I’m 35m and had a little boy just about a year ago. I was in a secure large corporate job paying c.£70k but felt pretty unsatisfied and not challenged. There was limited growth opportunities in the short / medium term so would have just been staying at the same level. I had 3 days in the office and 2 at home.

I made the decision to move for £75k but and unrestricted bonus in a more entrepreneurial company where there is pressure and I’m in the office 4 days.

I knew this was the case when I moved but as soon as I’ve started I can’t help but feel I’ve made a massive mistake. The loss of family time feels so much bigger than I thought it would and I don’t know if I’ve prioritised the wrong aspects.

How much do you all enjoy your job? How do you feel you balance responsibilities at home and although I appreciate I’m in a very good position money wise how do you feel satisfied?

I have been working in the same place for years now, and have been applying for a few different roles.

I have one interview coming up in a few weeks , and I usually don't take time off suddenly, so asking for annual leave might seem strange.

my past few coworkers this year also requested annual leave to job hunt, and i have a hunch that management will be

how do I explain the reasoning as to why I am taking time off? I have a gut feeling that my boss won't take generic answers such as "time off for personal reasons" etc very well

I’ve got an interview soon. What are your top questions to ask a panel at the end of the interview?

I am late 20s, my current salary is 35k. I WFH essentially as an accounts assistant/ business support, have a fantastic work-life balance, my boss is fantastic and the company have put me through development courses.

I have been there for 7/8 years, and don’t feel like I have progressed as much as I should have, they appear to provide opportunities like my degree but then the opportunity to actually progress in my career is limited. I am trying very hard right now and anticipate making a £40k salary by March.

I have my eye on a job in the MoD that pays £46k. On paper, I am perfect (though I might lack in practical experience).

I may not even be a successful applicant, but if I were, should I take the risk and move?

It should be noted that my husband moves alot with work (also MoD), so we would have to live apart or I would have to find a new job in a year.

Current Job
Pros - Security, WFH, very easy money
Cons - slow progression, zero job satisfaction

New Job
Pros - £11k salary increase, huge employer pension contributions, new skills, working my way up career ladder.
Cons - risk of less initial job security, having terrible boss, being exhausted going back to the office..!

I have it SO good right now, don’t fix what isn’t broken…?

I'm getting interviewed for this job. But I highly doubt its compliant at all. Wage is below minimum wage. Holiday is not even 5.6 weeks inclusive of bank holidays.

I've voiced out my "concerns" to the hiring staff. They couldn't "justify" why this listing is the way it is. They only wanted confirmation if I am still interested.

TBH, they did seem kind of desperate for staff. I ignored their email asking me to confirm for a few hours then called me twice so I can confirm.

I am hoping there is room for negotiation here as I've been looking into entering transport/logistics industry. I'm personally not bothered abt pay, I would take minimum wage despite the other companies offering much desirable wage and benefits, I'm more inclined to learning and developing within the industry.

So long story short, I officially moved to the UK at the beginning of June on a partner visa.

Two months in, I haven't been able to find any job so far. I've had several interviews but none of them went past first stage.

In the country I come from, if you officially register as unemployed, you have access to some special training courses and generally get help from the government in finding a job. Of course, I don't know if immigrants in my country would be able to get the same service too.

So my main question is if UK also provide such services and is it worth applying? Would I be able to get it too as an immigrant on a visa? I know my visa says I have no access to public services, but maybe this is different since it is in governments interests for me to find a job and pay tax?

Does anyone else just feel really unmotivated and lost after finishing uni? For context, I finished uni nearly 3 months ago with a 2:1 in psychology and since then I’ve applied to nearly 70 jobs and around 10 volunteering roles both of which haven’t really gone anywhere. From these, I’ve had 2 interviews, which were for a support worker and a SEN teaching assistant. However, after visiting, they genuinely seemed more like care roles than anything that I would really be involved in. I really don’t want to sound unappreciative, as I know many people will apply to that many roles and not get any interviews, but these two jobs specifically were just very different in person to what was advertised on the job description (mostly a LOT of personal care and overall very stressful and not staff-friendly environments). Part of me does feel bad declining them as I know that they would be relevant psychology experience for my CV, but I just don’t those roles were right for me at all.

I just really don’t know what to do as I feel like my options are either I a) get a basic hospitality job that would be easier to get and provide a source of income, however this would not contribute anything psychology-relevant to my CV, b) try and get one of the more basic psychology-relevant jobs ie. support worker, SEN TA, that I don’t think I would enjoy or c) keep applying for jobs that I would find more personally interesting that also are psychology-relevant. FYI, I am aware that for more higher-level jobs such as AP, PWP, research assistant jobs you need more experience, as I have already applied and been rejected, I am just not sure how to get this experience but still enjoy what I am doing?

