Hi Diona,

 Thank you for reaching out. It’s great that you love what you do and you’re confident in your ability. Unfortunately, the job search process can be frustrating, and applicants are often left with little insight or explanation as to why they don’t receive call backs or interviews, despite being qualified and experienced.

I’ve reached out to our career coaches for their expertise on your question and circumstance, but in the meantime, the following resources might be helpful:

• Free resume review service: http://www.cancerandcareers.org/resume_reviews/new
  


• Article on job-hunting after cancer treatment: https://www.cancerandcareers.org/en/looking-for-work/exploring-your-options/job-hunting-after-cancer-treatment
  


• Our article on effective Networking: https://www.cancerandcareers.org/en/looking-for-work/networking/networking-getting-started
  

Additionally, I’d suggest registering for our upcoming Networking webinar on June 2nd for additional guidance on identifying a pathway towards the larger corporations you’re interested in.

If you have any further questions, please feel free to contact us at cancerandcareers@cew.org or 646-929-8032.

A coach will be in touch soon!

Best,

Nicole Jarvis, LMSW

Senior Manager of Programs

Cancer and Careers

Hi Diona,

The good news is that you love the work you do. And it is true that agencies lay employees off and restructure whenever clients reduce their budgets or change agencies. Regarding going to the client side, this is very appealing to many people who grow tired of agency life.

Please let me address your question about your application going into a black hole first. The average job posting gets 350 applications and every company decides when they will close out the application period. This means that the first thing you want to do when you see an opening you believe is a fit is to reach out to your network and also go on LinkedIn to see if you can find someone who works at the company or did in the past. Finding a person who can introduce you is much more effective than applying online. 

The other topic I want to mention is that it is important that your resume and the language and keywords you use align as closely with what the company is using to describe the job opening. It may not be as easy for a company to translate your experience in account management with an internal marketing role that may likely be more about tactical work. This is one reason that digital or social experts have an easier time transitioning to the client side. 

I would also suggest focusing on companies who are in the same industry that the agency clients you have managed are in because you have knowledge about their business already. 

While this may seem like an uphill battle, if you package yourself by describing your transferable skills and network constantly, you will get interviews! 

Please write back if you have any questions and good luck!

Take care,

Julie