Don''t know what to do with my life...career wise at 36

[eks6426]

I''m 36, happily married with a 10 year old son and a 17 year old bonus son. We live in a mid-size city in northern Indiana. My parents live here and so does my first husband''s parents (super helpful with the 10 year old). My bonus son''s mom lives here. In other words we aren''t moving. But I am really frustrated with my job. I work in database marketing for a local newspaper. I''ve been here almost 10 years in more or less the same job. I''m not moving up (I report to the GM) and there is nowhere to go as a sidestep. The job is relatively stable and pays well for which I am grateful. I''ve looked for other jobs but have not been able to come up with anything that pays as well and a pay cut is definitely not an option. Furthermore, I''m not really sure I want ANY job in my related field. My job is very detail driven. I do lots of stats, research & reports. It seems like everything I do could be summed up on an Excel spreadsheet. I''ve tried to step into the New Media/internet area at the paper but I only get the detailed stats projects not the "planning and idea" projects which would be way more interesting. I''m repeatedly told "that''s not your area." I''m just tired of it so when I job hunt, I can''t get too excited about doing more or less the same thing for a different company. But I do know I need to do something different. My husband and I own a Nextel store that is not solid enough that I could quit and go back to school. I am the main breadwinner and I also carry the insurance benefits. I''ve posted up my resume on all the main job sites but I''m in a small enough city that there aren''t a lot of options. I''ve never really supervised so that defnitely hurts my prospects...next level job for me would be something like Marketing Director but since I don''t have supervisory experience I don''t get the interviews. I''m just really feeling trapped. Trapped because I can''t get out of the job type rut and trapped because I can''t take a pay cut.

I have a BS in Marketing & Econ and some MBA graduate classwork although it''s not finished (long way to go). Very few people in my area have MBA and I don''t have the "schmoozing" personality that it takes to be upper management anyway.
What I really like to do is create THINGS...not reports. I enjoy creating gardens, home decor etc...things I can look back at and think "wow, I did that."
I really want a job that is time flexible to be able to make my son''s concerts & games.
I''m not really outgoing. I''m kind of shy especially in a group. Cocktail parties are a nightmare to me. I''m terrible with names & faces. Outside sales would be a big challeng for me.
I''m good at project planning and delivering stuff on time.
I''m good with computers although I''m not tech saavy on web design & graphics. I had a graphic design background but that was drawing not computers.
I want a job that allows more creative thinking instead of just straight numbers.

So, does anyone have any suggestions for me. I''d like to take current skills and transfer industries/job types. But to what? I''m not sure. I read the ads in monster.com looking for ANY job that interests me and I have a hard time finding any. I should probably stop whining and just be happy to have a decent, well paying job but I just can''t imagine continuing this for another 5 years.....

Insights please!

 

[DivaDiamond007]

I am sorry to hear about your situation. You sound just like me husband though. The only thing that I tell him is that all you can do is keep looking. Apply for all the jobs you can find - even if you think you are overqualified or underqualified. Have you considered moving to another city for more opportunities? That''s one thing that I''d love to do, but my husband won''t because of his family (huge, close family).

If you are truly that unhappy then quit. This won''t be easy since you are the primary breadwinner but sometimes you have to do what''s right for you. Even if you take a different job with less pay that''s still money coming in. You might have to tighten the budget or cut unnecessary things but you''ll make do.

Since you have some MBA work under your belt I would encourage you to continue to pursue that as much as you can so you can make the degree work for you. Good luck and keep us posted.

Jess

 

[omieluv]

Do not feel bad for venting about your disatisfaction with your current job. There are so many people struggling with jobs they do not like, so you are not alone. In fact, job disatisfaction can cause great stress among workers!

Your situation at your job sounds odd to me, as the company I work with would encourage you to take on new challenges. Since you have been with your comapny for 10 years, this tells me that you have been a reliable & solid employee, so would it be out of the question to speak to your boss about taking on a more creative project? Just tell him that you are wanting to stretch your wings and that the project will not interfere with your daily work. Perhaps if he is reasonable, he will let you try something new. This way, you can show him your skills are not limited to analytical tasks. You can also express your interests to try managing a small team, just to see if management would be a route you may enjoy.

