Honestly OP, you sound a bit entitled. That alone would be my concern in hiring a PhD with a 20-year work gap. I suggest removing the PhD from your resume entirely and changing your outlook/pitch (i.e. I'm a former SAHM excited to get back into the workforce). The "I'm a PhD willing to do mundane administrative tasks" approach isn't working for you.

Anonymous wrote:I'm in my 50s, and looking for work after 20 years as a SAHM. I've read lots of posts on DCUM that talk about starting at the bottom. So, I've applied for admin jobs, even though I have a PhD and years of experience in my profession. I'd be happy to be an admin because I want a low-stress job that uses some of my skills. I've applied for several jobs so far, have been interviewed, but have not been offered the job. My sense is that they seem to think I'm overqualified, won't last long as an admin, possibly. I'm not sure how to handle this. I really am interested in these jobs, and I tell them so. I do not want a career job, I want to get out of the house and do something useful. I'm very organized and love keeping things functioning smoothly, which is a large part of an admin job. I don't want to work long hours, so this seems like a perfect type of job for me.

I have been questioning everything I've done so far:

Should I dumb down my resume? Take my graduate degrees off? NO

Should I wear a suit? I wore a sports jacket and pants to two interviews, a skirt and sweater to another one. Am I projecting the right image? Suit

Should I dye my hair? I don't have lines in my face, but my hair is graying. No.

I did some teaching in my field while a SAHM -- should I take that off my resume? No.

It feels sort of dishonest for me to dumb down my background. Once I start working, won't they find out? I can't hide my background forever.

Isn't the fact that I have not worked full-time for two decades enough to suggest that I'm serious about working at an entry-level type job? In the interview, be honest about this. Explain what you've done to stay up in the field.

Any suggestions most appreciated. I'm feeling frustrated and not sure what mistakes I'm making or how to proceed from here.

I've posted answers in above. I work in a tough field - I just hired a SAHM after she was out for 5 years. She was competitive and really her interview knocked it out of the park. Just be yourself and be honest. You were gone. Now you are back.

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.

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.

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 - I would consider non-profit organizations or larger churches. I was a church administrator before we moved. I hired our admin assistant at $25 an hour plus benefits. I was able to offer her a fairly flexible schedule.

On thing that jumps out at me is that you seem to think being an admin is an easy job. It's not. My administrative assistant was a rock star! I swear she could do anything. She could put together a power point presentation faster than anyone I've ever known. She kept my calendar. She worked with our bookkeeper to ensure our bills were paid on time. She tracked attendance and tithing. She organized special events. She managed our website and social media. She created our bulletin every week. She kept track of birthdays, anniversaries, illness, births and deaths. She managed all of our volunteers. She sent out our weekly newsletters and knew way more about Constant Contact than I did. It would take me all day to list the things she did every day to keep our organization running smoothly.

Your PhD would not have swayed me. When I was interviewing for the position, I wanted someone with a Bachelors Degree but even that wasn't a deal breaker. I needed someone proficient with Microsoft Word, Publisher, Excel, Powerpoint, etc. Bonus if the person already understood QuickBooks. We had a bookkeeper but my admin asst worked closely with her. I needed someone comfortable managing our website. I needed someone knowledgeable about social media. I needed someone who could think quickly on her feet, who was calm under pressure, and who could make good decisions without a lot of supervision. I wanted someone who was very organized and detail oriented. And of course, the applicant had to be great with clients (in our case congregants) and absolutely had to understand the need for confidentiality.

If you told me during an interview that you had been out of the workforce for 20 years, my biggest concern would be your computer skills and your ability to adapt to a dramatically different workplace than the one you were in 20 years ago. If you could demonstrate the computer skills and the willingness to learn, I would absolutely hire you.

Good Luck!

Honestly, I think you should be focusing on office manager positions in smaller companies/businesses. These are the types of jobs where competence is important, and there's not as much of an expectation of moving up. I'm thinking some sort of health care office, or a smaller design firm where they need someone to keep everything moving but it's clear you aren't going to become a designer. I also think those are the types of jobs where you don't need to be young.

