What type of jobs should I be looking for?

September 27, 2018 7:55 PM

I'm interested in a new job, but I'm unsure what type of work my experience qualifies me for.

I'm currently in my early 40s, and have spent the past 6 years as the director (middle management) of a branch of a small national business travel firm in a large Midwest city. (This description is intentionally vague.) I manage a small team (<10 associates,) handle order fulfillment, inbound/outbound client service, and am a primary point of contact for our bigger/important clients as well as escalated service issues.

Prior to this I worked for a financial services firm for around 5 years as an "associate" (part client service, part investment research, non-licensed) and before that I bounced around in various fields, including online ad sales (nearly 20 years ago!)

I'm highly competent with computers and current technology, though I lack any certification or hard IT/programming skills. I graduated with a BA in an irrelevant field from an Ivy-caliber university, and I'm competent in Spanish.

My current salary is around $60k, and I'd be looking to make more than that at my next job.

What types of jobs might make sense for me to be focusing my search on? There are positions I see for "Customer Success" for technology-oriented companies and the like that are appealing to me, but they generally seem to require experience in a software environment.

Thanks in advance.

posted by anonymous to Work & Money (3 answers total)

FWIW, I think all of your experience would translate very well into "customer success" at the type of companies you mention.
posted by wowenthusiast at 8:19 PM on September 27, 2018

You've got a variety of experiences which, as you say, doesn't point in a straight line toward anything in particular. But look at it a bit differently: the broad scope of roles and tasks you've handled successfully shows your versatility and skill better than any degree or certification. With that in mind, I could see you in an operations or office manager role or something like that. Most companies, and especially small and upcoming companies, value folks like you who can take on any challenge and do whatever the job requires. They can't always anticipate precisely what will be required in a given job, so knowing they have someone who can adapt and learn and perform as needed is a great relief.
posted by DrGail at 8:54 AM on September 28, 2018

I haven't read it yet (it's next on my list) but I've heard good things about the book Designing Your Life. Maybe some of the exercises can help point you in the right direction.
posted by MsMartian at 4:15 PM on September 28, 2018 [1 favorite]