If your boss flat out rejects you, then perhaps it is time to take more aggressive actions in finding a company to work with. When conducting your search, rather than target the actual role, you should be looking for an organization that encourages growth and career development in its people. It will take time, but you can take your time, since you have a solid job. Looking at the usual suspects like Monster, CareerBuilder, HotJobs & Craig''s List are great places to start, but you may also want to enlist the help of a professional search firm, as they will have connections into organizations/industries you do not. Additionally, you may want to get a list of organizations in your area that you are interested in and visit their websites, as I have found many only post to their site and not to other external job boards.

You mention that you are in marketing. I happen to know that there are several marketing organizations that you can get involved with, which could help you to land your next job. Check out some of these sites as they have job boards:

Business Marketing Association (www.marketing.org), Begun 1922, as National Industrial Advertising Assoc. For over 80 years, BMA has been the premier service organization for professionals in the industry. BMA CareerLink is an electronic recruitment resource.

Ad Age - Advertising Age (http://adage.com/) The pre-eminent news publication in marketing & advertising. The core is top-level executives.

International Assoc. of Business Communicators - (http://jobs.iabc.com/home/index.cfm?site_id=65) Founded in 1970, IABC provides a professional network to its members

Sales and Marketing Executives International (SMEI) - (http://smei.associationcareernetwork.com/Common/HomePage.aspx) Sales & Marketing Executives International (SMEI) is the only worldwide knowledge-growth and relationship-building forum created for sales and marketing executives. Since no other worldwide executive sales and marketing associations exist, SMEI fills a void by providing a personal and professional community devoted to providing knowledge, growth, leadership and connections between peers in sales & marketing.

Some search firms to try & please do not be alarmed if they are not based in your home town as many organizations work with firms on a national level:
The Executive Group http://www.theexecutivegrp.com/
...based in Atlanta, GA, this search firm specializes in conducting searches throughout the United States for positions in Accounting, Administrative Assistant, Financial Services, Human Resources, Management, Marketing, Project Management, and Sales.

Executive Search Solutions http://www.bassettsearch.com/
...specializes in providing executive search and specialized research solutions to emerging growth companies. "Whether your company is looking for senior executive management, marketing, sales, operations, technical, or professional services leaders, we can customize a solution that fits your needs." Qualified candidates are welcome to submit resumes for consideration

Talent Asset Group http://www.talentassetgroup.com/
...based in Connecticut, TAG specializes in the placement of compensation, operations, adminstration, and sales / marketing executives. They cover the pharmaceutical, healthcare, financial services, and consumer products industries. Current searches are posted on the site, most of which are in compensation. Qualified candidates can contact the firm through their website or by phone.

BlueBridge Group http://www.bluebridgegroup.com/
...an executive search firm specializing in retained senior management searches. Their specialties include Technology, Board / Corporate Governance, Sales & Marketing, and the emerging Israeli technology market.

 

[Mara]

what about event planning??

honestly if you want to get into the more idea/creative area of marketing rather than stats/data/analysis...i'd take a step down and take a lower level position in what you do want to do...maybe something like event coordination/planning. i really had a lot of fun doing that when i was starting out and it lets you touch on lots of different areas in marketing/advertising, it could open up other avenues.

if you don't want to do event planning because it's too social, i'd go to school part time for graphic design and turn those drawing skills into computer graphic skills. then you can do consulting and see if it is lucrative enough to support you and if not then do a hodgepodge of maybe marketing consulting and also graphic design or event planning.

really i find that with a lot of various marketing skills people do have avenues open but since you do mention you are in a small town that might be hard.

 

[eks6426]

Diva--Yes, you are right that we can''t move right now. Hubby would never leave his son. I definitely can''t quit right now. We''ve done all the budget tightening we can right now. Not sure on the MBA. I would have 4 years of constant night school to finish and that just doesn''t seem fair to miss so much of my 10 year old son''s life.

Omi--Wow, thanks for the large lists of places to check. I had gotten through to many of them but not all. I''ll definitely give the search agencies a try. Most of the main sites like CareerBuilder etc. rarely have any jobs worth much in my area.....

Mara--I''m intrigued. Tell me more about Event Planning. I have several friends in the hospitality industry that work for hotels. They do weddings & meetings & such...more sales and then banquet type things.

I''ve considered going back for design, but the jobs pay so low in my area that I would be taking a 50% pay cut.

