Problems at work? Need advice? Our agony uncle – and readers – have the answer
• Need help? Email Jeremy at dear.jeremy@theguardian.com outlining your dilemma
How does a grown-up teen mum step into the workplace at 35?
I am 35 and having trouble finding a job in the arts. I know it is hard, but I have an extra problem: I was one of those teen mums. You know the ones that skulked off mid-A-levels to give birth and never returned? I did, however, do a degree in fine art when my son was a bit older, and got a first.
The trouble is, since then I have been through a disgusting divorce and lost my house, although I did get some money to go travelling for a year from the proceeds, from which I have just returned.
My son is now grown up, and with the emotional scars healed and everything back in place I am for the first time able to concentrate on my career.
I would like to work in arts education in a gallery setting. But how do I go about applying for jobs when my CV looks erratic and sketchy?
How do I construct a CV or explain all this to potential bosses, and show that my skill set is way beyond the written document presented before them? How do teen mums who are now grown up find their value in the workplace?
Jeremy says
There is a great deal to like about your letter. It is self-aware but wholly without self-pity. You know that jobs in the arts are fiendishly difficult to find, and that a great many conventional employers are going to look at your CV without much enthusiasm. But at the same time you have shown admirable resilience – and the dedication and intelligence to knuckle down and get yourself an excellent degree.
In the kind of job you're hoping to find, personality should count for as much as formal qualifications. The difficulty, as you clearly realise, is that qualifications speak for themselves while personality – at least until you get to interview stage – doesn't.
Shrewd potential bosses will know that someone with your sort of background, looking to start a career for the first time at the age of 35, is likely to be unusually grateful for a job, and unusually determined to make a go of it. This has its own appeal.
So don't be tempted, in your written applications and in constructing your CV, to try to gloss over your personal history; don't try to make yourself sound like everyone else. In the first place, you wouldn't succeed – you'd only come across as evasive; in the second place, an absolutely honest declaration of your past and your present determination is much the best way for your personality to shine through.
Don't be deterred by the fact that such an approach won't work for everyone; you don't need to appeal to everyone. You just need to intrigue enough people to win yourself a few interviews.
Readers say
• I am the director of an arts organisation working with children and young people. Gallery education is an incredibly competitive field, but there are lots of ways to get started. Arts Council England has funded a number of "Bridge" organisations to help children, young people and children's settings to work together effectively. You could also ask to talk to the education lead in your local public arts gallery or museum to help you get a sense of how to get on the road to this sort of career. Volunteering or running your own workshops is also good; just make sure you're insured and have safeguarding checks in place. EffervescentAlchemy
• I recently came back from eight months travelling but was able to talk up skills like negotiating, getting on with different groups of people, budgeting, long-term planning and being able to adapt to changing situations etc. If you dig deep enough you'll be able to turn up things you may not have thought applied to the workplace. tyorkshiretealass
Is age 55 too late to swap drudgery for a job inspiring passion?
Until recently I was a successful 55-year-old professional. I am financially comfortable, but I've always despised my work to the extent that a few months ago I resigned to write a book. The book is now finished and I really ought to get back to work, but I am determined not to go back to the loathsome drudgery of the rat race.
I know I should find a job for which I have a passion; my problem is I've spent decades looking for a passion from which I could make a living and still haven't found one.
Do you have any advice as to where I might get help to find a meaningful role for the last decade of my career? I want to leap out of bed every morning, excited to go to work. I don't need a handsome salary.
Jeremy says
I am always been a bit leery about applying the word "passion" to jobs. You say you've spent decades looking for one, but the thing about real passions is that you don't have to go looking for them; like it or not, they take you over.
There are certainly some who are genuinely consumed by a very strong vocational drive, who find particular subjects irresistibly fascinating. But millions of other people have enjoyable, rewarding, socially useful jobs that they would never claim to be passions.
I am not suggesting you should lower your sights and settle for another role you despise, just that between "the loathsome drudgery of the rat race" and those rare true passions is a whole range of occupations that you could well find stimulating. If a passion hasn't taken hold of you by now, it probably never will – and there's no tragedy in that.
You've written a book. I wish you'd told me what it was about. Writing a book demands time, persistence and self-discipline. Something must have held your interest for long enough for you to finish it.
And your interests are exactly what you should be exploring right now. Is there nothing in the subject of this book that might lead, however indirectly, to a possible new role? My guess is that anything that engaged your mind and your imagination, that presented you with challenging problems that demanded intelligent solutions, would very soon satisfy you.
You might never develop a passion for it; you might never leap out of bed every morning, excited to go to work (who does, I wonder?). But the chances are, as is true for most people, that as your experience deepened so would your interest. And with that comes satisfaction.
Readers say
• If you managed to write a book within a few months, you must have loved doing that. So why not write another one or become a ghostwriter for others? Aranzazu
• List everything you've done recently that has made your heart sing (whether work-related or not) on a huge piece of paper. Then look at your list and see whether different combinations of activities could form a job. CareersPartnershipUK
For Jeremy's and readers' advice on a work issue, send a brief email to dear.jeremy@theguardian.com. Please note that Jeremy is unable to answer questions of a legal or contractual nature or to reply personally.
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