Stuck in (absent) career

[anonymous12345]

I am career wise stuck at the moment, and have run out of ideas. I currently train for becoming an insulation fitter (a speciality within plumbing), 4 months or so, that might lead to an income. Better than being unemployed — Perhaps. The work is just so simple that I get severe depression symptoms due to the lack of stress and challenge.

About me:

• Master’s degree in finance from a reputable Swedish university
• Bachelor is marketing management/general economics from Norway
• A well-written CV and cover letters, although they are traditional
• Attended a LinkedIn webinar on the topic of job hunt which is supposed to be “modern” and “advanced”, but it was not much new
• Sent over 200 applications in south of Sweden/Denmark over about 1.5 years. Fintech, IT, economics, finance, blue-collar jobs too
• I have IT skills, been working 4 years commercially as a C++ engineer for a large telecom company, and many years before that in open-source/various projects. My skills are somewhat old school (for instance no cloud), but a good programmer and founded in computer science though no formal education on this front

One can view me as “Software engineer with MBA” or “economist with a master’s”.

Drawbacks:

• There’s currently an economical recession over here and some analysts say it will get worse/stay the same for 2024 before correcting. If my solution is better times it means waiting maybe five years
• There seems to be few junior jobs out, basically all jobs ask for experience
• Never worked in finance, and it’s now about 3 years since I took the degree. I studied jazz piano/sabbatical for two years after it (career wise stupid, thought it would work out)
• Further large gap in CV due to studies after work and personal tragedies
• Getting old, 39. Sometimes it feels like I’m poor at adaptation and learning new things
• I’ve been in 18 processes, digitally and in person. I’m good at that I would say
• But: in essence I don’t beat the competition or manage to convince I’m a good hire

I want to break the spell and get a somewhat decent and relevant job that leads somewhere.

Any ideas?

 

[Bible_Belt]

Maybe it's time to give up on the idea of a job and start a business instead.

 

[anonymous12345]

Maybe it's time to give up on the idea of a job and start a business instead.

That's a risk/reward tradeoff that doesn't interest me, currently. Also, I don't think that's necessarily easier than the "regular" route. I see many advantages to a regular job, although one's own business is the Dream for many. But if you have concrete ideas for what my business would be, go ahead.

 

[Gamisch]

**disclaimer!!** I am gonna be hard on you!!

You need tp wake the F up.

Right now you aren't in the position to pick "fun jobs ". You aint 22 anymore. You started this training program with a clear goal. The goal was to get a steady income and to fill up the hole in your resume.

Simply embrace it. Life has his funny ways of rewarding us when we least expect it. For all you know you are doing plumbing work for someone whose actually impressed with your background AND has the ability to provide you with a job in a field you studied.

Either way, the biggest hurdle is your own mindset. You're feeling too good.. all the while plumbing in general is a much needed skill set(priority), one that can give you the leverage you need to obtain money to do other things.

You are 39. I don't know what you did all those years, but you missed some important turns in life. Thats oke. Now THiS is your trajectory. 200 tries ,a new field including training tells you that its NOT an easy task to get your dream job. Let alone keep it...ditch the negative attitude and wake up with a HUGE smile and do your curreny plumbing work as good as you can.

Are you even a specialist yet?? I did plumbing too( very short ) and there was PLENTY of stuff to learn. Many things can go wrong ,especially when you THINK yiu did it right...and most people have no clue how it works. Golden opportunity for smart man.

I studied atvthe art academy and ended up working in construction and did renovations ,literally did all jobs you can imagine from plumbing to electricity There I've learned i should pick one and specialize. So i picked painting, and even there I've noticed there is PLENTY of shyte to learn ,let alone the speed you acquire from doing the same job( time= money!!)

When life gives you lemons make lemonjuice, or even better ,make an existing amd fancy lemon coktail .

 

[CAPSLOCK BANDIT]

You have to view this from the perspective of the person hiring you:

They want bodies to fill positions that aren't going anywhere, meaning the more options an employee at that level has, the less likely they'll be hired... I mean, if you have a ****ing masters degree these guys are laughing at your **** and throwing it into the corner bin, because they feel there's a chance you'll find a higher paying job since you are severely over qualified.