Any idea on how to take marketing type skills into a new job that doesn''t have a "marketing" type job title?

 

[omieluv]

I cannot stress enough about visiting websites of local businesses in your area to view current jobs they are offering, as often times companies will not always post to external job boards, due to the cost. I work with a top Forune 500 company and they will post roles to their website and then to function specific websites, rather than going the Monster & CareerBuilder route. So also monitor the job boards for some of those marketing sites I gave you.

There are several careers out there that can benefit from one with marketing skills. Examples include sales and advertising - both are competitive, but can definitely benefit from someone with a marketing background. From my personal experience, I worked for a large staffing search firm, where each branch was their own operating unit. We always had to create our own marketing campaigns to help drive our sales process & since I was the creative/analytical one in the office, I was put in charge with creating each of our campaigns and tracking results. So I was the resident recruiter/marketing person, which added something unique to my resume.

Here is another example, when I was working for the staffing firm, one of my customers needed an administrative assistant to support their marketing department & director. He really wanted the person to have solid admin skills, but having a marketing degree and/or experience would have been a plus. I had the perfect candidate and they hired her for the admin role, since she had worked as a marketing assistant! Later, I found they gave her a promotion because she was able to prove her capabilities and now holds a marketing role within the department. The key for this success is that the culture of the organization was one that encourages employee growth & development, which is something you need to really keep your eye out when you are interviewing.

Another tactic would be for you to target smaller comanies that may require its employees to wear several "hats" in their department. For instance, if the company is small enough, you would be the go to person for all aspects of marketing, including research and campaign development. This would be a sharp contrast to your current company, where there are distinct divisions that are blocking you from trying new things.

 

[Mara]

ID you can google ''event planning'' and read more. but basically it''s just that. planning events. there are a ton of types of event planning agencies or companies. you can work for one or you can go work for a big hotel or company and plan their events. it''s fun...sometimes kind of mindless and not always challenging but i liked doing it, if you are detail oriented and like that sense of accomplishment in pulling something big off, it could be for you. event planning is typically mentally on the lower end of the ladder for marketing but i think it''s harder than some of the higher end types of jobs...you have to be really detailed and organized!! i think in the future if i am able to..i''d love to start my own event planning companies doing like large corporate events etc. it can be really fun. at least worth looking into i think as a potential option.

 

[omieluv]

Not a bad idea Mara. In large organizations, they put marketing people in charge of handling corporate wide events as a dimension of their job...

Also, you can try high-end catering companies that have sales/marketing departments as well. My BF is a corporate recruiter for a very established catering company in Chicago (they do all of the stuff for the Mayor and civic operations) and they have actual sales departments and even people to coordinate of the large events and conventions. Timing is interesting in that they are looking to expand their brand by adding a marketing team, too bad you cannot relocate b/c he is looking for a marketing director and a team to build around the director.

 

[DivaDiamond007]

I think Mara''s idea is great! It would be a way for you to be creative and make money at the same time. Check it out!

Jess

 

[eks6426]

I called my friends who are in the hospitality industry after looking up event planning online. Basically they told me that in our area, the only people doing event planning are working for hotels or a couple of banquet facilities. We're small enough we don't get major conventions or anything in our area. There is a small University here and they said there is an event coordinator job there and also one for the Chamber of Commerce. Pay is expected to be around $35K which just won't work for me at all......

High end catering job would be interesting. I definitely have never heard of one where I live. In fact, I've never been to a wedding in my town that didn't have the polish wedding feast which is fried chicken, polish sausage with kraut, potato rolls, mashed potatoes, green beans with bacon & polish noodles. It doesn't matter whether it is the fanciest place in town or the most plain. It is always the same menu. My husband and I laugh about this all the time. Between us we have been to over 30 weddings in the last 10 years and neither of us have anything but the polish wedding feast. We got married out of town

I like the idea of a small company where I could wear different hats. That would suit me great. Any ideas on how to break into that kind of role?

 

[omieluv]

For smaller companies, you may just want to update your resume and drive around your area and knock on the door! Sure, they may ask you to fill out an application, but you may be able to get a meeting with the owner. Also check on the major job boards too...Keep in mind that smaller companies may not be able to pay you as you would like, but it is worth a try.