(For example, we are working with a company to build an addition to our house. We have a customer care rep who does most of the work in the office behind the scenes. Or the person who greets customers at the tile shop, and helps manage inventory. Those sort of folks.)

Anonymous wrote:Personally, I'd consider taking the PhD off your resume. It doesn't seem to have any relevance to the jobs that you're interested in, and I think that it probably does raise questions in people's minds as to how serious you're going to be in the job....or whether you're going to be too much of a know-it-all to really get the grunt work done.

I'd also go with coloring your hair. If no one else is wearing a suit, I think that I'd keep it business casual. Also second the suggestion of trying the temp market. My mom got an admin job (after 20+ years of SAHM) through a Temp agency. If nothing else, it would give you some recent examples to talk about during your job interviews.

I agree with the above - although you are getting interviews despite having the PhD listed.
I would color your hair and really stress that this is a career move for you - you performed strongly in the administrative aspects of prior jobs. Show your enthusiasm for the company and the industry and don't be shy about saying this sounds like the perfect position for you. I'd also try and get a feel for if they are looking for an admin or someone to grow within the company because this will tell you how to position yourself.
You want to also show that you are fresh and have great ideas, keep up with the trends, etc.

Can you find an admin job in academia or a lab/company related to your PhD?

Is there anything you can think of related to you PhD that would be less stressful?

What about getting a certification in a specific area of admin like paralegal/legal secretary?

How about just a job at Starbucks?? Maybe you could move up into management.

Personally, I'd consider taking the PhD off your resume. It doesn't seem to have any relevance to the jobs that you're interested in, and I think that it probably does raise questions in people's minds as to how serious you're going to be in the job....or whether you're going to be too much of a know-it-all to really get the grunt work done.

I'd also go with coloring your hair. If no one else is wearing a suit, I think that I'd keep it business casual. Also second the suggestion of trying the temp market. My mom got an admin job (after 20+ years of SAHM) through a Temp agency. If nothing else, it would give you some recent examples to talk about during your job interviews.

Anonymous wrote:I think image matters a lot for admin jobs -- people want someone who looks tractable, eager, and pleasant. I'd color your hair (you can always go back to gray once you have the job).

Do you really think you'll be happy doing this kind of work? I think you are selling yourself short in a way and employers realize this.

DH has been telling me this. I don't know. I know I'm capable of handling more responsibility, but I don't want a high pressure job. I feel being a SAHM has been extremely stressful. I see a job full of doable tasks as interesting and relaxing. I don't think I'd be bored. I have much to occupy myself with outside of the workday. I've obviously been unable to convince employers that I'm serious, so I'm clearly doing something wrong.

What do you mean by image? I'm guessing that since almost everyone over 50 colors their hair, that my gray hair makes me look even older than I am? I wear slightly stylish clothes, but fairly subdued, not youthful. How does one look tractable? I'm quite eager, so much so that I've been trying to tamp down my eagerness, lest I come on too strong.

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.

Anonymous wrote:Take retail off unless you are applying for retail.

Informational interview with everyone you know in the industry you want to work in

If you want an admin job - that is fine. A lot of small firms like having more mature employees (small law firms, financial advisor, accounting) They know you will interact with the clientele professionally and they do not have to worry about you jumping ship in 2 years when you decide that another job is hipper.

Do NOT dumb down your resume.

OP here. Why not dumb down my resume? I feel the PhD is intimidating, even though I haven't used it in 20 years! The job I lost out on today would have been fun, but the people who interviewed me seemed skeptical that I'd be willing to do the boring grunt work. I have been doing boring grunt work for 20 years, so it's the same sort of stuff I do now, only in an office with pleasant adults. In my profession, I had high stress jobs. I don't want to go back to that. It was interesting intellectually, but it wasn't fun. I don't want to work long hours and weekends.

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!

Take retail off unless you are applying for retail.

Informational interview with everyone you know in the industry you want to work in

If you want an admin job - that is fine. A lot of small firms like having more mature employees (small law firms, financial advisor, accounting) They know you will interact with the clientele professionally and they do not have to worry about you jumping ship in 2 years when you decide that another job is hipper.

Do NOT dumb down your resume.