Take all that **** off your resume I guarantee you you'll get a call back

 

[MtmVaott]

I am career wise stuck at the moment, and have run out of ideas. I currently train for becoming an insulation fitter (a speciality within plumbing), 4 months or so, that might lead to an income. Better than being unemployed — Perhaps. The work is just so simple that I get severe depression symptoms due to the lack of stress and challenge.

About me:

• Master’s degree in finance from a reputable Swedish university
• Bachelor is marketing management/general economics from Norway
• A well-written CV and cover letters, although they are traditional
• Attended a LinkedIn webinar on the topic of job hunt which is supposed to be “modern” and “advanced”, but it was not much new
• Sent over 200 applications in south of Sweden/Denmark over about 1.5 years. Fintech, IT, economics, finance, blue-collar jobs too
• I have IT skills, been working 4 years commercially as a C++ engineer for a large telecom company, and many years before that in open-source/various projects. My skills are somewhat old school (for instance no cloud), but a good programmer and founded in computer science though no formal education on this front

One can view me as “Software engineer with MBA” or “economist with a master’s”.

Drawbacks:

• There’s currently an economical recession over here and some analysts say it will get worse/stay the same for 2024 before correcting. If my solution is better times it means waiting maybe five years
• There seems to be few junior jobs out, basically all jobs ask for experience
• Never worked in finance, and it’s now about 3 years since I took the degree. I studied jazz piano/sabbatical for two years after it (career wise stupid, thought it would work out)
• Further large gap in CV due to studies after work and personal tragedies
• Getting old, 39. Sometimes it feels like I’m poor at adaptation and learning new things
• I’ve been in 18 processes, digitally and in person. I’m good at that I would say
• But: in essence I don’t beat the competition or manage to convince I’m a good hire

I want to break the spell and get a somewhat decent and relevant job that leads somewhere.

Any ideas?

So what job do you want to do?? Do you want to work in IT or in a business job? Also, out of the 200 applications, you were only invited for the interview in 18 cases??

 

[anonymous12345]

So what job do you want to do?? Do you want to work in IT or in a business job?

Still the kind of jobs I've applied for: IT, fintech, economics/finance.

Also, out of the 200 applications, you were only invited for the interview in 18 cases??

That is correct. I might add, many people/entities have reviewed my CV/cover letters.

 

[FlirtLife]

You worked on open source projects and held a C++ programming position for 4 years. Why didn't you get a masters in computer science?

 

[anonymous12345]

I didn't have a bachelor then, no education at all. Felt like taking degrees in CS would be pointless, and I still think that was the right decision. A new field it was. I got the degrees but it didn't work out as planned. Explaining the holes in the CV would be depressed whining.

 

[Ricky]

Couldn’t you find some remote work for an american firm possibly? I am not certain how hiring works for foreign workers when they are to be living abroad though…

 

[Plinco]

Couldn’t you find some remote work for an american firm possibly? I am not certain how hiring works for foreign workers when they are to be living abroad though…

The problems with that is you get cheap, mostly Indian, workers to fill those remote jobs.

 

[FlirtLife]

• Master’s degree in finance from a reputable Swedish university
• Bachelor is marketing management/general economics from Norway

One can view me as “Software engineer with MBA” or “economist with a master’s”.

You don't you view yourself as someone with a degree in economics and master's in finance?

I appreciate you speaking English as a second language, but there a language problem here. An MBA stands for a master's in business administration, while you have a master's degree in finance. Aren't those two different things?

You had a C++ job for 4 years before college, then avoided getting a bachelor's in computer science, and avoided getting a master's in computer science. Isn't that a weak CV for a software engineer?

 

[FlirtLife]

• Never worked in finance, and it’s now about 3 years since I took the degree. I studied jazz piano/sabbatical for two years after it (career wise stupid, thought it would work out)
• Further large gap in CV due to studies after work and personal tragedies
• Getting old, 39. Sometimes it feels like I’m poor at adaptation and learning new things
• I’ve been in 18 processes, digitally and in person. I’m good at that I would say
• But: in essence I don’t beat the competition or manage to convince I’m a good hire

"18 processes" sounds like you had 18 interviews, and were never hired. I would say you have a problem and need to learn what you're doing wrong. You are not "good at that" if the results are always bad. Stop claiming to be good at it, and start learning what is going wrong so you can improve it.

