Struggling to get a job!

Babylegs

Hi all

I moved back to Ireland about 6 months ago having lived abroad for 10 years. Before I moved away I had a series of great jobs and always did well in them. When I moved I was lucky enough to get another great job and eventually ended up at the highest level (C level) in that company. The majority of my experience has been in media, both as a writer/editor and on the business side and I have a marketing qualification and my last job involved a lot of marketing too.

I had to move home because a family member was seriously ill and needed help with caring and also just general support. But it was sudden so I basically gave up everything there and legged it home with no job set up here. I wasn't super worried and felt like id be able to get something relatively quickly even if I had to take a step back in terms of seniority or pay or whatever. I have been looking seriously since September and I cannot get arrested! I paid to have my Cv done professionally and I've been told by lots of recruiters that it's excellent and there shouldn't be a problem. Yet in spite of applying for around 2-5 jobs almost every day, I've only been called for 4 interviews . Two were in England, one of which I got down to the last 3 people but didn't get it and the other one I did get offered but the money was really bad and didn't justify moving away from my family again, given the health situation. The other two was a major job that I did two interviews for including a presentation and again got down to the last 2 and the other person got the job and the final one seemed to be a gang of clowns who I never heard from again.

The rest of the roles though and I have applied for loads, aren't even calling me for interview. My CV is good, I have all the required experience for most of them, and I'm writing nice, tailored cover letters. Im at a complete loss and asking for feedback, im being told its not you the other person was just more what we wanted. Three different recruiters have said yeah you're a shoo-in for this job and then the client chooses not to interview me. I'm happy to take a junior role just to get back into work, I'm not looking for a mental salary and I'm in Dublin where all the jobs are!

I've thought of upskilling but I'm genuinely not sure what else I can add to add value to my skill set. I don't mean that in an arrogant way but I haven't been told I'm missing a particular skill, more than I haven't done marketing for a specific industry like tech or fintech etc so I can't really do any extra training for that.

Honestly I'm really struggling now. I had a small amount of savings which I spent on just living and also a crap car just to get me around and I made a mistake with who I bought it f5om and got ripped off, leaving me with no money and no car. This is obviously a completely separate issue and basically was my own fault for being naive, but I think it actually was the final straw for me and I'm really finding it hard to stay positive. I suppose I'm asking does anyone have any advice about where to turn to from here? I'm scouring all the job sites daily, asking for feedback, all that. I'm just wondering if there's something I'm not doing that makes the difference. Do HR depts want follow up calls after I send my CV? Is there an age bias? (I'm 40) should I take the dates off everything??

Sorry for the long post and the moaning! Just wondering if there's something obvious that I'm missing.

Thanks ))

OMM 0000

I think there is an age bias, but it doesn't explain the problem you're having.

So based on what you've said:

4 interviews so far

1 job offer

The other 3, made it to the final round

So it seems like you're having some success.

I'm going to guess the problem is because you're so senior, it's quite difficult (and tons of competition) to get the roles you're going for?

wirelessdude01

Age bias, perception that you are overqualified/experienced for the role, perception due to experience that you won't wait long in the role, not well known within Ireland/UK.

Personally having retrained in a few field within the past 10years I found that age bias was an issue but overcame it by taking work to get known as that was also an issue.

Babylegs

OMM 0000 wrote: »

I think there is an age bias, but it doesn't explain the problem you're having.

So based on what you've said:

4 interviews so far

1 job offer

The other 3, made it to the final round

So it seems like you're having some success.

I'm going to guess the problem is because you're so senior, it's quite difficult (and tons of competition) to get the roles you're going for?

Yeah I think there is a huge amount of competition in media and marketing although I've been applying for all levels.

Babylegs

wirelessdude01 wrote: »

Age bias, perception that you are overqualified/experienced for the role, perception due to experience that you won't wait long in the role, not well known within Ireland/UK.

Personally having retrained in a few field within the past 10years I found that age bias was an issue but overcame it by taking work to get known as that was also an issue.

I think you're right about not being known here. I'm willing to take work to get known if it's more junior but I can't get interviewed for those jobs either. How did you manage it?

RoboRat

Im in marketing for about 20 years now and although there is an upturn, a lot of jobs are not senior level, but there are some. I find the senior marketing roles can be quite finiky in their requirements, they are looking for specialist roles and/or experience rather than general marketeers, so it may be that your skills don't match with the requirements or your past experience doesn't include what they are looking for?