What you can also do, is look through websites of companies in your area and try to set up an exploratory meeting to learn about the organization, this is a form of networking that can help to unlock doors & I have read that this tactic can be helpful. The company may not have any immediate roles, but if you develop a nice relationship with the person, something down the road may become available...

Have you tried Linked-IN? That is a nice way to network too.

 

[Stone Hunter]

Hey there. I don''t have any of the good ideas the other poster had. I just want to say that I feel for you and hope you can make things better where you are or find something else. I too am an Introvert and don''t like the cocktail party chit chat that you described.

So sorry you''re down over your job. BUT if you stay and don''t do anything (ie talk with boss) then things will remain the same. Can you live with things as they are? How long?

Keep us updated.

 

[Cehrabehra]

Date: 7/27/2007 10:58:57 AM
Author:IslandDreams
I''ve tried to step into the New Media/internet area at the paper but I only get the detailed stats projects not the ''planning and idea'' projects which would be way more interesting. I''m repeatedly told ''that''s not your area.''

Can you ask your GM what you would need to pursue this area? Maybe go back to school for a few classes or something?

 

[eks6426]

I definitely do watch the websites of the major employers in my area. I haven''t heard of linked-IN so I will try that. Craigslist and other low-cost employement sites seem to not really work in my area. I think I could use my database skills to target smaller, growing companies and go knock on their doors.

On the boss side, I have definitely talked to him about my desire to grow into other things and I pretty much get told "that''s not your area." And when I ask, what I could do to move toward it, I''m told "we already have someone in that sort of position." The environment is all about cost-cutting now so they''re not looking to add additional people in the internet area (we only have 2). I really do think I have hit the wall here, but it''s not so horrible that I need to jump to just anything...I just know that I don''t want to be here in say 3 years or even 1. Ideally, I think I would like to work for a smaller, younger company where I could wear multiple hats and not be so pigeonholed into one area.

 

[omieluv]

That''s too bad about your boss''s negative attitude, I would have hoped he would have been more supportive. Simply saying "that is not your area" to a veteran employee of 10 years, just does not seem right. Keep in mind though, if there is an opening in another area, you be the 1st person to get your resume in your boss''s hand! Is there any way that you can create a "concept" portfolio of things that you would have done differently had you been in charge of a project in the area you are interesting in working in? This may seem odd, but at least that would be a way you can provide him with a visual representation of what you can do. If you did not have so much personal responsibility, I would have suggested that you just come right out and tell him how you feel.

At least you have learned what you think you might want out of your next role and you have the luxury to passively search for a new job. I really think it is cool that you are going to use your database/research skills to target smaller & growing companies. If you had not already thought of it before, job hunting is really all about marketing and selling your skills to a potential employer. Since you have a background in marketing, I am sure you will come up with great ideas to get yourself out there. Even if some of the places you are targeting are not hiring, see if you can at least get a 15 minute meeting with HR or a hiring manager to learn more about the culture and values of the organization. Who knows, if you talk to the right people, you may network yourself into a future job. This may work, especially since you are going to target small to mid-sized organizations.

Since you are in marketing, you may have heard of Hoovers.com. If you can get professional level access to this site, you can research just about any publically traded company. Privately held organizations are also on this site, but there is not as much information provided. Some parts of this site are free though, so you are able to try before you buy. Vault.com may also be worth checking out too, as it allows you to research by providing snapshots of organizations, for free. I believe this site has a job board and if you buy a subscription, you can actually read comments other people have had about certain organizations. Linked-In is a great way for you to network in your area. You build a profile and then you are able to start linking to people in order to build your network. You are also able to search jobs there too. I have also been told that it can be helpful to build a professional page on MySpace.

I have a friend who has worked for small to mid-sized organizations and though it can get hectic, she loves being able to switch from her traditional job duties and branch out into other areas, which are often times not even related to her job title. My mother works for a small non-profit, and she also wears several hats and loves it as well. I am not trying to discourage you, but they both earn a bit less working for a smaller company & benefits, while comprehensive, are more money. Typically though, when a person has been working at a company for a long stretch of time, they tend earn make less than they would if they were to find another job at another company doing similiar work, so you may not even notice. Interesting...

 

[omieluv]

Though I am not familiar with it, a colleague of mine has also suggested trying a new site called Jobster.com, which is a networking site where you can post your profile and upload your resume for others to view. I am building a profile now, just to check it out.