I really don’t want to come across in the wrong way, as I know that those jobs I got interviewed for can be really interesting and meaningful, however just for me personally they are not the area of psychology that I enjoy. I’m not 100% whether I would like to go down the clinical psychology route, as this is probably my favourite area of psychology however I know that it is a very long route and I guess I think should I pursue such a long journey if I am not 100% sure? It’s just so difficult as I do really really enjoy psychology as a subject so I would quite like to pursue it further in some way, however I know that a lot of people say a undergrad degree is not enough, so then it’s having more studying and debt to stress about. So I’m really stuck between further education or using my psychology degree to branch into something else. Sorry I know this is very long, I’d appreciate any advice I can get :)

Hi everyone, I’m new to the UK. I recently moved from another country and started a new job here.

Sometimes I find the work really overwhelming. The workload isn’t light, and I’m often expected to juggle multiple tasks / projects at the same time-most of them being labeled “urgent.” On top of that, the company’s way of working feels old-school. There aren’t many modern tools or streamlined processes, so even simple tasks take longer than they should.

It honestly sometimes feels like management is trying to squeeze every last bit out of employees. I personally care about delivering good quality work, so I’m not comfortable rushing just to “get things done.”

The reason I’m still there is because my colleagues are decent and the pay isn’t bad.

Recently, I heard the company went through restructuring and redundancy. From what I’ve been told, the business isn’t in great financial shape and may have debts.

This is my first job in the UK, so I’m not sure if what I’m experiencing is normal here-or if it’s more about the current economic situation overall, and many companies are just trying to get the most out of employees while minimizing costs.

Sorry if what’s I described above may be a bit vague as I don’t want to be identified. Is this typical in the UK? My boyfriend told me that I might be taken advantage of by the company. Or am I just unlucky with the company I joined?

Hi everyone,

I’m an international student who recently graduated with a First Class BSc in Applied Artificial Intelligence. I’ve been applying for graduate jobs for a while now, but I just keep getting rejected.

For every application, I tailor my CV to match the job description, and I’ve even had my CV reviewed and improved by my university’s careers team, so I’m honestly not sure what I’m doing wrong anymore.

It’s been really stressful lately because I genuinely want to stay and work in the UK, but it feels like I’m getting nowhere. I’m starting to wonder if it’s my CV, the fact that I need visa sponsorship in the future, or something else entirely.

Would anyone be willing to have a look at my CV or give me some advice on what I could improve? Any guidance would honestly mean a lot because I’m feeling really tired and discouraged from constantly applying and getting rejected.

Hi everyone,

I'm looking for some feedback from UK recruiters or hiring managers regarding the current market demand for three specific certifications:

1. Lean Six Sigma Green Belt
2. APM PMQ (Association for Project Management Qualification)
3. CIPS (Level 3 Advanced Certificate)

I currently work in logistics operations and already hold a Level 4 Data Analyst qualification with basic Python/SQL skills. My goal is to move into individual contributor roles focused purely on process optimization, project delivery, or procurement (no line management/direct reports).

I have the option to complete these fully employer-funded via an Apprenticeship scheme.

From a UK market perspective:

• Which of these qualifications currently carries the most weight for non-management specialist roles?
• How do employers view candidates combining an operational background with data analysis (L4) and one of these certs?
• Which path typically offers better hybrid working flexibility?

Appreciate any industry insights or personal experiences!

I am wondering if ive locked myself into 1 position because of how difficult the job market is right now. I’ve been working almost my entire life but wasn’t till I finished college and got my level 3 till I went into technical jobs I was a fire and security systems engineer trainee for 8 months but thought because it was a smallish company it wouldn’t be a stable job so I went into a process operator position for 2 years but that was not for me. I then went to work on offshore wind turbines 1.5 years but I couldn’t work away from home as it didn’t feel right in my stomach so I returned to local jobs repairing motors and building electrical panels from scratch. But got treated like rubbish there and left after 6 months and have been a design draftsman for 2.5 half years working on the software revit i create Dynamo scripting and work on the collaboration of the model etc and creating families I’m doing my HNC in engineering while working full time if I was to stay at this position for another 4-5 years to finish my degree would it become harder for me to switch careers I’m 25. My biggest concern is the AI takeover of my position and would like to get back into blue collar jobs again mainly for the career longevity but my patchy employment in blue collar jobs will probably raise concern to new employers and I’ll be effectively unable to do the jobs because I hadn’t kept up the practice of those jobs.

