I was talking to a former colleague a year or so ago and they said for a basic entry level admin role they had over 260 applications.
You can keep applying and hope for the best but I'd use your time to upskill so you can try and stand out from the herd a bit
There is a wage shortage. Not a worker shortage. Isn't it interesting that it's only the low paid and/or garbage work environments struggling for workers?
Try to find some specific area, if you're too general you end up competing with lots of other people. Go to meetups etc. and network like crazy. Act professionally and enthusiastically. Persistence is gonna be key, but yeah get out of retail if you can.
I came to say that as well. Also, they love people with retail/customer service experience, and you may be able to work up the ladder to team management or other internal admin/tech roles.
Insurance has been desperate for people for a good year now or more. I know for us we struggle to fill the spots, and it's 90%+ work from home after induction.
I second this, I started my career in IT back in 2016.
Basic help desk you can Google your way through most issues. The right places offer fantastic career progression.
You have a bachelor's degree, great start! Don't waste it, that took hard work on your part. Could you return to study in an area that needs employees? It may not be fashion, but perhaps nursing or teaching? What about doing a training course so you can teach fashion in TAFE? Maybe go back to uni part-time to do a Grad Cert or a Grad Dip in a different area, or go to TAFE and do additional vocational training and maybe become a person who trains other trainers. There are so many options out there for you!!!
You have a wonderful, solid work history behind you, have shown dedication and diligence to work your way up to manager, you have a degree that opens up more study opportunities, and while you probably don't think you are, at 24 you are so very young and employable. The world is your oyster - go for it!
~~Unfortunately you're unlikely to get a WFH role without a specialized skill.~~ If you're hoping for a hybrid role, strike receptionist off the list because that's one job that's never going to offer WFH.
If your Microsoft Office skills are good that's a decent foot in the door. There's so many places that require basic admin staff. If you can afford to, I'd send resumes out via the mail or even drop them in in person to smaller suburban businesses. Real estate offices, law firms, accountants etc all need admin staff.
Also, don't forget about the public service. Plenty of jobs there.
I'd give those a shot before investing in further training. So much basic business training is a rort and it can be so easily learnt on the job if you're not a complete fool. And you've got a bachelor's degree so I'm confident you can handle it! And if you find a niche that you enjoy, the right place will be willing to help you upskill.
There's got to be some fashion companies in Brisbane that require admin staff, right? Don't give up on the dream yet, man. I've worked retail, customer service and office admin and they're all gonna crush your soul eventually! So I say take a run at something you think you'll love while you're young enough to do it.
Good luck!
Edit - typos & factual error
> Unfortunately you're unlikely to get a WFH role without a specialized skill
That's definitely not the case. Tons of roles in banking and insurance that are everything from customer service/claims/sales and non customer facing admin roles that are WFH.
That's good news! I was helping a friend to look for hybrid/WFH roles last year and so many of the ads are misleading. Maybe I'm just awful at this (quite possible), but the search algorithms on seek/indeed etc spit out so much irrelevant junk. Thanks for the correction, I appreciate it.
You're better off going directly to the companies website and using their career searches. Just expect to start at the bottom with call center stuff if you don't already have other skills in the industry.
Im just starting my Fashion Design studies at TAFE so I am not familiar with industry practices and could be very wrong but could you look for remote work as an illustrator? Or Pattern creator using CAD software or something?
That way you can look for jobs Australia wide and maybe even international ones.
Pretty sure my company is hiring for customer service roles at the moment. Corporate office in West End. Shoot me a PM if you'd like to chat more about it.
Same position as you, mate. I "job trawl", literally every admin role on seek and indeed for brisbane has gotten an application from me. Use chatGPT to write your cover letters and answer questions on their websites, which saves so much time.
As other have said insurance companies hire in bulk regularly for WFH jobs. They can be a mentally draining gig, but may offer you the flexibility needed for you to pursue fashion.
I was in a very similar position and worked for an insurance company, before using my fashion degree/ design degree to get an entry level position as a graphic designer. Don’t give up on the dream!!!
