Job hunting at 50, following 3 years away. Advice needed

Kirishima

I'm 50 years old, a former strategy manager for a public sector organisation. 
For a variety of reasons I burned out around 2016, a number of family tragedies losses between 2013 and 2016 took their toll and by 2017 I was suffering from severe depression. I handed in my notice at work and spent the next two years trying to pick myself up, which I've done. 
I've spent the last 18 months trying to get back into a job that pays a similar salary (about £40k), without so much as an interview. I live in the South East, jobs seem to be plentiful, my CV has been rewritten by experts, money is running out. I'm stuck and I can feel that black dog of depression nibbling at my heels again.

So I have two questions that I hope you can help with

1/ How do I explain the time away from work? Is honesty best in this case? 
2/ Does anyone have any tips for someone in my position? I've looked over websites offering general job-seeking advice and absorbed most of the good ideas, but my complete lack of success in obtaining an interview has persuaded me that I'm missing something. 

For the record, I have applied for job before, in my twenties and thirties with far more success. I know this points to age being a thing here, but I've know plenty of people of a similar age who have found new employment. 

Thanks

Sandtree

I have a particular dislike of professional CV rewrites personally as there are such diverse views on what a good CV is that no one has a magic format that'll work for everyone. However thats sunk monies and so what did they advise?

I'd be tempted to marking it on the CV as a career break to deal with family issues... can deal with any more detail in the interview.

Job hunting to me, and as a contractor I do it a lot, is a numbers game. There is a notable amount of luck about what roles are advertised on any given day and how well they match your experience and how you and the interviewers gel. The first hurdle is normally the recruitment agency and the key with them is to get direct contact with them, ideally on the phone, by email as a fallback... they put a job on Monster and get 500+ responses so finding the wheat can be difficult and these days often based on search engine style keyword searching.

Speaking to them on the phone puts you in mind and enables you to ask about the role and them about your experience etc. Some agents are hard to get hold of so be reasonably persistent and when a receptionist says they'll ask them to call dont be disappointed when they don't. 

MEM62

Kirishima said:

I handed in my notice at work and spent the next two years trying to pick myself up, which I've done. 

Well done!  I can be hard to get back on your feet again.  

Kirishima said:

I've spent the last 18 months trying to get back into a job that pays a similar salary (about £40k), without so much as an interview. I

You may need be realistic in your salary expectations.  Walking back into a £40k job after a long absence from the workplace is not likely.  You may also struggle if you have been in the public sector for much of your career as many commercial entities will be less enthusiastic in looking at you.  (Which is why, after a few years working for a city council, my wife went back into the private sector - in her words "why she was still employable")  Look for something a little further down the career ladder and re-build your career over the next few years.,        

Kirishima said:

My CV has been rewritten by experts

How can it be?  A generic CV does not work.  It needs to be written for each individual application and adapted to focus on the specific skill set and qualities that position demands.  

Kirishima said:

1/ How do I explain the time away from work? Is honesty best in this case? 
2/ Does anyone have any tips for someone in my position? I've looked over websites offering general job-seeking advice and absorbed most of the good ideas, but my complete lack of success in obtaining an interview has persuaded me that I'm missing something. 

1/ Be honest. 
2/  You will find something but you will need to be persistent and stay positive.  Indeed threw up a few opportunities when I was looking.  You will need to be patient.  My job turned toxic a few years back and it took me three years to find a new position (I am 59) but it happened in the end.  You are a bit younger than me so a few more doors may be open to you.   

TELLIT01

Having been in a very similar situation with effectively a forced career break I can sympathise, I was 53 at the time.  In my case I had planned to take a few months off after being made redundant anyway, but then my mother died and my disabled brother lived with her.  Although he was able to look after himself on a day to day basis if mum went on holiday, he became very 'needy' after her death.  He would be calling me 3 or 4 times a day and the only way I could calm him down was to go round and see him.  This made it impossible to start another job.  After a couple of years we did manage to find him supported accommodation and I was able to try to get back into work.  I did put the gap down as career break dealing with family issues.

