Barbara,
I do not carry the resume you have, but I am your age and recently changed jobs coming from a position as a City Engineer/Public Works Director and going to a private firm as a Project Manager, so I think I can offer some insight and some speculation as to what to do...
To get my current position, I had applied for some 120 positions, both exactly like that I was leaving, and to some near entry level positions that my wife and I were considering to be closer to the kids and grandkids...of the first 80-90, I did not receive any offers, very few interviews, and just received very little interest or acknowledgement. I felt I needed to change how I was doing this… My guess is that as it was for me, it seems to go this way for you:
If you are applying for technical/technician positions, your resume is intimidating...they "know you will be unchallenged and leave the firm quickly" or that you “…will be a know-it-all, and we do not need another one of those…”
If you are applying for upper level positions, they will not interview or hire you as "...she will want partnership almost immediately, and we have so many who have been here 30 years that deserve a shot first...", or perhaps their senior staff may even see you as a threat.
And finally, if you are applying for design/support positions, they will see you as a “…theoretician and not an applied designer/problem solver…” who “…could not communicate with a contractor if her life depended on it…”
Regardless, I felt that was how I was being perceived.
When I changed my job hunting approach, I got some 14 or 16 interviews resulting in seven (7) offers, following only a 3-week period I had changed the way I approached the job search - from the cover letter to the interview. I truthfully emphasized these items:
I am in the last 1/4 of my career, and do not need to prove anything - I have already proved myself to be a competent designer, personnel manager, project manager and planner. Nor do I need to be in charge of everything - I have already spend many years showing I can do that well. And, while I will work for, and not pass up the opportunity for promotion or to be a owner, I do not expect it.
What I want from my job is the opportunity to use what I know, to mentor and train, to occasionally present projects to my peers at seminars and workshops, and to know that I am doing it all while working for a firm that values ethics and integrity above all else…”I want a job with this firm as I know it will be the job I will not want to retire from when the time comes…”
I was able to get a job that met all of this, so it seemed to work for me!
I am sorry this is so long, but I do hope it is of some assistance to you. Good luck in your job hinting, and best wishes!!
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Reed Schwartzkopf P.E., M.ASCE
Project Manager
Bolton and Menk, Inc.
Ames IA
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Original Message:
Sent: 03-01-2017 13:35
From: Barbara Benson
Subject: Woman in Engineering
I am a female engineering intern with a PhD in environmental engineering. I worked for 10 years in state government, 5 years at engineering firms and 10 years in academia as an assistant professor. I retired a couple of years ago with 20 years with the state of Louisiana thinking I would go to work for an engineering firm. I am 61, in good health and full of energy. While not ready to really retire I cannot seem to get anyone interested in even interviewing me though I never had this problem when I was younger. With so much to offer, what more can I do to make myself more marketable?
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Barbara Benson EIT, A.M.ASCE
Retired
Crowley LA
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