I left employment 11 years ago to raise my daughters. Prior to that I worked for 10 years in fundraising gradually gaining responsibility and ultimately working at the executive level, albeit with a small non-profit. Now I am looking to re-enter the field. I recently sent my resume to a school for a position that was similar to one that I had held in the past. I did not even get a call to interview. I called to asked why they didn't call under the guise of wanting to know how I could improve my resume or marketability. I was initially told that they wanted people with experience in a specific software, which I had. They offered to review my resume and get back to me but I never heard back. Have your had issues with gaps in employment? How have you dealt with them.
Thank you so much for all the response. Keep them coming! I have a job offer from a former employer but the job is less senior and I'd be reporting to a woman who is 20 years younger than me and has significantly less experience. Ouch! But I'll be the first to admit that my experience is dated at this point. Thanks again for all your comments. They are helping me to swallow my pride and take advantage of this opportunity.
I have had to rebuild everything since I went back to work. Even with graduating with a new degree they looked back at the gap and ran. Not fun but apparently a reality.
I look at resumes and applications everyday and I admit that I do zero in on employment gaps. I do that because I want to know what you were doing during that gap. When looking at a gap more than 5 years long I do expect something like being a stay-at-home mom but I want more as well. A lot of things change in that span of time and I want to know if you've kept up. Have you attended conferences and seminars to keep up with the changing pace of your career choice. Are you up-to-date on the way your field has advanced in the time you've been away from the working word. I have people apply and send resumes with employment gaps all the time and I have to admit to admit I look at those people that have kept up with the times in spite of the gap rather than someone that just puts down "I was a stay-at-home mom" for that time. You need to elaborate on your skills that you improved upon during your employment gap. It is definitely not an easy to find a job in this market. You also need to be willing to sacrifice position titles and wanted salaries to help get your foot back in the door. You probably won't be starting off at the same point you left at.
At this point, it doesn't really matter if you have gaps in your employment, or not. Even highly qualified people with current experience can't get a call back to save their life. There are so many people out of work & so few jobs that there's no way employers can look at all 300 resumes that pour in for one job, let alone call or email everyone to advise them of their status.
I work as an outplacement and job search consultant. During the last few years, any organization that posts an open position in a public location will get MANY resumes. You could be perfectly qualified for that position, but they recieved several, and maybe dozens, of resumes from qualified people. You can not expect a call back or an interview just because you are qualified for a position.
Most jobs are landed through personal contacts. Especially since you've been out of the workforce, I would recommend finding ways to meet people in person. Join professional organizations and go to their meetings, volunteer at organizations, talk to people who you know who could introduce you to people you don't know. Set up a profile on www.LinkedIn.com and build your connection list and join groups so that employers can find your profile. Personal recommendations and introductions will get you interviews faster than just sending resumes.
I was in a similar position, albeit I had only a 14 month gap. I highly recommend you register with several sourcing agencies. It's the best way to get some current relevant experience while testing the areas you feel you want to be working in. The pay is typically excellent and if it doesn't suit you, well... its only temporary. As anyone will tell you the job market is difficult for everyone, sadly I really feel that moms with a mommy gap are working against a lot of competition. I don't know if there is one in your area, but check out Mom Corps (www.momcorps.com). Its the agency I used initially. They specialize in putting moms back to work. They look for sensitive employers that are more supportive of the returning mom. My boss sent me home early for the first week or so because she thought I looked so sad to be without my son! I contracted with them for nearly a year and now I've taken on full time employment with one of the largest investment banks in the nation.
(If you need more info, go ahead and message me. As a mom that's been there, I'm happy to help!)
Like the other moms have mentioned, you will almost certainly need to accept that at this point, you may have to go in at the ground level again. It's not that you don't have the experience, because you do, and it's not that you won't advance more quickly than actual entry-level employees, because you will. But nobody is going to hire a C-level or even director-level person without recent experience. Almost 10% of the country is out of work right now, so positions are scarce, and Director-level and above are exceedingly scarce. I have a good friend who was in a director level position making $100K and was laid off a year ago. In this past year, she has actually temped in her field as an ADMIN! For $15/hr!! It's sad, but that seems to be indicative of the entire professional world right now.
