it'd affect the WWC check; there were no children involved in the incident but I'm still not sure about it. Only community organisations I'm with are NDIS related, hoping they can sort out some volunteer work or even paid employment - there's money allocated to finding and keeping work, so hopefully something can be organised.

Was thinking of doing a course next year, would it be good to do one with work placement and volunteer as well or should I just stick to how relevant the course is to the job? Also thanks for the advice, I'll be sure to look around. Hopefully I can score a volunteer job around here, Sydney's a big place so shouldn't have too much worries.