Returning to work after long break - cv?

[Ellla]

Not too sure how he's going to go contracting. He doesn't appear to have done any demonstrable PM experience in over 4 years. Not a chance an agent is going to look at a that, particularly when the market is awash with PS contractors and was quiet before. Permie land for a bit I'd say.

Yeah, having read the thread, that was pretty much my conclusion

Always 'glass half full' though, me

[SueEllen]

Yeah, having read the thread, that was pretty much my conclusion

Always 'glass half full' though, me

If you are approximately doing the same sort of thing then you need to help him get a role whether contract or perm.

[kaiser78]

...

Yet his knowledge and experience is second to none. I'm a programme manager myself and frequently seek his guidance.

...

[uk contractor]

Curious how those struggling got on.

My hubby left permie work, took a year out for fun after working his whole life with never more than 2 weeks off (learnt to fly among other things). He then got a contract role for just over a year but it was soul destroying for a number of reasons, so when offered a renewal he declined it (we both agreed it best). He spent 6 mths applying for other contract roles (IT PM) and never even got a call back from an agent.

This surprised us both (doing my best to be unbiased here) as he's a VERY good, orthodox and highly qualified PM with public sector and finance sector experience.

So he decided to try his hand at stock trading as we started a family. Fast Forward another 3.5 yrs. He's maintained an eye on the market and applied for contract roles here and there but again never got a single bite.

Stock trading was enjoyable but he wants back into IT again and we fear it's just too late. If no one was interested without a break, why would they be after effectively an almost 4 year break?

Yet his knowledge and experience is second to none. I'm a programme manager myself and frequently seek his guidance.

He's tried stating career break, sabbatical, trading, app development etc. All the things he's done in various forms but nothing seems to get a bite.

I'm assuming it's the significant gap NOW, but that doesn't justify nil returns in the past. Is it possible to be blacklisted across agencies somehow (no idea what reason for)?

Any suggestions or examples where people got back into the industry after a lengthy break would be much appreciated as we're almost st a "Whats the point?" Crossroads which then leads to panic around what else he can do now.

Apols for the long post.

Realistically its almost certainly way too late. The market is already full of high quality candidates who do not have 4 year CV gaps. Start his own business (IT recruitment agency perhaps but getting on PSL's is very tough). Last week an agent on here said he got 681 CV's in a few hours so I should imagine most of those are fairly current CV's to land another role perm or contract in IT is like climbing Everest blind with no climbing equipment and both hands tied behind your back! Being very good at what you do is not going to sell his CV anymore with large gaps getting your CV to the end client is going to be virtually impossible. Sorry not what you want to hear but it's realistic.

[kaiser78]

Any LinkedIn connections or networkers that could provide any leads ?