Hello All, Just wanted few pointers on how many of you ladies would have managed to get a job after a career break. I have 3.5 yrs exp in software. my Husband had a 2 year project in US. so,few months after marriage i moved to be with him. now, for last 10 months i am in US. And,like many know, we cannot work here on h4 visa for legal reasons. Currently i am out of work. we are looking at going to india sometime next month(Feb/march 2010).I have updated my CV too. Are there any tips on what to say about my break to prospective employers, how is the salary(same as last drawn or higher or lower?), do websites like naukri.com etc have success rate for ppl like me? LAdies,any kind of input willl help me. i am losing sleep over the fact that what if i dont find a job :-(.. it is causing me to go into a depression.... and i am tending to lose my confidence....will this one year break cost me my career?? I have started to prepare for interviews and am brushing up my knowledge of projects done etc.. Any inputs/suggestions/advice? Neha S
Neha, You may be knowing these, still ! Just my opinion, First upload your CV in job sites like Naukri,Monster, etc. As you have said, you are preparing yourself for the interviews/tests. That is good. Check with your previous employer once, if you feel about any vacancy ? About depression part... Don't get into one. Be positive always and have faith in you.Divert yourself from those thoughts. Enjoy the feeling of going back home now ! Take care. Hope it helps a bit.
Neha1, You have less than 1yr of break in career and IMO it will not be a big problem to find a job as long as you are thorough with your technical skills. I used to take technical interviews for my company and i have come across several instances when we got resumes from candidates with upto 3 yrs of break in career. If you think from the interviewer's point of view, when they see a CV with a career break they are a little skeptical if the candidate is still sound in his technical skills. So, they tend to ask tougher questions. So, revise and be well prepared for a tough technical round. If you do really well in the interviews, then you will be fine. You can expect the following questions regarding your break. Think about how to answer these questions convincingly. The interview panel should get a feel that though you took a break, you are a candidate who is serious and committed to your career. a) Why did you have a break in career? IMO, it is best to be honest. You can tell that you had to take a break due to family priorities. b) What did you do during your break period? You could say that you brushed up your skills, studied something new yourself etc. I strongly recommend that you take certifications that are relevant in your field. Dont get into depression. May be, it will be hard to get a job with some top MNC or with a great salary and designation right away. But, if you try, you will definitely get a job in a decent company. My suggestion - right now, focus on getting back on track. Dont worry too much about salary, designation etc. Once you are back on track, you can look for a better job and salary later. Another thing - When you submit your CV with a consultant, highlight the fact that you can join right away. I have seen many job postings that need to be filled immediately for which they prefer candidates who dont have to wait till their notice period is over.
hi gowri.... thank you so much for the quick repsonse.... i have already uploaded in naukri and monster... i get mails on job alerts but no reply after i send my CV:bonk..may be the reason is i am in US right now... i was in a depression for almost 1 months..because of which i ended up having severe health problems:hide: .... finally, i thought its not worth thinking of job so much and i made myself positive some how.... yeah,im longing to go back home....though my husband has a permanent offer here in US..i've told him to reject it:bonk Neha S
hi reshsabu, thanks for the prompt reply and detailed explanation...really appreciate it:bowdown.... i think ,i need to prepare well for tough interviews...dat should be the only negative for me... yeah,what u mention about notice period is definitely a plus for me...since i can join right away!!!!:rotfl....employers/consultants need not worry about motice period i am unable to take certifications since i've already given and cleared whatever i had to:rant...so,nothing to give now unless i decide to change my line/field!!! thanks for ur kind words..it boosted my spirits!!! i was so worried with my career break...since it will b exactly one year (or a few days more)by the time we land in india.. i am just curious to know how ppl find job in india when they are in US....do u(or any one here) have an idea?? i would prefer to land a job through telephonic interviews/Video conf/Web cam so that me and my husband can plan to place where we can set up house etc.... Neha S
Neha, How about some general certifications like CSTE, CSQA etc? Or even technology specific ones - for eg: Db2 certification? Another thing you can do is ,spend time to prepare a strong CV highlighting all your career skills and expertise. My suggestion would be - First, be prepared for interviews and once you are confident, post your CV in sites like Monsterindia, naukri etc. Usually, you will get responses pretty fast.Once you get the responses, you can call up your consultant and ask if telephonic round can be arranged and proceed with the interviews accordingly. Note : - Often, they dont respond promptly if you mail them. So, call them. Usually face-to-face interview would be the last round. So, you can ask your consultant if rest of the rounds can be completed while you are in US. You can also reach out to your old project manager/lead and ask if you can apply to join back in the same project. Since you already have about 3+ yrs in the project, they may prefer to have you back. If you know friends working in other MNCs where they have an employee referral system ( most companies have it), you could ask them to forward your CV. If your DH has the flexibility in choosing work location in India, it is highly recommended that he opts for metro cities like Bangalore, Chennai, Mumbai etc. I used to work in Bangalore (which is called the IT hub of India) and it is a lot easier for you to find jobs there.