If you're able to do this financially, why not try to go after an intern position in the field you want to work in? I know that sounds crazy, but once people see what you know, and get to know you and realize that you fit in with the team, etc, your chances of getting a permanent offer (possibly in a higher-level position) increase exponentially. Sort of like a "try before you buy" program. You could even pitch it to potential employers that way. Who doesn't want to save 3 months payroll, right?
Employment gaps are hard.
I agree that if you have done anything, training, seminars, etc., in your field in the past 11 years that you list it on your resume as Professional Training. Any volunteering should also be listed on your resume under Professional Associations.
Also, you may want to address your "gap" in your cover letter. Mention that you are resuming your career after a hiatus of child rearing (word it better than that please LOL). Stress your professional abilities, the status that you gained in your career, and your knowledge of current professional practices.
I have worked in non-profit for the past 15 years - for the past 5 years I have also done a little consulting on the side. This consulting "business" that I "own" has nicely filled any gaps in employment. And one year I actually made money doing it!!
EDIT: I am starting a new job next week after 11 months unemployment - it is almost an entry level position compared to my prior Director's positions. I am happy to take it and will figure out new ways to live on a much decreased salary. What I have heard from many potentional employers this year is that they are receiving up to 200 resumes for every job posting and many people are over qualified for the positions they are applying for. It is an extremely hard job market right now - worse than I have ever seen in my 25 years of working. SO - don't give up, keep applying, and know that you may have to take a lower level than your prior positions just to get started and get back into the market.
Good Luck
God Bless
When you have gaps in employment, you were not just sitting around like a bomb, so the experts recommend you fill those gaps with something. Even if you have to put that you raised your family. That is a valid reason. You can also put in voluntary work, and the non-profit stuff you did.
I described the gap as "B.K.....before kids" & "A.K.....after kids". It always got a laugh.
To not receive a call to interview is not unheard of in today's job market. My niece went 6 months without a single call. I have 2 nieces who are RNs - it took one of them 6+ months to get a call, & the other almost 1 year. Jobs are scarce, & getting your foot in the door is almost impossible. In fact, that 1st niece was told that any resume hand-delivered immediately went into the "round file"....simply because they did not want drama in the office. She felt as if she had totally wasted 4 years of college at that point! Good Luck.
I love all of the suggestions you have gotten so far. I want to add another slant to the current conversation.
Have you considered building your own business? Have you considered offering your services to some company or companies for $X.xx's. How proficient are you with the current internet networking modes? Is there any way while you are on your "job" search that you can turn this search into business opportunities for yourself? Perhaps companies would be willing to pay you for your services for a specific assignment and if you had several assignments from several different companies you would be better suited for your best.
If you can manage to get things running smoothly and consistently then you would be in position to hire someone and give them a job.
I just like to look at things from another angle. I just figure if all doors are closed, open a window instead.
Start working with temp agencies. That will at least get you some new referances.
I dont know if the gap was the big deal or not. In the last year, my husband has sent out 100s of resumes for jobs he was prefectly qualified for and gotten no response. He went to a job fair. There were 700 open positions. Over 4,000 people showed up!
Have you done anything, any professional development, taking courses, participating in workshops, supplementing your knowledge in your field? If you have, list them on your resume. If you haven't, start looking for and pursuing those opportunities so you can prove that although you've been out of the job market for 11 years (and a lot has changed since then) you've remained current and invested in your career.
You have to address that big gap in non employment even if it is for a good reason. You either have to address it in your cover letter or resume. If you took time off be up front but list all of the things you did, PTA, any groups you belonged to if you helped watch anyone elses children etc. Volunteer work. List that as a non-paid job. Remember it is very competitive now a days and you are competing with more experienced people taking lower pay/status jobs as well as college grads. Good luck in you search! P.S accept the other job for now and you can still search or who knows maybe it will turn into something else!!
Many people, employment gaps or not are having to take much lower level postitions then what they have had in the past. It's a difficult market and these days especially gaps in employement are common and do make it more dificult, it's always best to look seemlessly move from company to company vs. "collect unemployment" in between.
