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Stalled career

Michael

Hi. I have been working in HR for most of my career, and have operated at HRD/Head of HR level for the last few roles. I lost my last role through redundancy, and that is over 3 years ago now. Since then I have done some consultancy, but unfortunately experienced illness which set me back for about a year (happily all better now though). I want a new role but am worried as I can't seem to get even first stage interviews for roles as they come up. I am not very good at networking, and am also worried that my age is counting against me (56), as I was actually told after one of the few interviews I did get, that the employer liked me and could see that I had been effective in previous roles, but was worried that i would get bored and leave after less than a year. The recruiter actually told me that the employer had said I was "too experienced" for the role.

I am deliverately aiming below level and the salary range I was at before, to try and get back in but just dont seem to be getting anywhere. I'll keep pluggin away, but if anyone has any advice or insights to offer, I'd be grateful. CHeers

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  • Hi Michael

    You say you're not very good at networking. This sounds like an opportunity to me. ;-) Could you work on improving your networking skills as I'm sure this will help you in getting a new job. Have you tried connecting with people on LinkedIn? Or going to CIPD branch meetings? Or even getting involved in volunteering for your local branch? Time spent developing your networking skills, definitely won't be wasted whether it leads to a job in the short term or not.

    Ibn terms of job hunting, have you tried looking at interim roles? Your experience may be considered an advantage in a short term role and it would get you some up to date experience at the right sort of level for the jobs you're aiming for. When I was transitioning back to HR from IT jobs, I took a maternity cover role in the first instance to build my current HR experience up and before the end of that role, I had secured my next, permanent role.

    Hope that helps a bit - I'm sure others will have some great suggestions.

    Kind regards

    Jackie
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  • Hi Michael

    You say you're not very good at networking. This sounds like an opportunity to me. ;-) Could you work on improving your networking skills as I'm sure this will help you in getting a new job. Have you tried connecting with people on LinkedIn? Or going to CIPD branch meetings? Or even getting involved in volunteering for your local branch? Time spent developing your networking skills, definitely won't be wasted whether it leads to a job in the short term or not.

    Ibn terms of job hunting, have you tried looking at interim roles? Your experience may be considered an advantage in a short term role and it would get you some up to date experience at the right sort of level for the jobs you're aiming for. When I was transitioning back to HR from IT jobs, I took a maternity cover role in the first instance to build my current HR experience up and before the end of that role, I had secured my next, permanent role.

    Hope that helps a bit - I'm sure others will have some great suggestions.

    Kind regards

    Jackie
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  • in reply to Jacqueline
    Hi Jacqueline. Thank you for coming back to me so quickly. I think you're right about the networking. The irony is that I know that networking is vital, and in fact I've advised lots of others to do it, but I'm a natural introvert and this is probably what stops me from getting stuck in. Doesn't detract from your point though and I hadn't thought of making better use of CIPD contacts (my background is Occupational Psychology rather than pure HR), so there is definitely scope for improvement there. I am available for interim stuff too and include this in my searches. Thanks again for your thoughts; they are much appreciated. - Michael
  • in reply to Michael

    I share your pain, Michael. I'm a natural introvert too and I've always had to employ a 'fake it till you make it' approach to networking. As with most things I've found it's become easier the more I've done it.