You talk about a "large gap in CV" and blame something "after work". Your work is not on your CV?

 

[MtmVaott]

Still the kind of jobs I've applied for: IT, fintech, economics/finance.



That is correct. I might add, many people/entities have reviewed my CV/cover letters.

Companies are not looking for employees that don't know what they want (even as an intern you need an explanation for your motivation). Based on your education, your best chances to acquire a new position are in Fintech companies. Again, is that your passion?

Your CV has a dealbreaker in it. Gaps > 3 months in your CV should always be explained. If you want to be emloyed you can't say you were depressed. Find an alternative truth and use it to fill the gaps, e.g. 'taking care of my parents', 'stress caused by family problems', 'professional reorientation', 'private projects', 'voluntary work', ... You need to be able to back this up if you would be asked about it.
Besides that, if you apply for IT, condense your irrelevant experience and studies in economics to a minimum so it only serves as a gap filler.

In my country software engineers do not require a higher education degree if they have experience. I am convinced Sweden isn't different. You should already be chased by recruiters and head hunters by now. Are you not on LinkedIn or a Scandinavian counterpart?

 

[Stephen89]

Maybe use your programming skills to become a freelancer or go into self employment showcasing your experience, projects.

 

[anonymous12345]

You don't you view yourself as someone with a degree in economics and master's in finance?

I do (was above).

I appreciate you speaking English as a second language, but there a language problem here. An MBA stands for a master's in business administration, while you have a master's degree in finance. Aren't those two different things?

We have the same understanding of those degrees. My bachelor is in marketing management with additional courses to qualify for the master's. Competence-wise, if you look at the course content of an MBA, it's hence similar. That is the bachelor plus master's is roughly an MBA.

You had a C++ job for 4 years before college, then avoided getting a bachelor's in computer science, and avoided getting a master's in computer science. Isn't that a weak CV for a software engineer?

Yes it is. But on the other hand it's a stronger economist. I'd say IT experience plus the current degrees is stronger than spending a lot of years in school studying stuff I already know.

 

[anonymous12345]

Companies are not looking for employees that don't know what they want (even as an intern you need an explanation for your motivation). Based on your education, your best chances to acquire a new position are in Fintech companies. Again, is that your passion?

Your CV has a dealbreaker in it. Gaps > 3 months in your CV should always be explained. If you want to be emloyed you can't say you were depressed. Find an alternative truth and use it to fill the gaps, e.g. 'taking care of my parents', 'stress caused by family problems', 'professional reorientation', 'private projects', 'voluntary work', ... You need to be able to back this up if you would be asked about it.

I got lines for explaining my gaps.

Besides that, if you apply for IT, condense your irrelevant experience and studies in economics to a minimum so it only serves as a gap filler.

Yeah, I adapt CV.

In my country software engineers do not require a higher education degree if they have experience. I am convinced Sweden isn't different. You should already be chased by recruiters and head hunters by now.

I have been, but haven't lead to jobs, seems to be because of obsolete skillsets.

The trick is to find someone that finds value in my two pillars, or an entry level economist job.

Are you not on LinkedIn or a Scandinavian counterpart?

I'm on LinkedIn yes, a 400 connections.

 

[anonymous12345]

"18 processes" sounds like you had 18 interviews, and were never hired. I would say you have a problem and need to learn what you're doing wrong. You are not "good at that" if the results are always bad. Stop claiming to be good at it, and start learning what is going wrong so you can improve it.

Sure. Some reasons for being turned down are "better candidates", and if I apply in IT they doubt my sincerity due to my economics degrees, and in economics I'm unexperienced. I try to convince in the former case, in the second I don't find junior positions.

You talk about a "large gap in CV" and blame something "after work". Your work is not on your CV?
[/QUOTE]

My work is, but my large gaps aren't, it's a no go.

 

[FlirtLife]

• Further large gap in CV due to studies after work and personal tragedies

To me, "studies after work" means you work during the day, and at night you study ("after work"). That would mean no gap, because you're working and studying at the same time. What did I misunderstand?

 

[anonymous12345]

To me, "studies after work" means you work during the day, and at night you study ("after work"). That would mean no gap, because you're working and studying at the same time. What did I misunderstand?

"after" not in the sense the evening, but that I worked 2006-2010, and then studied 2010-2015.