I am looking for a part-time role so I can spend more time with my young family. I am 43 years old and have more than 20 years’ experience in general HR. I recently attended an interview for a part-time HR role, but the feedback I got was that I was too senior and the interviewers thought I would soon get bored. What can I do to convince a prospective employer that I am perfectly happy doing a job that might be perceived as mundane compared to my past roles?
Q. I am looking for a part-time role so I can spend more time with my young family. I am 43 years old and have more than 20 years’ experience in general HR. I recently attended an interview for a part-time HR role, but the feedback I got was that I was too senior and the interviewers thought I would soon get bored. What can I do to convince a prospective employer that I am perfectly happy doing a job that might be perceived as mundane compared to my past roles?
A. Try not to base your view of the world on feedback from one job application or the feedback from one recruiter. While the feedback may be accurate, it potentially applies to just this role and to just this employer. Also bear in mind a recruiter will often give feedback to a candidate which is comparative – they compare you to the competencies they are seeking of the ideal candidate, often someone that they already have in mind or that they have already met. Always represent your self honestly. Consider a paragraph on your resume’s front page which identifies career objectives as a preface to your resume. This is helpful as it crystallises in the mind of the reader that the candidate may have been in a senior role in the past but because of personal circumstances now being different, that a different approach to work now exists in the mind of the candidate.
There is nothing wrong with modest aspirations, but an employer has to be aware of them and be comfortable that you are the right fit. One has to appreciate that each employer is different and their aspirations around the skills and competencies of the post holder will vary, be confident that by being clear about your aspirations from the outset you are assisting the future employer.
State of the market for part-time employment in HR is good and getting better, there has been a super significant growth in part-time labour in the last decade and now part-time workers represent a major component of the labour market. This is equally true in the HR recruitment market, one observation I would make however is that a large number of Part time positions are recruited through Networking and employee referrals rather than through the recruitment agency route.
Consider finding a partner with whom you can offer a job share arrangement, this is a left field option but by finding a buddy with complimentary skills or non complimentary skills for that matter, you would in theory be able to successfully offer a job share arrangement allowing yourselves to take a full time job, there are a list of considerations to bear in mind including a commitment to communicate between yourselves and to have accountability for specific pieces of work, but we have seen this tried and carried out in the workplace and this is another option to tackle, what may be initially seen as an unwelcoming recruitment market.
Also, consider using all avenues to seek a new role including Agencies, newspapers, national and local and your networks, I have no doubt in my mind that to be successful in the job market today that in order to maximise your exposure to the job market and therefore benefit from the maximum choice that market can offer that you have to seek sources of job opportunities from multiple outlets, Web, News papers and Local Newspapers are just the beginning, approach companies you want to work for direct, also network with friends and former work colleagues to see if their firms or people they know would be open to speaking with you, register with specialist HR Recruiters like HR Partners.
Finally, Don’t give up hope, you will be successful, if at first you do not succeed try try again, seriously this is a talent short market, good people are hard to find, with the right approach targeted on as wide a front as you can manage you will be successful, it will just be a question of time. Remain positive, be honest and retain a strong sense of value in relation to what you have to offer. And finally good luck.
By David Owens, Associate Director of HR Partners/Staff & Exec