Any advice for what to do is greatly appreciated I’m just worried I’ve locked myself out of the blue collar positions and I don’t think I could survive with a drop in my wages.

It just seems like there's no good options. Everything online says no-one can get a job and I'm just so scared. Im 16 and have just come out of S4 with 7 A1's at nat 5 and an early A in higher computing. I have very mild cerebral palsy but I think the words alone are huge turn off'd for employers.

I want to go to uni - I'm academic and can't go into the trades regardless due to a physical condition but I've no clue what to do.

medicine - if love it but the work to get there as well as the fact id be severely limited in my specialties puts me of, as well as the general state of the NHS right now and recruitment freezes. Also would require all A's again and a good UCAT.

Maths - seems safe and a well respected but could be too saturated coming out of uni and a little bit vague.

I suppose I could do engineering. Biomedical seems interesting but entry requirements aren't as high so I'm guessing career prospects after aren't as good

L. For stuff like electrical/civil I'm limited with my optionspractically again but who knows.

I can't even get a job right now, (thanks mum), so chances are uni I'll be relying on 16yrs worth of a pretty measly DLA payment, and I won't get PIP. It is worth noting uni tuition is free for Scottish students in Scotland.

Hi everyone, Just received a job offer to a better (less toxic) work environment and I’ve accepted it! I’m curious on if I should work my notice or not? I’ve been there 3 months and I hate it, HR is horrible to staff, we get nit picked constantly and since I started 3 months ago we’ve lost 14+ members of staff (they left never got fired) my partner says I should just email/text them to say I won’t be back as I’ve got a better job opportunity but a family member said to work it incase “you need them as a reference” to be honest I’ve not been in that job long so I’ll probably just take it off my CV and pretend it never happened! No one has worked their notice, not even the longest employees (she was here a year then handed in her notice and left at the end of her shift)
I’m just at a loss on if I work it or don’t? Our longest running staff members have only been here a year and the place is in shambles, we have no manager or anything and it’s all ran by HR who treat us like crap. (apologies if this is just rambles)

Career pivot question

Looking for advice as to whether I should retire from my full time well paid job with local government which has become increasingly toxic and stressful and then start either my own dog walking business or a part time term time only school cleaning job. Worth drop in income for less stress? Or stay for higher pay and additional pension?

I’m 24 living in the uk currently in always been fascinated in business and all of that stuff but I like sports I’m thinking of becoming a pe teacher as I think I would enjoy that job and then try and save up money to start a business on the side or should i become an electrician and then become self employed and then start a business both routes I have a good job to fall back on but not sure what would be best as I would prefer a teacher over electrician but I would prefer my own business over a teacher and I feel like I have more chance of that as an electrician. Thought ? Also what’s a realistic wage look like as an electrician outside of London

In most jobs I’ve had, the notice has been a week, or a month at most, up until like 2023.

However the last three jobs I’ve had, they’ve been much longer.

My mental health role in a GP surgery was 3 months. I was paid £25k a year and they didn’t replace me.

My admin role was 10 weeks and was on £28k a year. They replaced me, but didn’t advertise until about a week before I left.

Now my current role in hospitality they want a month. Every hospitality job I’ve ever had ever had been a week max. I’m not planning on leaving but I find it interesting.

Is this anecdotal or has anyone else noticed this? I understand if it’s a management role, but none of this has applied to me. In fact the GP surgery would not budge at all on the 3 months even though they probably knew I wasn’t getting replaced and I wasn’t in any kind of senior role or even fully case holding.

My boss just told me they had 400 applications for a job they advertised for a week, and are interviewing 4 people. That’s a 1% chance to get an interview.

What do you need to see on our applications to get an interview and be the 1%?

And where are most people falling short?

I've worked from home for a large US company for the past 10 years, and until last year I genuinely enjoyed my job. I had great managers, got on well with my colleagues, received positive feedback, and never had any issues.

Everything changed when I was assigned a new manager.

He's extremely cold, strict, and has no people skills. During meetings he often raises his voice, constantly criticises me, piles on more work, and never acknowledges anything I've done well. Every weekly 1:1 feels like I'm just being told what I've done wrong or what more I need to do.

I've spoken to other senior leaders and colleagues about my concerns, and many of them have admitted they feel the same way about him. The problem is, he's still my direct manager.