A lot of roles are looking for people with extensive digital experience - They are looking for SEO/SEM/PPC specialists with the traditional skills of copy writing being outsourced to specialists who write content specifically for SEO. I don't know where you worked or what you done, so I can't really comment on where you stand in regards to this.

The other two was a major job that I did two interviews for including a presentation and again got down to the last 2 and the other person got the job and the final one seemed to be a gang of clowns who I never heard from again.

Be very wary about doing presentations. I applied for a senior position with a well known retailer and got to 3rd stage only to be told that I wasn't fluent in a specific language - I was conversational fluent, and they knew this from the 1st interview so IMO, this was a BS excuse... the job stayed live for another year.

I had put together 20 page presentation detailing a marketing plan including execution strategy and low and behold, a month after getting rejected, my ideas started rolling out. According to several marketing recruitment consultants, this practice is rife. Call in a load of professionals, get their ideas and don't employ them but get their ideas.

An Ri rua

Agreed re presentations. When self-employed or when doing some moonlighting as a marketer, I had this stunt pulled on me a few times. And saw my plans trotted out, including on Dragon's Den, afterwards.

Re a car by the way, check out the Bangernomics thread here on Boards.ie. I drive cars generally sub 2k and the cars presented on that thread can be real get out of jail cars. A grand would see you into a reliable car. Just get someone to check it over with you.

Best wishes for 2019

Babylegs

RoboRat wrote: »

Im in marketing for about 20 years now and although there is an upturn, a lot of jobs are not senior level, but there are some. I find the senior marketing roles can be quite finiky in their requirements, they are looking for specialist roles and/or experience rather than general marketeers, so it may be that your skills don't match with the requirements or your past experience doesn't include what they are looking for?

A lot of roles are looking for people with extensive digital experience - They are looking for SEO/SEM/PPC specialists with the traditional skills of copy writing being outsourced to specialists who write content specifically for SEO. I don't know where you worked or what you done, so I can't really comment on where you stand in regards to this.



Be very wary about doing presentations. I applied for a senior position with a well known retailer and got to 3rd stage only to be told that I wasn't fluent in a specific language - I was conversational fluent, and they knew this from the 1st interview so IMO, this was a BS excuse... the job stayed live for another year.

I had put together 20 page presentation detailing a marketing plan including execution strategy and low and behold, a month after getting rejected, my ideas started rolling out. According to several marketing recruitment consultants, this practice is rife. Call in a load of professionals, get their ideas and don't employ them but get their ideas.

I'm okay with the digital side but I definitely hear you about the presentations. That's terrible that happened to you!

Babylegs

An Ri rua wrote: »

Agreed re presentations. When self-employed or when doing some moonlighting as a marketer, I had this stunt pulled on me a few times. And saw my plans trotted out, including on Dragon's Den, afterwards.

Re a car by the way, check out the Bangernomics thread here on Boards.ie. I drive cars generally sub 2k and the cars presented on that thread can be real get out of jail cars. A grand would see you into a reliable car. Just get someone to check it over with you.

Best wishes for 2019

Dragons Den takes neck to a whole new level! That's terrible. Thanks for the advice on the car, I might do that!

i5kra

Hi,

Bit late to this thread. Just wanted to say that I'm in a similar position and I understand this all too well. Caring for a relative is tough both physically and emotionally. And if you add the uncertainty and stress of the job situation to the mix it can make you feel quite low and knock your confidence.

The car was just a one off. Draw a line under it and move on please. Everybody makes mistakes. You're under pressure - its understandable so don't be tough on yourself over this.

The main thing is to take care of yourself. You're obviously a capable and competent person with lots of skills and abilities.

All the best!

newrecruit2

I’m in a similar positing OP. At the beginning I found it tough to even sleep at night, I was anxious all the time and couldn’t really explain it.

It’s improved somewhat, I’ve tried to keep myself busy but not getting a position really does knock your confidence. What I would say is, you’ve got lots of experience so you’ll find a job for sure, it’s just a matter of timing. Keep the head up and keep looking.

If you need to talk feel free to PM

i5kra

Hi newrecruit2,
I understand the lack of sleep thing. That was a problem for me also.
As somebody far smarter than me said, this too shall pass.