Divorcing with no marketable skills, help!

amother

Thu, Jun 19 2014, 7:30 am

Did any of you who got divorced do it without any marketable skills?

I am in that situation and dont know what to do. I never worked out of the house and I married before I finished any degree.

What can I do? Its just me and one child but I still need to live, buy food, heat in the winter etc.
I never thought this would happen, but it did and now Im wondering what I can work in to enable myself to find a flat to rent and still be able to also buy food.

ellie23

Thu, Jun 19 2014, 7:55 am

hugs to you! I am sorry for what you are going through...While I am not in your situation, I have some suggestions...
1. look into 'short-term' type certifications that yield immediate work. for example: jobs in technology, the beauty industry, nutrition/personal training. these jobs have very short training (under a year) and are in demand.
2. network! reach out to veryone you know and try to get connected to a job with training that way..perhaps an office position of some sort.
3. apply to receive any kind of government help you can qualify for while you are unemployed.

you CAN get through this....this is a temporary hard spot.

smiledr

Thu, Jun 19 2014, 10:28 am

What if you applied for a job that would train you? Jewish medical centers like Refuah or Ezra or oda can train you to be a receptionist, billet, dental assistant ect. The dental billers where I work make 25/hour . All these young women had no skills, were trained and gave great jobs w benefits. Do you live near any of these institutions?

Zehava

Thu, Jun 19 2014, 10:47 am

smiledr wrote:

Nope it looks like she lives in England

amother

Thu, Jun 19 2014, 10:50 am

Can I put you in touch with someone in England who may be able to advise you? She runs a support group for divorcing/divorced women.

Raisin

Thu, Jun 19 2014, 11:08 am

You can also get a low skills job while you work on completing a degree or training.

Maybe someone local to you can advise on what benefits are available to you as well.

amother

Thu, Jun 19 2014, 4:21 pm

smiledr wrote:

Im not in america so those centers wont help, but thank you for the thought.

amother

Thu, Jun 19 2014, 4:22 pm

Zehava wrote:

Nope it looks like she lives in England

I dont live in England either. I dont really want to give away where I am from right now.

amother

Thu, Jun 19 2014, 4:23 pm

Raisin wrote:

You can also get a low skills job while you work on completing a degree or training.

Maybe someone local to you can advise on what benefits are available to you as well.

Like what kind of low skilled jobs?

Raisin

Thu, Jun 19 2014, 4:45 pm

amother wrote:

Like what kind of low skilled jobs?

receptionist, possibly secretary in an office (assuming you know how to use a computer and how literate you are)
salesgirl in a shop
babysitting/childcare - if your child is not in school yet it is a good way to earn money since you can look after your kid as well.
telemarketing

Is there a frum agency that helps with jobs in your area?

Dolly Welsh

Thu, Jun 19 2014, 9:20 pm

This might be useful. It is about jobs available at Jewish communal organizations. You can search by area, and by type of organization.

They have clerical jobs.

It seems to be a free service. I have not used it.

https://jewishjobs.com/

singleagain

Fri, Jun 20 2014, 1:11 am

I bet you have more marketable skills than you realize. Did you shop and cook for your family? Did you clean and organize your house? Did you ever plan a Shabbat meal? Did you have guests over and need to prepare a room and accommodate food requirement? Did you teach your child things like how to go to the toilet and tie shoes? If you answered yes to even half of any one of those questions, you have skills. You just need to figure out how to transfer them from home atmosphere to work atmosphere.

Dolly Welsh

Fri, Jun 20 2014, 2:34 am

Right.

And you have secretarial skills, office skills. Your post was perfectly typed on a computer, in excellent English.

You can work in an office.

That has to do with promptness, loyalty, accuracy, positive-mindedness, identifying with the place's needs and functions, honesty, discretion, and making notes for yourself.

You have all that.

Look the part and you will be fine.

Ask your lady friends if they know any openings anywhere. Say you adore computers and love to learn new applications. Each place has its own little methods.

Sarah f

Fri, Jun 20 2014, 9:21 am

I don't know your personal circumstances but usually in the court process the "civil divorce" usually includes child maintenance as well as a maintenance for you, although you probably will have to work still it may take some pressure off you, speak to your lawyer whose helping you with the legal side of things and see what can be gotten!

SRS

Sun, Jun 22 2014, 11:43 am

A friend of mine, before divorcing, went through a technical skills class and started a job before completing the divorce. I think they were amicable enough to work on this together for the sake of the common good.

naomi2

Sun, Jun 22 2014, 4:48 pm

If you are not divorced yet and are not in a dangerous marriage, you may want to consider going to school or training in somethig before you separate. That would probably be your best chance to be stable, independant and rebuild your life.