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Re-Entering The Job Market: Ella's Tips

Dear Ella,
I have been a stay-at-home mom for 12 years and am just beginning a job search to re-enter the work force. I am trying to write a cover letter but am having difficulty. How do I begin a cover letter that explains my long absence from the work force? Also, I have seen job requirements that match part of my skill set but not all of my skill set. Should I still contact these companies even though I am not exactly what they are looking for? How do I get started?

Dear How Do I Get Started?

Always begin a cover letter with information that benefits the reader. If you start your letter with the reasons why you haven't been working, then you've just opened your pitch by telling your reader that you're without value.

Begin your letter with a brief introduction and then state your intention for your correspondence. Mention the specific job that you are applying for and state your corresponding skills. Don't mention the aspects of the position where you've no experience; rather, magnify the positive by elaborating on what you do know.

A stay-at-home mom has to be able to administrate an entire household, so talk about those skills -- i.e. organizing and scheduling, time management, arbitration, vendor management (contractors, weed-wackers, plumbers, etc.) and more ... wow! I'm tired just thinking about all that you do in the course of the day. You're remarkable!

Don't fret about what you don't know. Every position has component skill requirements that are new to us -- this is called a learning curve and it is what makes a job more interesting and us more marketable over time. OK? OK!

Dear Ella,
I took a severance package in January when my company announced it was relocating out of state; moving was not an option for my family or me. I began an active, aggressive job search in May of this year, but have not yet been successful in landing a job. What am I doing wrong? To date I have:

Posted my resume online

Contacted a number of placement firms

Gone to company sites and posted my resume online

Networked with friends for names of specific people in companies to contact

Please let me know what else I can do to find employment in this tight economy.

Dear What Else Can I Do?

Remember, everyone and their mother is applying for a job online. All of these hundreds of resumes must first be filtered through human resources before a departmental review by management can be set. Therefore, it is imperative that you get off the "cow path" and take a more direct approach.

First, make sure that you truly understand how your skills are commercially transferable to the company you are soliciting. Be sure you are able to conceptualize, intellectualize, commercially apply, write about and verbalize what it is you have to sell. Then:

Research many companies to determine your best fit.
Short list target companies to a manageable three.
Determine appropriate department(s) to target.
Contact department heads, or to whomever you think you would most probably report DIRECTLY.
Follow up relentlessly.

Being your own agent is not for the faint of heart. You must be bold and able to identify new and creative ways to navigate around or through corporate "chain of command" obstacles. Think outside the box and be persistent; the squeaky wheel really does get the grease.

Dear Ella,
How does one start over after being incarcerated? What do you put on a resume?

Dear Formally Incarcerated,

That's a tough one because if you don't reveal that you have a felony conviction during the interview process and you are hired, you may very well be fired for lack of disclosure once the background check on you is completed.

On the other hand, if you do tell your prospective employer that you have a felony record, there is a better than good chance that you won't be hired because of that disclosure, too.

Basically you're stuck between a rock and a hard place. However, here are a couple of suggestions that may help.

There are many faith based organizations and other nonprofits that have experience assisting the formally incarcerated in job placement. Start by contacting your local church or synagogue, community center and the Department of Health & Family Services in your area for more specific program offerings.

I have heard that you can also purchase an assurance bond through a bail bondsmen. An assurance bond acts as an insurance policy for your employer, protecting them financially against any criminal hardship, mischief or wrongdoing caused by your employ. This bond is obtained and paid for by you, and having it may disarm some of the initial concerns a prospective employer might have about your liability factor. Good luck.

Dear Ella,
If you interview for two positions and you are really interested in one of them and the other makes an offer first, do you wait for the other one, the one you really like?

Dear Should You Wait,

It depends. How badly do you need a job?

I don't consider a company a serious contender until they put their money where their mouth is and make an offer. If you are expecting an offer from company X, call them and tell them you have an offer on the table from company Y and they need to expedite the process if they are indeed interested in bringing you on board. If they can't get their acts together within four days from the delivery of this information, they are either not serious about you or they are unorganized and can't get out of their own bureaucratic way, and who wants to work for a company like that?

Ideally, though, you should pace your interviews so that offers are extended close together. This can be done if you coordinate your search efforts and contact all companies of interest at or around the same time frame. Then, once you have completed the initial round interviews, continue to schedule second rounds in much the same way -- close together. If one company is further ahead of the pack than the others in the process, feign an important project that requires you to push back interviews with them for one week. This will give your other prospects a chance to catch up.

While this advice sounds good in theory, the pace of business is not always reasonable. You may be forced to make a career decision before you are ready. If push comes to shove, consider the saying, "A Bird In The Hand."

Dear Ella,
Ten years ago I received a degree in electronics. I am still with the same company I started with out of school, but instead of working on all kinds of electronics projects as we once did, we now do passive mechanical manufacturing of molded rubber parts and the like.
I've forgotten much of what I learned in school, and am afraid that if I stay put, I won't have any marketable electronic skills left to sell. Should I get out while I can still "bias a transistor," or am I stuck molding and testing rubber?

Dear Molding and Testing Rubber,

You don't have to get out; you can go back to school first.

A lot has changed in the landscape of technology over the past 10 years, so it's a good bet that your academic training, while once competitive, is no longer commercially applicable.

Research electronics companies with whom you would most like to work and find out what specific technical skills they require in their new recruits and then seek training in these areas. Contact the community college, university or technical training school in your area for course descriptions, qualification requirements and the types of job placement programs they offer. Commit to re-tool your skill set first and then look for work elsewhere.

I also suggest that you read my article, Program Provides Opportunity For Continuing Ed. This program may offer you financial assistance and program information to re-tool your skill base.

Next week: Mailbag

How To Write A Resume

How To Market A Resume

How To Follow Up On A Resume Sent

Beginning, Middle And End: An Interviewing Strategy

Expert Corner: Michael Gage/Career Center University Miami

Ethics In Corporate America

Program Provides Opportunity For Continuing Ed

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