Need advice - older SAHM going back to work

[Anonymous]

I will repeat -- keep doing what you are doing, but also go to an agency for temp positions. They will be able to help you (for free) tailor your resume, work on your interview and even give you style advice if you ask for it. If you take their process seriously, they will take you seriously and be happy to put you in front of their clients. You will learn a lot from a good temp placement firm.

[Anonymous]

I think you should go to a networking group at your church or "Over 40: has nice networking sessions and is often free.

You can get your foot in the door through a temp agency and they will advise you about your resume. You should also think about your dress and your hair. I would urge you to color it. Also check out job tips on AARP.

It is really hard to get back in the job market after being off so long. I have 2 rich friends whose husbands dumped them for mid-life crisis younger women. They both had to go to work after being off 20 years. One works in a shoe store and the other got a data job through her friend. Tell everyone you know you are looking and that you will gladly do administrative work.

Good luck! It can be hard.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You stayed home for 20 years??? That is a long time to be out of the workforce, and it would give me some pause if I were an employer. Just being honest.

Well, you're not the employer so let's stay positive and look forward. There are a lot of women looking for tips/success stories regarding reentry or career reboot at 50ish.

+1
Tons of women are in the same position as OP.

[Anonymous]

OP, I don't think there is anything wrong with your resume if you getting calls for interviews. It is your appearance and attitude. No need for boobs and Botox, but make sure that your hair, make up, outfit are up to date. You have to be positive and energetic. I would flat out immediately at the interview that you understand their concerns and do everything to assure them that you are not going to leave in 6 month and that admin work is everything you are looking. Good luck!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You stayed home for 20 years??? That is a long time to be out of the workforce, and it would give me some pause if I were an employer. Just being honest.

Well, you're not the employer so let's stay positive and look forward. There are a lot of women looking for tips/success stories regarding reentry or career reboot at 50ish.

+1
Tons of women are in the same position as OP.

+2 Good luck OP. I wish you much success.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have found that many smaller companies (i.e. local, possibly family-owned) are happy to hire mature, less experienced administrative assistants. Be sure your resume emphasizes your skills in Microsoft Office and customer service. I'm not sure that coloring your hair is necessary, but be sure that you present a polished, professional image.

Your comment about wanting a low-stress job and something that's "not a career job" makes me wonder if you are coming across questionably in interviews. A company has to know that you are taking the position seriously; maybe the places you have interviewed with don't feel like it's worth taking the time to teach you about their company and way of doing things if you aren't seeing how important the position is for the operation of their company. And saying that being an AA is a low-stress job sound rather condescending, in my opinion; dealing with difficult customers and vendors is hardly low-stress. I honestly doubt that the companies are seeing you as overqualified, I think maybe they are picking up on the fact that you see being an administrative assistant as just something to do to pass the time.

Good luck to you!

OP here. This is my idea of fun! I don't mind dealing with difficult customers and vendors, etc. I enjoy that sort of thing. What I hate is taking on huge projects that require me to sit in an office for hours and hours dealing with horrifically complex matters. When the responsibilities of the admin jobs are spelled out, they seem really easy to me. I'm very efficient, and I work quickly. I absolutely take these jobs seriously. I take everything seriously. That's the way I am. I love the idea of getting all my work finished and being out the door by 5 p.m.

I'm wondering if I should wear a suit to interviews? Most of the people in these offices were more casual clothes. I don't want to overdress, but I don't know how one is supposed to dress for an interview these days. Before I had kids, I always wore a suit to interviews, but that was years ago, and it was expected.

Say this in the interview.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I worked as an admin a few years ago right after college.

An implicit part of the job was always being tech savvy. For example, I could talk about creating email merges to streamline customer communications. I used constant contact for event planning, etc. I also talked about existing relationships with vendors/caterers/venues for event planning. None of these things are hard, but if you've been out of the workforce for a long time, it's just a matter of lack of exposure.

If someone else is throwing out ideas of how to streamline the company's processes in an interview, youre going to look a lot less attractive by simply being smart and enthusiastic. They probably view you as needing training whereas someone else can step in and go from day one. If the only computer skills you have is Microsoft office, that's pretty much nothing.

Here's the thing though. Even though I could easily get hired for these jobs, I absolutely hated them, and I would quit the minute something better came along. These jobs are notorious for high turnover. Since this is something that you're actually interested in doing, that is a major asset and I don't think you're effectively communicating this.

