Not to put my PhD on my CV

[desperatenotstupid]

I am struggling to get work, have been a SAHM for 6 years now and am desperate to get back into the work place. I would love to go back into my resarch field but this is proving difficult, althouh i am doing some volunteer work in the field but the chances of employment remain slim to say the very least. I have been applying for admin jobs but am not getting interviewed, I think my CV is OK, i try and adapt my skills for each job etc. I am wondering if i should leave my PhD off my CV (and inspired to start this thread after a comment on anotehr thread i dont want to hijack).

Those of you with PhDs who haven't stayed in the field, what would you suggest? My issue is two fold, firstly i worked bloody hard for my PhD and i want that recognised, but more importantly, How to explain four years of not working on top of the 6 being at home?

I really am despairing and dont know what to do next.

If you can stick it rubber I would, as (in our company anyway) this would then be fine

we (for some reason - its not my policy) just dont take people not currently working including SAHPs and we don't take people who have graduated less thana year ago

Honestly, I would remove it. The exception would be if the admin role is related to academia or a work environment where that is likely to be valued - in your case, perhaps a scientific organisation. The part-time admin person in an Oxford uni department where I worked had a PhD. It didn't seem out of place in that case.

Personally, if I wasn't applying for work somewhere a PhD is likely to be valued, I'd just take it off and think myself lucky I could take it off and tack it onto the end of my SAHMing. When I was applying for temp work after my PhD (before I was lucky enough to land a job which used it) I couldn't have done that without a very suspicious-looking gap appearing and it did make things difficult anywhere except for libraries and bookshops....

Of course in an ideal world everyone would understand that PhD=self-motivation, organisation, communication skills etc etc but you have to be pragmatic.

I left mine on for both the jobs I've applied for since I got my PhD. But the jobs were as lab techs in schools and it's a science PhD. Didn't do any harm as I got both jobs! (one 3 years after PhD after being SAHM, second 7 years later after being SAHM again).

Have you looked a school lab tech jobs? would they be relevant to your experience?

Yup, leave it off. Whatever people might say there is a very real likelehood that you are being rejected as 'over-qualified'. The people hiring don't want someone who is taking the job as a stop-gap until something better comes along and superiors don't like knowing that you're better qualified than they are!

I have seen friends struggle to get anything more than temporary contracts until they softened their CVs when, magically, full time jobs appeared.

Depends what you want, if you want an admin job with school-type hours, leave it off.

If you want a job related to your subject, don't. There's also quite a few things you could do from home: tutoring in various science/maths subjects, or textbook writing, or proof-reading/helping students with their theses (Masters or PhDs) which might not be great money-spinners but neither might a few hours a week admin job.

Have you looked into Daphne Jackson fellowships? They are specifically for people who have been out of the workplace but want to return to a career in science or academia and they can be done part-time.

www.daphnejackson.org/

Look here, they have an amazing record in helping women (or men) return to the workplace after a career break from academia/science/IT.

I know someone who nearly went for one of these (they work with you to help you find the right type of project) although in the end, they got a research job.

I'm in the exact same situation. Applying for RA jobs as I thought it would be easier to get a part-time work. Having no luck.

If you're in the biomedical area Wellcome also do career re-entry fellowships.

It's undoubtedly a tough time out there. I think one issue might be the perception that employers may well think you'll up sticks and leave at the first sniff of another job. If you can perhaps address that in the covering letters that might help.

Good luck.

A PhD is definitely work experience - I wouldn't leave it off. Have you looked at your nearest uni websites - they are more likely not to be put off

Dolcegusto - can I be nosy and ask where you are based? (Am potentially interested in working for a research company.)

Thankyou everyone for your kind advice - some good points here, i will have a better read later. Mumsyblouse I did apply for a daphne jackson fellowship and got past the first stage but becuse i wanted to do a medical research project they have put the application on hold "indefinately" because they are having difficulties securing funding for these projects as so many people are wanting to do it :( The guy i am volunteering for now is commmercial and biotech so I have tried to get in touch wiht them to see if they will reconsider with a different (and believe me this wont be oversubscribed!!) non-medical project. Was very frustrated about that because i had quite a well recognised professor happy for me to work in his lab, but of course he can't offer me a job because there is no funding, i think he was as as gutted as i was :(

Dolcegusto I am in the southeast, feel free to PM me if you want to chat, if you can, i think someone tried to PM the other day and for some reason coudlnt do it.

I should add that whilst i have been a SAHM for the past 6 years, i have been pretty much running my partners building company for him, so i do all the admin, book-keeping and accounts so its not like i have zero admin experience, so it is extremely frustrating. I am going to do some volunteer work for a local community arts centre so maybe this will count as recent experience. I am also now working in a lab, albiet for free and did a project back in the summer, again for no money.

I just need to rebuild my confidence but it is difficult when all i do is get rejection after rejection email, or just plain ignored

Do you have the building company admin on your CV?

Yes Cats I do, but im not sure i put it across very well, its part time, i dont get paid for it, its ad-hoc, sometimes i'm working flat out on it, others i might not do any stuff during the week, if that makes sense.

Actually, could your oh employ you for a while so that you can say that you are employed?

I do say that i am employed but i have to say its for my partner, otherwise it might look a bit dodgy if my employer had the same addresss as i do

do you have all your recent experience (for your partner) on your CV as a recent job (which is what it is).

Can you not bill it as being self-employed as a partnership team and build that CV gap around that? It's clearly very good experience and worth making stronger on your CV.

yes whatkatydid i do, but maybe i dont portray it properly because i dont think people take it seriously. I am clearly doing something wrong because i apply for 10-20 jobs a week and have had one interview in the past year :(

"i apply for 10-20 jobs a week" - that sounds like you're not spending much time on each application. Would it be worth applying to less but really targeting it carefully to the company, do a lot of research and really pay attention to tailoring the CV to each one and writing a stellar covering letter to go with it?

Have you had someone look at your cv?

Science cvs are a bit different. You may need to taylor your cv to the job you are after.

I have a science phd and have not got anywhere with admin jobs either - I think they have loads of applicants and want someone they think has recent admin experience and will be commited
problem is as you say if you leave it off won't you have a gap in time which will look odd

• have you tried womenlikeus - I think they do a job searching and cv workshops if you can get into london

tutoring is another option and probably more interesting than admin in my view - I can pm some tips if you want

Rubber, sometimes i just click the autosend on the jobs, those are the ones im less interested in, but i do tailor the CV towards the jobs im more interested in. Ironically the one job i got an interview for was one i just hit send on.

I have thought about tutoring, my DP nags me about it, but i just dont have the subject confidence anymore, which is why i have been going for the admin jobs. I feel quite desperate really.

I had the careers officer at the university look at my CV and he said it was good, but to be honest i dont think he was really bothered as im not a recent alumni, i got the impression he was dismissive because i chose to be a SAHM. He tried to push me into teaching but i really dont want to do it.

I looked into tutoring (I have a technical PhD) but the public liability insurance issue put me off. There are various colleges though which you could work for.

I would make the expereince with your husband seem like a FT non-partner realted job and also taylor the applications.

Why would the public liability insurance put you off? It's just one of those things, you stump up the cash so you're covered. I wouldn't let it put you off, it's just a technicality really