Hey all, advice is needed! My husband is going through a rough go as he is looking to change his career completely. He is totally unhappy where he’s at as he’s been there for 5 years and it’s just time to move on! It’s a small business and it has no benefits whatsoever (not even health insurance) and most recently he just has hit a wall there and knows he cannot move any further in his position. It has just run its course. He has great experience now in management and is really a wonderful candidate for anything he sets his mind to. His background started in medical as he thought he was going to go to medical school right out of college but he changed to sales/management and started working right away at this small business to gain experience on the business side instead. He has been actively seeking jobs and applying but has been turned down for 6 positions at 6 different companies (only one he got to the actual interview process and made it until the very end but they went with another candidate.) All of the turn downs are from recruiters that don’t speak to him and simply look at his resume and linked in and send out the standard “not a fit” E-Mail. We live an area that is not a big city so there are not as many opportunities but there are still some bigger companies. I know he is getting really discouraged and I am trying to stay really positive for him because I know the potential for greatness and what he has to offer to a company. Have you or your husbands gone through something similar? How did you stay positive for them? How did it turn out?
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I know it's really hard to get rejections and not to see progress right away, but this sounds like a pretty standard job search so far. The last two times I switched positions, I applied to two dozen positions and maybe only heard from a handful and half of those responses were rejections. I would expect the process to take months. Also, keep in mind that just because you were not a candidate for one position at a company does not mean you wouldn't be considered a candidate for another position at the same company. But you have to apply, often the recruiters/hiring managers will be different and they're not sharing candidates/information. It's hard, but job searches are a numbers game. Apply to any and all jobs and he'll get there.
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I agree with the pp, this sounds like par for the course. I read once that you should plan on ~3 months to find an entry level job and to add a month for every year of experience on average. It’s tough to get rejected, especially when it feels like not a lot of positions come up in your area. My last job search I was also in a position I was done with, and it took about 6 months and lots of rejections (also in a small area) but I found a job that has been a great fit and allowed me to grow in exactly the direction I want to. It was hard to stick it out, especially since applying feels like a second job, but it’s easier to find a job when you have a job, and the right thing will come along. I will say as hard as it sounds if he can be picky about what he applies to it will minimize the rejections instead of just sending out resumes to every opening/recruiter. Also one of the things about small communities is it’s more likely that he already knows someone who works for/with hiring managers and may have more insight into what a company is looking for in a given position, which could help both in giving him a better sense of if it’s a fit and getting some insight into how to stand out.
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When my husband was looking for a job, he must have applied to twenty different positions and gone on 5-6 interviews. He didn't get responses to come interviews he went on! Luckily, we work in education and things move VERY quickly, and he got a wonderful job at a school that appreciates him. It was disheartening at times but worth it. I don't mean this to say that he can't feel disappointed, but it doesn't sound like it's never going to work out, just a matter of time.
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There is some really great advice for resumes, cover letters when switching fields, and general job search and interview info at askamanager dot com
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Comisseration here mostly - my husband is job searching after staying at home for the last 2 years. The primary reason was to support me in finishing my grad degree and my career as I started to travel for work a lot at that time. He was unhappy in his position and it was a good opportunity to take a break and reassess. So - I feel a little 'responsible' now that he's struggling a little to re-enter the workforce. Plus I think part of him would happily stay home and continue the status quo but honestly we can't financially afford it long term. Well, he's applied now to probably 10 jobs, and has had 4 move forward to phone and then in-person interviews. Two that he thought he would be perfect for, they went with other candidates. The other two were last week so I am hopeful one will pan out (fingers crossed).
It's still hard to sit by and watch when you know how capable and great your DH is. I mostly try to balance giving him space to do this on his own with being helpful in forwarding job openings to him, and balancing just letting him vent his frustrations with helping him brainstorm solutions. Checking in and asking him what he needs has helped too. "Hey do you want me to send you these or back off for a while?" or "I found this article about interview questions I thought was really interesting, want me to send it to you?" before just sending it to him. He might not know what he needs from you, but at least you asked. And it might change from time to time, so it's good to keep talking and check-in about how you can support him.
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@paigeface: It sounds pretty standard, but if he's getting mostly auto responses I would tweak the resume to target very specific details about the jobs he's applying for. For my last job search I had one resume that focused on my Sales strengths and another that focused on my Technical and Operations skills.
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Just popping in to say that in the past 10 years I've been job hunting 3x. The first time took 4 months to get a job, the next two times took 1 YEAR and the last took 6 months. All of these were in my same industry.
Job hunting is a slow marathon. My last search, that took 6 months, I was not working and I spent 4 hours every day applying to jobs, and cold-mailing my resume to any place that looked like it could fit.
Because he is looking to change careers, he needs to start networking not just job hunting. Most people are willing to talk about their job so have him find a person doing the job he wants and go talk to them. Find out where that person networks (Rotary, BNI, Chamber of Commerce, etc) and start going to those events. Evenutally someone will say, 'Hey, I know someone who is hiring!"
I'm sorry he is getting discouraged. But please tell him to think in months/years, not per application or days.
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Thank you all for you responses! I shared them with my husband and I think it really helped to remind him that it is going to be a process but it will be worth it for the right fit when it does happen.
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@jennlin821: Wonderful advice. Thank you!
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@macintosh: Great idea!
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@lindseykaye: Prayers your husband finds the right fit soon. It is so tough to wait and pray they find something that will be good for them to grow their careers. I know he too thought he was perfect for the job he got to the end of the interview process only to be told they went with another candidate. I know he was so discouraged after that. Its really tough. Your advice about checking in to see if they need help or just encouragement is wonderful. I will use that going forward. Thank you and good luck to your hubby!
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@kiddosc: Thank you! I reminded him to remember this advice.
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