You absolutely need to address your PhD and tell a compelling story about how you got from there to here. Not sure how, but definitely practice your pitch with friends/family and ask for honest feedback.

OP here. Thank you for this helpful post. I was asked about a mail merge, and I told them honestly that I'd never done one. They looked askance at me after that. I don't understand why that's a big deal, though. How long can it take to learn? And how and what do I need to learn to get up to speed.? All I know is MS Office, that's it. I've used lots of different computer program in the past. So many are obsolete now, but they weren't difficult to learn. I've never used constant contact, but how do I learn that? I'm not clear how I'm supposed to learn this stuff. Do I take classes? Don't most people acquire these comptuer skills on the job? And I have no existing relationship with vendors/caterers/venues. But I'm eager and trainable. I'm not trying to be condescending at all, but honestly, how long can it take to learn these things? Am I being arrogant in assuming I could be up to speed in a week?

In the past I've been praised for getting work done very well and quickly. I don't waste time. I'm not sure how to communicate this to an employer though. They'd have to see me in action. I'm good at simplifying complex tasks. In one of the interviews, an employer described a task she'd asked an existing employee to do, but that employee wasn't able to manage it. It was a task I could do in my sleep. I told her I'd be able to handle it easily. I wasn't sure if that was the correct answer, though. Perhaps I ought to have kept my mouth shut?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I will repeat -- keep doing what you are doing, but also go to an agency for temp positions. They will be able to help you (for free) tailor your resume, work on your interview and even give you style advice if you ask for it. If you take their process seriously, they will take you seriously and be happy to put you in front of their clients. You will learn a lot from a good temp placement firm.

Yes, this is a good suggestion. Any temp agencies you can recommend? What are the good ones?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I will repeat -- keep doing what you are doing, but also go to an agency for temp positions. They will be able to help you (for free) tailor your resume, work on your interview and even give you style advice if you ask for it. If you take their process seriously, they will take you seriously and be happy to put you in front of their clients. You will learn a lot from a good temp placement firm.

Yes, this is a good suggestion. Any temp agencies you can recommend? What are the good ones?

NP. I frequently use NV temps and have always been pleased with them.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I worked as an admin a few years ago right after college.

An implicit part of the job was always being tech savvy. For example, I could talk about creating email merges to streamline customer communications. I used constant contact for event planning, etc. I also talked about existing relationships with vendors/caterers/venues for event planning. None of these things are hard, but if you've been out of the workforce for a long time, it's just a matter of lack of exposure.

If someone else is throwing out ideas of how to streamline the company's processes in an interview, youre going to look a lot less attractive by simply being smart and enthusiastic. They probably view you as needing training whereas someone else can step in and go from day one. If the only computer skills you have is Microsoft office, that's pretty much nothing.

Here's the thing though. Even though I could easily get hired for these jobs, I absolutely hated them, and I would quit the minute something better came along. These jobs are notorious for high turnover. Since this is something that you're actually interested in doing, that is a major asset and I don't think you're effectively communicating this.

You absolutely need to address your PhD and tell a compelling story about how you got from there to here. Not sure how, but definitely practice your pitch with friends/family and ask for honest feedback.

OP here. Thank you for this helpful post. I was asked about a mail merge, and I told them honestly that I'd never done one. They looked askance at me after that. I don't understand why that's a big deal, though. How long can it take to learn? And how and what do I need to learn to get up to speed.? All I know is MS Office, that's it. I've used lots of different computer program in the past. So many are obsolete now, but they weren't difficult to learn. I've never used constant contact, but how do I learn that? I'm not clear how I'm supposed to learn this stuff. Do I take classes? Don't most people acquire these comptuer skills on the job? And I have no existing relationship with vendors/caterers/venues. But I'm eager and trainable. I'm not trying to be condescending at all, but honestly, how long can it take to learn these things? Am I being arrogant in assuming I could be up to speed in a week?

In the past I've been praised for getting work done very well and quickly. I don't waste time. I'm not sure how to communicate this to an employer though. They'd have to see me in action. I'm good at simplifying complex tasks. In one of the interviews, an employer described a task she'd asked an existing employee to do, but that employee wasn't able to manage it. It was a task I could do in my sleep. I told her I'd be able to handle it easily. I wasn't sure if that was the correct answer, though. Perhaps I ought to have kept my mouth shut?

Yes, you need to take some computer classes. Take up to the intermediate classes for MS Office.