hey reshsabu, thanks a ton!!! god bless you !!! i have already given ISTQB,DB2 etc... not sure if there is still something i can do..but i shall surely check!!! yeah, u r right.. i am getting a lot of responses through emails....and if i send my profile to them then there is no reply:bonk...i think i should call them and explain my situation...first i need to prepare thoroughy...this is better than waiting for interview and later preparing for it my previous project/company is not hiring currently...but i can check out this option too yeah, we are thinking of going to bangalore only...no other city...but we need to look for houses in blore ..so,we thought it will be much easier if we know where we both will be working.... last option is i going to india a couple of weeks before DH going...so dat i can search job offers/accomodation etc..but dat is alst option for me..since i don't want to leave DH alone:crazy..... thanks again!!! i am so grateful to you:yes: :thankyou2:
It is nice that you are going to Bangalore. 1 yr of break is not so bad and since you have almost 4 yrs of experience, I am pretty sure you will be able to find a job if you are able to clear the technical rounds. One suggestion on doing well with tech. interviews is to read a lot of FAQs and interview questions on your areas of expertise in addition to reading the books. The reason being - lot of interviewers usually have a favourite set of questions (usually tricky ones) which they ask over and over . You may focus more on these things when you read FAQs.Infact, many interviewers actually read thru FAQs before conducting interviews. Be very thorough with the basics. An interviewer will still consider you if you dont answer a tough, tricky question. But, they will screen you out immediately if you cant answer basic questions. You can find good FAQs and interview questions by doing google search . Also, there are several technology specific groups in yahoo , google, networking sites etc . It will be beneficial to participate actively in such groups and you will also find useful interview questions. Afterall, you are going to Bangalore. May be , you wont get a high tech job in an MNC, but you will get a decent job if you try. If nothing else works, you can always do some job oriented training (which is easily available in Bangalore) and get back to job.My cousin who comes from a totally non-technical background, recently did a SAP course and got a placement in an MNC. So, I am sure with your experience you will have a lot of options. Most important - be positive and be persistant. There are a lot of things you can do to improve your chances.
hi reshsabu, thanks ,once again ,for your reply ... it feels though some good friend is sitting right across and helping me..... it makes me feel so much better..... in my case, confidence is the main thing which is down.... i am pretty much ok with my line of work... i have good knowledge and also i will be able to answer it once i am called for interview(provided someone calls me:bowdown) .. i have borrowed some books for me to read from my local library here... i shall go through FAQ's too on internet.... yeah, i might not get a great position/designation but i'm expecting something where i left off... job oriented trainings are a good idea too but will it not make me a fresher again?:hide: just wondering.... i have a few contacts in blore ..so i plan to pass across my resume to them once i reach blore... your positive support and replies will give me good sleep from now on... i almost lost sleep thinking of jobs.... worst case ,what i have decided is i will join BPOs:rotfl.. i guess many ppl like the jobs there(only negative is shift timings)... and from there i can jump back to IT:thumbsup .... this is something that just came to my mind as i write this post..... Thanks!!! Neha S