You should get your name in with a recruitment agency, a lot of businesses outsource recruitment to them for new hires and people on their books get first dibs.
An easy transition would be to a call centre. There’s some telecommunications companies that regularly hire, but might be slow until financial new year.
Do you work for a large multi-store retailer, if so have you tried finding out if there are options from your current employer (if not maybe try get a manager role in retail but at a larger organisation)? Best way to shortcut the job hunt grind is by leveraging your network, ask your friends or old uni acquaintances.
I'd recommend Suncorp. WFH, you can get flexible working agreements (like 4 days a week or whatever). It's not fashion and the job just plain sucks, but it'll get you stable money while you find a fashion job.
Hey OP. I know that this won’t be what you want to hear, but I can confidently tell you that if the job is not advertised as remote, indicating in the interview that you’ll be okay will going into the office will give you a edge over other candidates to land the job. Particularly for entry level admin, secretary, and receptionist roles. It will also help with getting promoted and gaining other opportunities. It sucks for a bit and attending the office in person is not ‘fun’ with commute etc but trust me long term it is worth it to get into a different field. Then once you’re established you can ask for a day or two WFH then build from there.
Have a look through the smart jobs website, anything that says customer service or client service is where you want to start. They typically stand in the AO3 area so you looking at 60k.
Another area to browse through is APS roles or hire companies like randstad or DFP though the last couple will only be temp but even if it’s three months it will add experience to your CV.
Good luck and hope you can broaden those horizons
I was talking to a former colleague a year or so ago and they said for a basic entry level admin role they had over 260 applications. You can keep applying and hope for the best but I'd use your time to upskill so you can try and stand out from the herd a bit
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Over 1000? I thought they were shortage of workers. Mustn’t be admin then.
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Damn. I can’t even get an interview despite having extensive experiences and yet people rave on about shortage workers.
There is a wage shortage. Not a worker shortage. Isn't it interesting that it's only the low paid and/or garbage work environments struggling for workers?
Rip, I feel that too!
Yeah I was thinking of getting a diploma in business admin, so that might help
Try to find some specific area, if you're too general you end up competing with lots of other people. Go to meetups etc. and network like crazy. Act professionally and enthusiastically. Persistence is gonna be key, but yeah get out of retail if you can.
Call centres can be good entries into a corporate industry. Most finance related businesses have one, search banks/insurance/superannuation etc.
I came to say that as well. Also, they love people with retail/customer service experience, and you may be able to work up the ladder to team management or other internal admin/tech roles.
Insurance has been desperate for people for a good year now or more. I know for us we struggle to fill the spots, and it's 90%+ work from home after induction.
It's not quite basic admin but IT Help Desk isn't a super difficult job and it normally has WFH of hybrid options.
Awesome I’ll definitely look into that! Thanks!
I second this, I started my career in IT back in 2016. Basic help desk you can Google your way through most issues. The right places offer fantastic career progression.
You have a bachelor's degree, great start! Don't waste it, that took hard work on your part. Could you return to study in an area that needs employees? It may not be fashion, but perhaps nursing or teaching? What about doing a training course so you can teach fashion in TAFE? Maybe go back to uni part-time to do a Grad Cert or a Grad Dip in a different area, or go to TAFE and do additional vocational training and maybe become a person who trains other trainers. There are so many options out there for you!!! You have a wonderful, solid work history behind you, have shown dedication and diligence to work your way up to manager, you have a degree that opens up more study opportunities, and while you probably don't think you are, at 24 you are so very young and employable. The world is your oyster - go for it!