For an admin position, where there are hundreds of applicants, getting an admin up to speed on basic duties like mail merges isn't realistic. Why would the employer spend the time waiting for you to get up to speed when other applicants can already do the core job? Fortunately most of these functions can easily be learned in a couple of classes that you can take in the next two weeks or so.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I worked as an admin a few years ago right after college.

An implicit part of the job was always being tech savvy. For example, I could talk about creating email merges to streamline customer communications. I used constant contact for event planning, etc. I also talked about existing relationships with vendors/caterers/venues for event planning. None of these things are hard, but if you've been out of the workforce for a long time, it's just a matter of lack of exposure.

If someone else is throwing out ideas of how to streamline the company's processes in an interview, youre going to look a lot less attractive by simply being smart and enthusiastic. They probably view you as needing training whereas someone else can step in and go from day one. If the only computer skills you have is Microsoft office, that's pretty much nothing.

Here's the thing though. Even though I could easily get hired for these jobs, I absolutely hated them, and I would quit the minute something better came along. These jobs are notorious for high turnover. Since this is something that you're actually interested in doing, that is a major asset and I don't think you're effectively communicating this.

You absolutely need to address your PhD and tell a compelling story about how you got from there to here. Not sure how, but definitely practice your pitch with friends/family and ask for honest feedback.

OP here. Thank you for this helpful post. I was asked about a mail merge, and I told them honestly that I'd never done one. They looked askance at me after that. I don't understand why that's a big deal, though. How long can it take to learn? And how and what do I need to learn to get up to speed.? All I know is MS Office, that's it. I've used lots of different computer program in the past. So many are obsolete now, but they weren't difficult to learn. I've never used constant contact, but how do I learn that? I'm not clear how I'm supposed to learn this stuff. Do I take classes? Don't most people acquire these comptuer skills on the job? And I have no existing relationship with vendors/caterers/venues. But I'm eager and trainable. I'm not trying to be condescending at all, but honestly, how long can it take to learn these things? Am I being arrogant in assuming I could be up to speed in a week?

In the past I've been praised for getting work done very well and quickly. I don't waste time. I'm not sure how to communicate this to an employer though. They'd have to see me in action. I'm good at simplifying complex tasks. In one of the interviews, an employer described a task she'd asked an existing employee to do, but that employee wasn't able to manage it. It was a task I could do in my sleep. I told her I'd be able to handle it easily. I wasn't sure if that was the correct answer, though. Perhaps I ought to have kept my mouth shut?

Yes, you need to take some computer classes. Take up to the intermediate classes for MS Office.

For an admin position, where there are hundreds of applicants, getting an admin up to speed on basic duties like mail merges isn't realistic. Why would the employer spend the time waiting for you to get up to speed when other applicants can already do the core job? Fortunately most of these functions can easily be learned in a couple of classes that you can take in the next two weeks or so.[/quote]

Excuse my ignorance, but where? Which classes in particular. Thanks!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I worked as an admin a few years ago right after college.

An implicit part of the job was always being tech savvy. For example, I could talk about creating email merges to streamline customer communications. I used constant contact for event planning, etc. I also talked about existing relationships with vendors/caterers/venues for event planning. None of these things are hard, but if you've been out of the workforce for a long time, it's just a matter of lack of exposure.

If someone else is throwing out ideas of how to streamline the company's processes in an interview, youre going to look a lot less attractive by simply being smart and enthusiastic. They probably view you as needing training whereas someone else can step in and go from day one. If the only computer skills you have is Microsoft office, that's pretty much nothing.

Here's the thing though. Even though I could easily get hired for these jobs, I absolutely hated them, and I would quit the minute something better came along. These jobs are notorious for high turnover. Since this is something that you're actually interested in doing, that is a major asset and I don't think you're effectively communicating this.

You absolutely need to address your PhD and tell a compelling story about how you got from there to here. Not sure how, but definitely practice your pitch with friends/family and ask for honest feedback.

OP here. Thank you for this helpful post. I was asked about a mail merge, and I told them honestly that I'd never done one. They looked askance at me after that. I don't understand why that's a big deal, though. How long can it take to learn? And how and what do I need to learn to get up to speed.? All I know is MS Office, that's it. I've used lots of different computer program in the past. So many are obsolete now, but they weren't difficult to learn. I've never used constant contact, but how do I learn that? I'm not clear how I'm supposed to learn this stuff. Do I take classes? Don't most people acquire these comptuer skills on the job? And I have no existing relationship with vendors/caterers/venues. But I'm eager and trainable. I'm not trying to be condescending at all, but honestly, how long can it take to learn these things? Am I being arrogant in assuming I could be up to speed in a week?

