I'm in need of advice.

Anonymous

February 6,2023 at 8:29PM UTC

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I'm in need of advice. I’m trying to transition back into the full-time, professional workforce after working part-time hourly jobs for years while raising my three kids. Before kids, I was a pharmaceutical engineer for a decade (I have a degree in mechanical engineering).

The things I've done to help with this transition are:

-Had my resume professionally written and reviewed multiple times

-Worked with a Career Coach

-Taken multiple career and personality assessment tests including the Gallup Clifton Strengths and Meyers Briggs. They all recommend engineering or a tech field based on my personality and core strengths.

-Optimized my LinkedIn profile based on advice from LinkedIn experts and my career coach’s recommendations.

-I’ve taken dozens of tech courses and earned multiple tech certifications in the past year (e.g. Data Analysis, Marketing, SEO etc…) and I continue to take at least one course per month relevant to the tech industry. My skills are current.

-I’ve participated in the LinkedIn best practices for networking.

-I’ve spoken to dozens of recruiters only to never hear back from them again.

-I’ve applied to 100s of jobs in which I met at least 90% of the requirements.

-I’ve tailored my resume for each job application.

-I've networked among friends and family.

- I have been doing freelance projects to gain experience in the tech area I'm interested in and to build a work portfolio.

Despite all of this, I’ve only gotten 2 interviews in the last year+. I fall into the 'over 40' demographic as well as the ‘woman’ category (double whammy) which is highly underrepresented in the tech industry. I’ve done extensive research on diversity in the tech industry and women over 40 make up less than 3% of tech workers. My application response rate has been less than half that.

I’ve been rejected for positions because I met all job requirements except for one. All of the boxes I did check were overlooked because of the one I didn’t check. It seems if you don’t have X years of experience with every single requirement on the job app, then you’re out. Not even an interview. Whatever happened to transferable skills? Technical ability? I also have a unique aptitude for learning new concepts quickly. Last year I learned three programming languages in three months, earned two certifications in 6 weeks, built an entire website for someone in two days using an application I never used before and was not familiar with, and many more examples like this. If I don't know something then I take the initiative to learn it. But this quality does not seem to be valued by companies. It seems they only want every box checked up front, no exceptions.

I feel like I'm swimming against the current with this. But tech is a natural fit for me because of my experience and skill set. Plus I enjoy it and I'm good at it. I don't know how much longer I can - or should - continue on this path because I am now supporting my kids by myself and I can't do this with my current job. The pharma industry has dried up in my area and I've already applied at the few small pharma companies that remain here for jobs I was more than qualified to do and they ghosted me. What am I missing? Is there more that I can do? I welcome any suggestions, comments, or critiques. I’m feeling defeated but not ready to give up even if it means convincing my friends to have a 'bring your friend to work day' (or month) so that I can learn more about the jobs I'm interested in doing.

