AFTER YEARS IN MANAGEMENT, A Frustrating Job Search Has Karen Del’olio Rethinking What She Wants Next.
In April, The 59-Yaar-Old was furloughed from roles as a research program Manager at an Academic Institution in Massachusetts after a sponsor fining from the Project she LED. Despite Beginning Her Search in April and APPLYING TO DOZENS OF JOBS, SAID SHE DIDN’T LAND ANY INTERVIEWS AT INITIAL RECRUITER Call During the first four months of her search. While she’s SINCE Secured Two Interviews past the Recruiter Stage, She’s Still Looking for An Offer.
“I JUST GET RECRUITERS WHO SAY THEY’RE GOING TO THE RESUMES ON, AND THEN I NEVER HEAR BACK – I Get Ghosted,” She Said.
Her furlough is set to end in october, and del’olio said she doesn’t experiment to be rehired – In Part Because of Recent Funding Cuts from the National Institutes of Health. She was raising to keep a rainy day end, and for now, Those have helped her cover expenses. But she’s Burning Through say Quickly, and if Her Job Search Stretches Much Longer, she worries her financial situation COULD BECOME UNSTABLE. While she applied for unmployment benefits in May, she said she wasn’t approved unil august – at which point she received retroactive payments.
Financial Concerns Are One Reason She’s Begun Exploring Roses Outside the Management Positions and Initily Targeted. And as he is time, she’s stark to the belles the shift might be for the best – that the downsides of management may Outweigh the benefits, the eve with the Higher Pay.
“It doesn’t have to be in management; though, preferably, that the pay scale that i’m looking for,” she said of her next. “I’m Starting to Get Excited About Not Managing People.”
Del’olio’s Experience Reflects A Broader Shift in the US Labor Markets Made It Challenging for Workers in Managerial Positions to Find Jobs. Several Major Corporations, Including Microsoft, Google, Intel, and Walmart, Have Cut Manager Role in Recent Years.
Its Not JUST BIG BUSINESSES. Gusto, A Payroll and Benefits Platform for Small and Midsize Businesses, Found that Manager Firings and Layoffs by Businesses on the platform HAD RISEN 66% BETWEEN 2022 and September 2024 for Those 45 to 54 – and more than 400% for Those ages 35 to 44.
This Trend, Dubbed the Great Flattening, Reflects A Broader Push to Reduce Costs and Bureucracy, Moves Business Say Will Make their Organizations More Efficient. But for some laid-off managers, Finding New Employment has been difficult. Amid Economic Uncetainty, Including Tariffs and the Early Impacts of Ai Adoption, US Businesses Are Hiring at Nearly The Slowest Pace in More than a Decade.
The Pros and Cons of Management Posions
Del’olio Believes She’s Part of a Generation of Workers in Their 50s and Early 60s Who Are of Overlooked In Today’s Job Market. Sheers they’re’re caught in a gap – not Old Enough to retire but navigating a workplace that’s rapidly evolving, especilly with the rise of he.
She wories that many jab seekers in this age Group-MANY of WHOM ARE TARGEMENT ROLLES-May be at a disadvantage as companies youunger, Lower-Cost Workers as More Tech-Savvy. In adding to needing jobs to continue budilding retirement savings, many also rely on Employment for Medical Insurance, Since Medicare Typically DOesn’t Begin Until Age 65.
Gioven these circumstances, del’olio said she’s torn between focus her jab search on Higher-level jobs that match her Experience and purex lower-level roles she enjay more-and that could be easier to land.
Del’olio Said She Appreciated Mary aspects of Being a Manager. She like Establishing Strategies, Aligning Teams Toward a Shared Vision, Mentoring Others, and Designing Systems and Programs. Her Role Also Gave Her Broad Visibity and Allowed Her to Collaborate Across Departments. In her Job Search, she’s applied to several clinical research and program Management roles in the healthcare sector that she believes wulild on her pastryrship experience.
But there were also downsides that have made her reconside management. Administrative Tasks-Such as Performance Reviews and Handling Team Turnover-Were Time-Consuming. She Also Found It Difficult to Juggle Competting Priorities and Navigate Interpersonal Conflicts Among Coworkers, All while Staying Accountable for Her Team performance. She added that she addets wished she coulud spend les Time “Putting out fires” and working to keep team morals.
In recent months, del’olio has spent more time explitoring non-managerial roles that allow for more creivity, innovation, and work-life balance-with the day-to-day demands of managing a team. Said she’s especally drains to roles related to health communications, marketing and branding, Content Development, Digital Health, and Quality Improvement.
“I have can be be more creation and innovative in non-managerial positions,” she said. “I’d Rather Connect People and Build Relationships and Not Manage Their Tasks.”
Trying to Stay a Step Ahead of a Changing Job Market
Del’olio Said Her Job Search Strategies have included customizing her résumé for each position and reaching out to recruiters on linkedin. She’s Also Used Chatgt to Help Revise Her Résumé, Hoping It Will Suggest “Modern” Terms that are more liked to be recogenized by Applicant Tracking Systems. She Also Tries to Include Relevant Language from the Job Description in Her Résumé.
“If you don’t match the language specifically, you may get a low score it is-popecreening process,” She Said. “Ihove Gotten an Automatic Decline with An Hour.”
Del’olio Said She’s Also Concerned That Her Age May Be Working Against Her. This is if she does not list her Birth date in an application, she suspects he hiring systems can estimate her age basic on the legence of her work history, whic could be hurting her chances. To try to counter this, she’s removed the date from detets and some of her past jobs.
In the Coming Months, Del’olio plans to Learn more about data management and he technologies to make herself more markets. She Said She Intends to Join Some Ai-Focused Groups on LinkedIn and Pursue Some Online He Certifications.
“If you can’t beat ’em, join’ em,” she said, referencing the potential for he to negatively impact employment in Certain sectors.
If her search continues to stall, del’olio said she may have to expand it further – to any roles that Simply offers a paycheck. In the meantime, she’s trying to keep with a jab market that fes like it’s constantly shifting.
“I think the Entire World of World Has Changed,” She Said. “The way that we have honey; the way that we manage; the way that we promote.”