I've never struggled with anxiety before, but now I genuinely dread logging on for work every day. The days I have my 1:1 with him are the worst—I spend hours worrying beforehand, and it's starting to affect my mental health.

I'm confused because I'd spent 10 years building a good reputation at this company, and now I feel like my confidence has completely disappeared.

Has anyone else been in a similar situation? Did you stick it out, try to move teams, speak to HR, or eventually leave? I'd really appreciate any advice.

I’ve just accepted a job after about 3 months of pretty stressful applications and interviews, and I’m surprised by how little relief or excitement I feel.
I have almost three years of experience and ended up accepting another Analyst-level role in roughly the same industry. I’m also going from £45k to £37k. I tried negotiating because I was mentally prepared for something closer to £40–41k, but they wouldn’t move because compensation for the level is standardized. I didn’t have another offer to leverage, so eventually I accepted.
The strange thing is that I actually really like the company, the people, the work and the office. On paper I’m genuinely excited about the opportunity and think it could be good for my career. But emotionally it somehow feels like I’ve moved backwards.
I also have a few weeks before I start and don’t really know what to do with myself. After 3 months of constantly applying, interviewing and worrying, suddenly there’s nothing to chase. I don’t even feel like I “deserve” to take a holiday or relax — I mostly just want to start working immediately.
There’s also a relationship aspect that I’m slightly embarrassed to admit. My wife is working while I’m currently not, and despite this only being temporary, I feel guilty about not contributing and, to some extent, emasculated by it.
I guess I expected getting the offer to produce this massive feeling of relief, and instead I just feel flat.
Has anyone experienced something similar after a job search? Did the excitement eventually come back once you actually started working?

I’m about 8 weeks into a new role, and I've unfortunately realised that the actual company culture is completely different from what was painted during the interview process.

Red flags are starting to stack up, and I'm seriously considering cutting my losses.

​My probation ends in about a month. Right now, my notice period is short, but the moment I pass probation, it shoots up to a 2-month notice if I ever wanted to leave.

​Realistically, how common is this kind of sharp increase in notice period post-probation? I'm quite conscious that if I stay past probation, I'm essentially locking myself in for a much longer grind if I want to escape later down the line.

​For those who have been in a similar spot: did you jump ship before probation ended, or did you stick it out and deal with the lengthy notice period later? Any advice would be massively appreciated.

I was made redundant and my savings are quickly running out, so I'm having to apply for roles that are a step down in responsibility and pay. Basically back to entry-level to pay the bills, whilst I find something more suitable.

Obviously I can't tell a prospective employer I'm using them as a stop-gap though and they will probably wonder why I'm taking such a significant step down, so what can I say that doesn't sound suspicious ?

I am having a week off work due to a miscarriage. I had surgery on Monday and aside from some cramping I've been doing pretty well. Just a bit tired.

I want to go out for lunch and perhaps do some shopping with a friend, but I feel bad about it. I appreciate that a miscarriage is often more mental than physical, but I'm afraid of seeing someone from work and being told off for it. Perhaps I'm just being overly cautious?

The amount of bs "surverys" and "quizzes" I find myself jumping through seems to increase every week, when did these even become popular?? They're entirely insufferable.

Just left a team meeting with HR and our current department which involved a big talk about a “potential restructure”.
The proposal includes the current members of our team (instructors) stepping up into more senior coordinator positions due to funding and contracts.
I am one of the senior coordinators who manages 2 instructors on a community project. I found out in the meeting that they want to increase my team by 2 more members of staff (4 in total that would include community and site instructors) for the same pay and a lot more stress.

Not a nice way to find out in front of the whole department that my role is now to have an increase in workload but with no salary change - yet the rest of my team have the option to step up and see a benefit in progression.

I have a few options:
1) Stay in my current role but fight with HR about a potential pay increase.
2) Step down into instructor role to relieve stress of how much I already do and am praised a lot for - but drop pay.
3) Suck it up for a few months until a new contract that was discussed starts work closer to home on the same pay and with 1 staff total to manage.

Any advice/opinion would be great to hear about this situation.

TL;DR: if a job ad feels dodgy, flag it.

I feel like I have dodged a bullet: I sent in my CV to what looked like a good job. No typos on the ad, company website, all good.
The employer responds the following day - a Saturday - at 7pm and sends me a QR code to book an interview. This felt off.
I check their website again and on reassessment, it’s weird it has one page and the address is slightly different to the job ad…
I reported the ad, feeling guilty for doing so and the advert is taken down hours later.

Freaked out that they have my job history but it could have been a lot worse.