Hi!

Anonymous

July 3,2022 at 10:11PM UTC

Welcome to Fairygodboss!

We’re the largest online career community helping women achieve their career goals. Gain access to articles, jobs, events, and a supportive network of women and allies. Membership is free, always.

Hi! Just joined the group, excited to be here with some more of the "forgotten" generation lol... Great name for the group, BTW.

I'm in such a strange position - I decided to go back to college at 45 so I have this wild gap on my resume. It's exciting though, to have a full scholarship to Smith College, but at the same time, it's making the job hunt a little challenging.

"So, what have you been doing the past two years?"

"Oh, you know, writing academic papers and groaning when fellow students young enough to be my children talk about what they think the 90s might have been like while emulating what they think I might have wore then."

Why women love us:

Daily articles on career topics
Jobs at companies dedicated to hiring more women
Advice and support from an authentic community
Events that help you level up in your career
Free membership, always

8 comments

Share your insight

Join an authentic community that helps women support each other at work. Share your professional experience or ask for advice — you can even post anonymously.

8 Comments

Join the conversation

AnonymousJuly 3,2022 at 10:23PM UTC
Apply aggressively and frequently. Pay attention to the critical key words in the job details and use them in your resume and cover letter. Thirdly use those same key words to draw linkage to your knowledge, skillset and abilities. They use software to check for them and to weed out packages that don't. Good Luck!
Kristie WhiteJuly 3,2022 at 10:24PM UTC
Congrats on continuing to enjoy learning! Hats off!
I think anyone you interview with should be intrigued with your choice - it says so much about your joy of life and your engagement and confidence. Good luck!
Kim CallinanJuly 4,2022 at 2:15AM UTC
Congrats; this is an employee's job market, so I can't imagine you will have any trouble finding a job. I think the fact that you have a quest for knowledge is a good thing, and employers will see that. Good luck!
Crystal HowellJuly 4,2022 at 12:36PM UTC
The new term is Career Break list the years, professional student and domestic engineer duties.
Domestic engineeer is homemaker that worked inside the home, taking care of kids, accounting(paying bills), chef(cooking meals, etc.
We work in many ways and get rewarded in other ways than a paycheck. Good Luck
ChrishoggJuly 4,2022 at 12:54PM UTC
Sheesh ... you young people are always complaining about something. :)
While I (nor anyone else) cannot know for sure where your time at Smith (congratulations by the way) fits into the grand scheme of things, I would think that your going to school at this time in your life would set you head and shoulders above your peers.
And as I see it, this can be framed as either a "career break" or a "career transition" and I would certainly frame it as the latter.
Good for you ... nothing but positive.
AnonymousJuly 6,2022 at 2:50PM UTC
i'll be 50 next year when i collect the degree and while i LOOK young, I honestly don't know that i could stand working in an office of Gen Z lol... I feel like I already did my time with that the 3 years of smith.
Cynthia Armistead NewmanJuly 5,2022 at 1:17PM UTC
Congrats on the scholarship! I've just gone back to school at 55, so I can relate.
I'd put in a brief note about pursuing your education and move on. It isn't so odd to have gaps anymore. I have 12-year gap from when I took a "Mommy break." When I first returned to work, I had that listed on my resume and LinkedIn with mention of my transferable skills and the volunteering and consulting I did to keep my technical skills fresh.
Sara TalcottJuly 28,2022 at 1:58PM UTC
Happy to see another Western Mass GenX here!