I had worked as an IT support manager and also found it impossible to get back into the sector and also impossible to find other work at a similar level.  I ended up working for the Department for Work and Pensions in a job which at least gave me some income.  All you can do is be realistic about the prospects and potentially take a job which is lower paying and less rewarding or challenging.

theoretica

I suspect there is a strong measure of employers being fussier, the higher up the salary scale you go.  Perhaps look at short term jobs or lower paying ones to get over the 'first job back' hurdle. 

Mr_Falling_Star

theoretica said:

I suspect there is a strong measure of employers being fussier, the higher up the salary scale you go.  Perhaps look at short term jobs or lower paying ones to get over the 'first job back' hurdle. 

I would agree with this I am 51 and have not had a break but I received a lump sum, jacked in my recruitment job and got a driving job for a few months to put me on. I now work through an agency for a Government dept and, while it's a step down, have never been happier in work

Kirishima

Thank you for the replies.

To answer a couple of questions

- I used a company to optimize my CV so that sieving software should pick it up more easily....or so they claimed
- I was widowed a couple of years ago and hoping to return to work on a similar salary that would allow me to pay the mortgage and keep the family home. I'm surprised getting close to £40k is so difficult in the South East

I suppose our way of working usually means that if you're not well on your way to where you want to be by your mid 40s (hierarchically speaking), you need to find something more comfortable and hopefully not be at the mercy of ambitious 30 somethings

gwynlas

The most important thing is to get back into a job any job that will give you a chance to show you are fit to return to work and give you current references. You could take in a lodger to help with the bills.

theoretica

Sometimes the fastest way to the result you want is by a more roundabout route - rather than the salary and job you want or nothing it may be worth accepting a diversion but keeping moving and looking to work back up to your old salary in a couple of steps.

gm0

Look at what you were good at and role played in the team in prior achievements.  Financial skills? Negotiation? Analysis?  Good with a project or timeline?.   Add some current sizzle -  fashionable new technologies or methods (a little online training perhaps).  Then look for contracting opportunities alongside the permie job search.

Contracting has a very low barrier to entry for the 50 something with role relevant experience.  Permanent hire has immense barriers to entry for exactly the same person. Ageism is unspoken but real. 
Management roles (getting thinned) worse.  Strategy roles (see management but possibly worse still)
Technology is a cult of youth where alongside the 20 somethings a lot of the work is also done by greybeard contractors

You may have to take a slightly bargain day rate the first time to ease getting on the train particularly if fishing out of sector.  Better to go somewhere which sees your prior experience as a plus.

Good luck

DishwashingFairy

Hiring manager here. Even had to re-sign up and wait to get my MSE account activated because it's been years since I posted- long-time reader and coming out of the woodwork to comment:

for question 1:

I'd suggest keeping it brief - due to ill health and recovery, you weren't in the workforce but your health is now fine, and shouldn't impact your new role.

for question 2:

I'd suggest trying to leverage some of your existing skills (and being more senior at 50 does come with some silver linings in terms of your credibility in senior levels or organisations, it's not all bad news!). you haven't been super precise about what your "strategy management" skills are  (can you expand a bit to narrow it down?), but I know for a fact that my own org is hiring for LOADS of folk like that at mid and senior levels - everything from HR type roles, estates management and tech, into financial management.. but, strategy manager is so broad it really depends. heck, there are even supplier and bid roles which NEED someone with a heavy public sector background as you have insider knowledge on how public sector works - you really do have many strengths that you can lean upon in your job search! 

Practical advice:

1.  Lots of places also have "return to the workplace" schemes if you pick a big enough employer (which i'd advise you try and target, since they're more likely to have the support structure in place that you might want/need as well as a proper supportive HR function). they're not all for women returning to e.g. technology roles or something like that, the criteria is quite broad if you find an employer hiring in your area and they've got an established scheme. Lots of energy companies have it, consulting companies have it - think big employer, not small-medium private sector.

2. your salary expectations aren't unrealistic, for the south east, but i think you need to be much clearer on a) what your strengths are from your previous work and b) what kind of employer will see those as an asset. others here have already commented around the challenge of landing a public sector permie position in your situation, which i wouldn't disagree with. on (a), your paying to re-write your CV should have helped to narrow that down a bit. otherwise, start looking for ideal job ads or similar folk on linkedin and then try and figure out how you can tell your story in a similar manner.

3. are you on linkedin and clearly marked as "looking for new ops"? if not, you should be.

Hope that helps!