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Stephanie CayneFebruary 6,2023 at 11:47PM UTC
Making the choice to be home to raise your kids was likely not an easy one. So, I commend you on making that choice - your children reaped the benefits of having mom home with them. Unfortunately, the world changed drastically while you were home and it's no easy feat to get back into it. I hear you! So, I'm going to make some suggestions... 1. perhaps you can volunteer in a setting where you can develop (strengthen) relevant skills; 2. take a class or two in your field - whether you want to accept it or not, this is not the same work environment you left; and 3. network - keep your eyes open for conference, workshops, etc. - get yourself re-acquainted with the field.
It's not easy. I know. But you are an educated woman, and you can make it work. We look forward to hearing about your next success!
Annetta MosesFebruary 7,2023 at 12:44AM UTC
You mentioned you have a degree. Does the school have a career center that can help you? Sometimes times there are companies that like hiring from certain schools. You may be able to find someone who based on your schedule connection will give you an interview.
Can you find a temp agency and obtain 1 to 3 congrats of 3 to 6 months to build current work experience?
Given your skill and the length of time you were out of the workforce, are you applying for the appropriate level? Perhaps applying for a lower level were the expectations for years of experience is less may help you. Look for companies that value what you have. Can you identify companies who have stated they want to increase women in tech positions or companies with favorable maternity leave that can understand a career break to raise children. Is there a women's conference with recruiting. I know that there is an organization Socirty of Women Engineers, perhaps thay can help.
Good luck.
Cynthia Armistead NewmanFebruary 10,2023 at 1:20PM UTC
There are multiple reentry programs for Moms in your shoes. I can't recall where they are at the moment, but I've read about them from corporate sponsors and non-profit organizations. Have you searched for/considered those?
I returned to the corporate world in 2013 after taking 12 years off to homeschool my daughter. I was well over 40 (I'm 56 now). I had done a lot of volunteering while I wasn't doing paid work, so I had current references. The references definitely helped!
AnonymousFebruary 10,2023 at 5:52PM UTC
If your industry has dried up where you are locally look for companies that support remote work. Find an agency that specializes in your industry and see if they have any temporary placement services. Often temp to perm is a way to go. See about short term assignments and reach out to your network and openly post what is going on to linkedin. Being vocal may get you more noticed and the market at the moment is taking 3-6 months for the AVERAGE job seeker in any category. Don't give up check all the boxes, write cover letters and think outside of your industry as well. You may be passing up on things that will be interesting and available with a more wide approach.
QFebruary 10,2023 at 5:53PM UTC
It sounds like you've done "all the things", so to speak. Staying current with new certifications. Practicing your skills outside of work requirements. You already have a degree. You already have experience.
The only two pieces of advice I have to give, as a fellow woman in tech who is over 40, are this:
Research to find employers that champion diversity and are actively seeking to include more women in their senior tech roles. These are the employers to look into for work.
And address the gap. You mention you've already worked with a career coach on your resume and LinkedIn. I assume this means addressing the elephant in the room which is the gap in work. The best way to address that is to take the transferable skills from that time and make sure you include that as part of your resume. Don't just show a giant gap of doing nothing. You didn't do "nothing." Leadership. Management. Those tech skills you already had which it does not seem you have at all lost. Did you do any volunteer work in that time with your kids that furthered tech training potentially for them? All that is relevant.
Yes, the world changed while you were out as another person said. It didn't change for the better in some ways. Women in tech are disproportionately overlooked or downsized. Women in senior tech roles are even less represented than they probably were back in the day. This is certainly my personal experience. We tend to drop out around the 40+ age because that glass ceiling is often more like cement.
You still have the skills. They are still practical and useful skills in today's work environment. Aim for an employer that isn't solely tech focused. Most big companies and firms now have a solid in-house tech component and you can avoid some of the bro culture stigmas and age stigmas that way. Think healthcare companies. Finance. Etc.
AnonymousFebruary 11,2023 at 4:45PM UTC
I appreciate this excellent summary and EVERYTHING you've done to make yourself marketable. You are a winner. But do not ASSUME that you're not getting called because you are over 40 or female. Have you seen all of the layoffs on LinkedIn? yep, there are thousands out there with tons of current/fulltime experience who are jobless. the economy is a mess right now. My best advice is to keep being your excellent self and perhaps accept (and/or apply for) a lower level/entry type position...to get yourself up and running. I'm not suggesting that your expectations are unrealistic, but it's dog-eat-dog out there right now-- too many others are jobless and looking (also). Start lower, go slower, and you'll get an offer and ramp up to speed in no time at all. You're that kind of person! (send us an update when you get an offer! we're all rooting for you!)
AnonymousFebruary 11,2023 at 4:48PM UTC
crazy suggestion here maybe, but the schools are dying for STEM teachers and in my state, you don't have to be certified- we are so short, that you can teach and work on your certification over a few years (online, etc)... Some high school/parochial school or CC would love to have you!!!!! Teaching Tech or something related!