At a career crossroads, looking for advice

[intothevoid]

Looking for advice on what to do now. I guess I could hire a career coach and yes I am definitely considering that. but I wanted to try this forum to see if i get any fruitful responses.

I have been a Administrator for 15 yrs. I am 35. I have a Bachelor's Degree in HR but I never ever got a HR job when I graduated. I tried and tried, still no hits on HR. I kept getting Assistant roles and I took them as at the time, the salary was better then my previous job, so now ... all this has resulted to be accumulating 15 years experience of being someone's assistant. and I absolutely hate it. Its just being someone's slave. a dog on a leash. doing meaningless work such as sending out MS calendar invites, amending them, booking flights and making Visa applications.. basically what I do for myself and my family. I am an office wife.

I am desperate to gain professional experience. something that has a career path... something for me to climb, associate level, manager level, director level etc.. it seems like entering HR is no longer an option, i have to set at a pathetic salary but I cannot afford that, i have a son to feed.

does anyone have any ideas what other roles i can transition into without taking such a big hit to my salary?

With 15y exp, surely you shouldve absorbed significant higher level knowledge long time ago. Why didnt u use that knowledge to do more complex stuff and prove that u can work at an advanced professional level?

I have seen some assistants become Chief of Staff / Project Mgr solely due to the amt of business knowledge they absorb from their bosses. And not due to nepotism as well. When working with them, they are genuinely sharp thinkers.

If you're interested, can speak to IBF career coach, it's free. You can consider HR roles in Finance industry.

IBF has been appointed by the National Jobs Council as the Jobs Development Partner (JDP) for financial services sector. As JDP, IBF’s role includes the provision of career advisory and employment facilitation services to individuals in the financial industry. These services are available to Singaporeans and Singapore Permanent Residents who are existing financial professionals or those who are making a career switch to the financial industry.

What is the purpose of seeing a Career Adviser? What will be covered during the career advisory session?
The IBF Careers Connect offers tailored services to support individuals in developing their careers and landing jobs in the financial industry. These include:
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Labour market trends and occupational information;
Tailored job search strategies and support for job interviews; and
Identify programmes to enhance employability
Connect with other finance professionals

Will I be guaranteed a job if I seek help from IBF Careers Connect?
IBF Careers Connect is not a recruitment agency. Career planning and development is the continual assessment and planning of the skills and knowledge to make informed decisions in the next career move. Individuals must take ownership of their own job-hunting and career planning skills. Our career advisers will partner with you to guide you through your career journey.

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[intothevoid]

thanks for your responses. I actually never felt connected to the industry that I am in. Hence, Chief of Staff position does not interest me.

However, I like the idea of building teams, hence, working with line managers and helping them with their staffing needs, excites me. I understand its not all rainbows and sunshine in any field (let alone HR). I wish I got the chance at a HR role, I had applied relentlessly, to no avail.

Thanks for the advice regarding IBF career coach, I will def be researching this option.

Originally Posted by intothevoid

thanks for your responses. I actually never felt connected to the industry that I am in. Hence, Chief of Staff position does not interest me.

However, I like the idea of building teams, hence, working with line managers and helping them with their staffing needs, excites me. I understand its not all rainbows and sunshine in any field (let alone HR). I wish I got the chance at a HR role, I had applied relentlessly, to no avail.

Thanks for the advice regarding IBF career coach, I will def be researching this option.

What’s your current salary range like? There’s actually quite a number of HR openings on careers@gov.

Originally Posted by intothevoid

Looking for advice on what to do now. I guess I could hire a career coach and yes I am definitely considering that. but I wanted to try this forum to see if i get any fruitful responses.

I have been a Administrator for 15 yrs. I am 35. I have a Bachelor's Degree in HR but I never ever got a HR job when I graduated. I tried and tried, still no hits on HR. I kept getting Assistant roles and I took them as at the time, the salary was better then my previous job, so now ... all this has resulted to be accumulating 15 years experience of being someone's assistant. and I absolutely hate it. Its just being someone's slave. a dog on a leash. doing meaningless work such as sending out MS calendar invites, amending them, booking flights and making Visa applications.. basically what I do for myself and my family. I am an office wife.

I am desperate to gain professional experience. something that has a career path... something for me to climb, associate level, manager level, director level etc.. it seems like entering HR is no longer an option, i have to set at a pathetic salary but I cannot afford that, i have a son to feed.

does anyone have any ideas what other roles i can transition into without taking such a big hit to my salary?

You need to find your own niche; use your experience + knowledge to carve out an area where you can sell your skills, then look for opportunities. As you yourself know, you need to bring something to the table to get paid for your experience....if you cannot even convince yourself, then why should anyone pay hire you instead of say a fresh grad.

If you want, you can explore some of the programs by WSG:
.wsg.gov.sg/home

Originally Posted by intothevoid

Looking for advice on what to do now. I guess I could hire a career coach and yes I am definitely considering that. but I wanted to try this forum to see if i get any fruitful responses.

I have been a Administrator for 15 yrs. I am 35. I have a Bachelor's Degree in HR but I never ever got a HR job when I graduated. I tried and tried, still no hits on HR. I kept getting Assistant roles and I took them as at the time, the salary was better then my previous job, so now ... all this has resulted to be accumulating 15 years experience of being someone's assistant. and I absolutely hate it. Its just being someone's slave. a dog on a leash. doing meaningless work such as sending out MS calendar invites, amending them, booking flights and making Visa applications.. basically what I do for myself and my family. I am an office wife.

I am desperate to gain professional experience. something that has a career path... something for me to climb, associate level, manager level, director level etc.. it seems like entering HR is no longer an option, i have to set at a pathetic salary but I cannot afford that, i have a son to feed.

does anyone have any ideas what other roles i can transition into without taking such a big hit to my salary?

You need to find your own niche; use your experience + knowledge to carve out an area where you can sell your skills, then look for opportunities. As you yourself know, you need to bring something to the table to get paid for your experience....if you cannot even convince yourself, then why should anyone pay hire you instead of say a fresh grad.

If you want, you can explore some of the programs by WSG:
.wsg.gov.sg/home