In the past I've been praised for getting work done very well and quickly. I don't waste time. I'm not sure how to communicate this to an employer though. They'd have to see me in action. I'm good at simplifying complex tasks. In one of the interviews, an employer described a task she'd asked an existing employee to do, but that employee wasn't able to manage it. It was a task I could do in my sleep. I told her I'd be able to handle it easily. I wasn't sure if that was the correct answer, though. Perhaps I ought to have kept my mouth shut?

Yes, you need to take some computer classes. Take up to the intermediate classes for MS Office.

For an admin position, where there are hundreds of applicants, getting an admin up to speed on basic duties like mail merges isn't realistic. Why would the employer spend the time waiting for you to get up to speed when other applicants can already do the core job? Fortunately most of these functions can easily be learned in a couple of classes that you can take in the next two weeks or so.

Excuse my ignorance, but where? What classes in particular? Thanks!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I worked as an admin a few years ago right after college.

An implicit part of the job was always being tech savvy. For example, I could talk about creating email merges to streamline customer communications. I used constant contact for event planning, etc. I also talked about existing relationships with vendors/caterers/venues for event planning. None of these things are hard, but if you've been out of the workforce for a long time, it's just a matter of lack of exposure.

If someone else is throwing out ideas of how to streamline the company's processes in an interview, youre going to look a lot less attractive by simply being smart and enthusiastic. They probably view you as needing training whereas someone else can step in and go from day one. If the only computer skills you have is Microsoft office, that's pretty much nothing.

Here's the thing though. Even though I could easily get hired for these jobs, I absolutely hated them, and I would quit the minute something better came along. These jobs are notorious for high turnover. Since this is something that you're actually interested in doing, that is a major asset and I don't think you're effectively communicating this.

You absolutely need to address your PhD and tell a compelling story about how you got from there to here. Not sure how, but definitely practice your pitch with friends/family and ask for honest feedback.

OP here. Thank you for this helpful post. I was asked about a mail merge, and I told them honestly that I'd never done one. They looked askance at me after that. I don't understand why that's a big deal, though. How long can it take to learn? And how and what do I need to learn to get up to speed.? All I know is MS Office, that's it. I've used lots of different computer program in the past. So many are obsolete now, but they weren't difficult to learn. I've never used constant contact, but how do I learn that? I'm not clear how I'm supposed to learn this stuff. Do I take classes? Don't most people acquire these comptuer skills on the job? And I have no existing relationship with vendors/caterers/venues. But I'm eager and trainable. I'm not trying to be condescending at all, but honestly, how long can it take to learn these things? Am I being arrogant in assuming I could be up to speed in a week?

In the past I've been praised for getting work done very well and quickly. I don't waste time. I'm not sure how to communicate this to an employer though. They'd have to see me in action. I'm good at simplifying complex tasks. In one of the interviews, an employer described a task she'd asked an existing employee to do, but that employee wasn't able to manage it. It was a task I could do in my sleep. I told her I'd be able to handle it easily. I wasn't sure if that was the correct answer, though. Perhaps I ought to have kept my mouth shut?

Yes, you need to take some computer classes. Take up to the intermediate classes for MS Office.

For an admin position, where there are hundreds of applicants, getting an admin up to speed on basic duties like mail merges isn't realistic. Why would the employer spend the time waiting for you to get up to speed when other applicants can already do the core job? Fortunately most of these functions can easily be learned in a couple of classes that you can take in the next two weeks or so.

Excuse my ignorance, but where? What classes in particular? Thanks!

Try Learning Tree or even NOVA's non-credit department. There are also lots of other vendors that may be more convienient to you by doing a quick google search.

[Anonymous]

I would try temping and see if you get a permanent job out of that. We just hired our admin assistant from a temp position.
You also need to show that your skills are up to date. Can you use cloud based doc management systems like Google drive, Dropbox, Box etc. I realize it's a bias but if I saw a resume of some who hadn't worked in 20 years I would wonder if she knew how to do this stuff. There are enough of us 40+ in the office who barely understand it and need someone who can manage this and not be intimidated.

[Anonymous]

OP- Admin assistant is not a job with no skills. As you have seen on this thread, actually it's a lot of skills and you seem to think an employer should train you to do them. Why? There are hundreds of applicants who already know how to do this.