I have a 25 year old degree in journalism with little professional experience. My husband was laid off from a good job in July (no fault of his, just this bumm economy, his project was cut) and I found myself in need of a job fast. However, I have been a full-time Mom for the last twenty years. I have done a lot of volunteer work with my daughter’s schools (for people who have since left) and taken courses related to my degree. However, I am not having any luck getting interviews. Is it possible to re-enter the job market?
Certainly it’s possible. It might help to know the general area where you live. Have you tried employment agencies?
Normally, yes…it is possible to re-enter the job market. Problem is, in today’s market it’s tough…when you figure that people with pretty impressive resumes and 20 years or so of “progressively responsible experience,” aren’t getting interviews, it’s even scarier if you’ve been out of the work force for a while. You probably have some really valuable experience and, if this were a normal job market, I’d be fairly optimistic…companies are often in the market for writers, proofreaders and editors, and a journalism or English degree along with any experience at all USED to be enough to at least get you an interview. The frustrating thing is, there just isn’t anything normal about the job market right now. Employers can afford to be nit-picky, and they are taking full advantage of that. In our field, a lot of employers are now relying on freelancers or temp employees, and they often prefer to work with people or companies with whom/which they have an established relationship.
To give you an example of how things are working right now, my hubby would love to change jobs, and he’s got a dream resume, but he’s still only had one telephone interview (and he’s a computer programmer living near the Silicon Valley!). It’s no longer sufficient to have extensive experience…if you don’t have the SPECIFIC experience and education they’re looking for, they won’t even talk to you.
That said, there are things you can do to highlight the experience you do have. Like you, I’ve been out of the paid workforce for a while (I was an editor and copy writer before I became a full-time mom), but I’ve done a lot of volunteer writing and editing (for my daughter’s school and for my church, for example), and that definitely counts. Do you have a portfolio? Go through it and pick out things to highlight…that’s what I’d do.
Another possibility: If you aren’t totally set on working in journalism, would you consider going with a temp agency? One advantage to being a writer is you probably have pretty solid clerical skills. Not only can temping solve the immediate problem of making money, it can often get you an “in” at a company that might come to value you for your other skills. When the economy starts to recover, and companies start looking to develop their staff roster once again, you could be ideally positioned.
Redwolf
I am in the Phoenix, Az area. So far I have only asked for jobs not requiring experience or related to my college education. I am a photojournalist not a writer and know I would have to invest a lot in gear to pursue work as a photographer. I am starting to regret being a full-time Mom.
My husband has the dream resume and years of experience as a Software Engineer. This economy is so bad he has only managed one phone interview. And we do not want to move back to the SF Bay area so his search will take some time (he is also looking in Colorado, too).
Don’t ever regret being a full-time mom! The benefits to your children far outweigh any temporary difficulties. And you DO gain a lot of valuable experience…it’s just that, in this market, EVERYBODY’s hurting.
You didn’t mention if you’d tried temping. I’ve worked for both Kelly and Manpower, and both were really positive experiences.
If our country doesn’t do something soon to stop the outsourcing of tech jobs, a lot of us are going to be in the same boat, I’m afraid. Soon there won’t be anybody left but the managers 
Redwolf
Being a great full-time mom is the most valuable job in society, bar none; of course it is also often the least respected by our material culture. Instead of playing it down (since you can’t hide it) I would play it up as an example of personnel and resource management, teaching and nurturing and so on. I was a single Dad for a number of years after my first wife passed away, and have huge respect for what a mom does. In fact I’m still the mom, do all the cooking, cleaning, laundry, taxi service and work as well as a professor, though I teach in the evenings and on-line so it is “easier”. Check out the local colleges in your field, they may have some adjunct teaching positions, and although they don’t pay very well, they get your foot on campus and you might then find something there. The Phoenix area has so many community colleges, and larger schools that they must need loads of adjuncts (used to keep their budgets down).
I’m in a similar position. I’ve been a full-time mom/musician for years.
When I finished the last music project I was working for, I decided to try
for a day job. Its scary having a long resume but 14 years out of date.
Don’t ever regret being a full time mom! Its the most important job, much
more so than all the invented palova going on elsewhere with company
double-speak and job politics and stuffed shirts..
Truth is a musician is much more skilled than most of these other kinds of
job people. I spent a lot of time looking and getting my courage up. I
ran my own band a few years ago so I reworded the resume to list it
as “ran own business (music ensemble)” and I got hired for clerical after
I turned in that version. The job conditions turned out to be bad, so I
left. Another place asked me what was an ensemble..
I know that there are good jobs out there and we’ll find em.
I’ve been having pretty tough luck staying in the job market, I can’t imagine not being employed for 20 years and then trying to find a job. I’ve been a network engineer for over 7 years and was CTO of the last company I was at and still have a hard time getting an interview.
It’s frustrating, isn’t it? It’s a different world than it was even a few years ago. When my husband was looking for something on the West Coast four years ago (we were in NC at the time), he got so many hits on his resume we started having to keep a notebook so we wouldn’t get the various companies and recruiters mixed up. This recent job search has been a totally different animal…we’ve had NO calls or emails from recruiters or contract agencies and only one serious phone interview (we did get one other call, but once he’d connected with the caller, it turned out he was a representative from Farmer’s Insurance who saw his resume on the web and wanted to know if he’d be interested in selling insurance! 19 years experience as a programmer, developer and database designer…now what about that background says “insurance salesman”??). We’ve tried looking a bit out of our area, but everybody only wants “local applicants” it seems. Kinda makes me wish we hadn’t moved…at least we had a network out there!
In a way, it’s kind of nice to know we’re in the same boat with an awful lot of good people (misery loves company, or so they say…if nothing else, we know it’s not just us!), but on the other hand, it’s really scary. The economy is supposedly “recovering,” but the jobs don’t seem to be coming back.
Redwolf
Here’s a case in point:
http://money.cnn.com/2003/09/17/news/economy/outsourceworld/index.htm?cnn=yes
Seems like “outsourcing” itself has become big business
They keep saying how this will ultimately benefit workers, who can be “trained to be productive in other ways.” So what…after 19 years building a career as a programmer, my husband has to learn to sell insurance…is that what they’re saying?
I have an idea…how 'bout they outsource the six-figure management jobs and let the techies do the work they love and are so good at.
Redwolf
I have 25 years in IT in programming, project management, management, training, etc. I am seriously looking for the first time at getting out of IT. It is time to “re-tool” again and frankly there doesn’t seem to be anywhere to jump. It is truly sad that it has come to this. I know way too many really talented IT people who have been out of work for a loooonnnng time.
The really sad part is that no one in the press tells you about all the problems these offshore companies are having and the major headaches the companies using them are facing. I have heard many stories from collegues about this, and believe me, any business stupid enough to offshore their IT will, in the end, get exactly what they deserve. Unfortunately, for the workers in the U.S., by then it will be too late.