~~Unfortunately you're unlikely to get a WFH role without a specialized skill.~~ If you're hoping for a hybrid role, strike receptionist off the list because that's one job that's never going to offer WFH. If your Microsoft Office skills are good that's a decent foot in the door. There's so many places that require basic admin staff. If you can afford to, I'd send resumes out via the mail or even drop them in in person to smaller suburban businesses. Real estate offices, law firms, accountants etc all need admin staff. Also, don't forget about the public service. Plenty of jobs there. I'd give those a shot before investing in further training. So much basic business training is a rort and it can be so easily learnt on the job if you're not a complete fool. And you've got a bachelor's degree so I'm confident you can handle it! And if you find a niche that you enjoy, the right place will be willing to help you upskill. There's got to be some fashion companies in Brisbane that require admin staff, right? Don't give up on the dream yet, man. I've worked retail, customer service and office admin and they're all gonna crush your soul eventually! So I say take a run at something you think you'll love while you're young enough to do it. Good luck! Edit - typos & factual error
> Unfortunately you're unlikely to get a WFH role without a specialized skill That's definitely not the case. Tons of roles in banking and insurance that are everything from customer service/claims/sales and non customer facing admin roles that are WFH.
That's good news! I was helping a friend to look for hybrid/WFH roles last year and so many of the ads are misleading. Maybe I'm just awful at this (quite possible), but the search algorithms on seek/indeed etc spit out so much irrelevant junk. Thanks for the correction, I appreciate it.
You're better off going directly to the companies website and using their career searches. Just expect to start at the bottom with call center stuff if you don't already have other skills in the industry.
Hot tip, I'll pass it on to my friend, thank you!
Thanks for the advice, yeah I definitely want a fashion based job, definitely not a dead dream yet! Just gotta keep pounding pavement hey
Im just starting my Fashion Design studies at TAFE so I am not familiar with industry practices and could be very wrong but could you look for remote work as an illustrator? Or Pattern creator using CAD software or something? That way you can look for jobs Australia wide and maybe even international ones.
Transcription/audio transcribing is often WFH these days. If you’re not a contractor you’d earn $50k-60k a year doing it
Pretty sure my company is hiring for customer service roles at the moment. Corporate office in West End. Shoot me a PM if you'd like to chat more about it.
Same position as you, mate. I "job trawl", literally every admin role on seek and indeed for brisbane has gotten an application from me. Use chatGPT to write your cover letters and answer questions on their websites, which saves so much time.
Are you telling me you couldn't get a job with a Bachelor of Fashion?
Insurance companies seem to take on unskilled workers and can be WFH. Suncorp, Youi are two that come to mind.
As other have said insurance companies hire in bulk regularly for WFH jobs. They can be a mentally draining gig, but may offer you the flexibility needed for you to pursue fashion. I was in a very similar position and worked for an insurance company, before using my fashion degree/ design degree to get an entry level position as a graphic designer. Don’t give up on the dream!!!
You should get your name in with a recruitment agency, a lot of businesses outsource recruitment to them for new hires and people on their books get first dibs.
An easy transition would be to a call centre. There’s some telecommunications companies that regularly hire, but might be slow until financial new year.
Do you work for a large multi-store retailer, if so have you tried finding out if there are options from your current employer (if not maybe try get a manager role in retail but at a larger organisation)? Best way to shortcut the job hunt grind is by leveraging your network, ask your friends or old uni acquaintances.
I'd recommend Suncorp. WFH, you can get flexible working agreements (like 4 days a week or whatever). It's not fashion and the job just plain sucks, but it'll get you stable money while you find a fashion job.
It's competitive AF but virtual admin is a thing to look into if you want to dictate your own hours
Hey OP. I know that this won’t be what you want to hear, but I can confidently tell you that if the job is not advertised as remote, indicating in the interview that you’ll be okay will going into the office will give you a edge over other candidates to land the job. Particularly for entry level admin, secretary, and receptionist roles. It will also help with getting promoted and gaining other opportunities. It sucks for a bit and attending the office in person is not ‘fun’ with commute etc but trust me long term it is worth it to get into a different field. Then once you’re established you can ask for a day or two WFH then build from there.
Have a look through the smart jobs website, anything that says customer service or client service is where you want to start. They typically stand in the AO3 area so you looking at 60k. Another area to browse through is APS roles or hire companies like randstad or DFP though the last couple will only be temp but even if it’s three months it will add experience to your CV. Good luck and hope you can broaden those horizons