The key to finding a job after 12 years off isn't throwing around resumes 'like confetti,' says a military mom of 3. She found a different way — and a job she loves

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The key to finding a job after 12 years off isn't throwing around resumes 'like confetti,' says a military mom of 3. She found a different way — and a job she loves
Cassie Glubzinski
  • Cassie Glubzinski, 36, began her job search in January after nearly 12 years away from the workforce.
  • After four months, she says she had "gotten absolutely nowhere."
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After taking nearly 12 years off from the workforce, Cassie Glubzinski suspected finding a new job wouldn't be a cakewalk.

But the challenge proved to be especially arduous for the military mom of three, who applied to "close to 400" jobs during the first six months of this year, she told Insider.

When not on the job hunt, Glubzinski was caring for her three children and preparing for a move from New York to Florida, her seventh home in nearly 12 years of marriage to her husband who serves in the Army.

But the 36-year-old Glubzinski says the biggest obstacle in her search was her significant employment gap.

"I felt woefully inadequate because when it came to writing work experience, my experience was 10 years old," she said. "So it's cyclical because you're wanting to work, but you need work experience to work, but you need the job to get the work experience."

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While the US has boasted plenty of open jobs in recent years, Glubzinski is among the Americans for whom finding work hasn't been so easy. Many are struggling to find roles that match their experience or location. Others have found such a role, but are balancing their desire to return to work with their family's childcare needs or Covid fears. And some job seekers, like Glubzinski, who have taken time away from the workforce, are finding it challenging to jump back in.

"I felt very much like a fish out of water"

Glubzinski quit her job at a bank in 2010 when she married her husband, but she says she always planned on returning to the workforce when she was done having children.

Doing so, she hoped, would help she and her husband save for their childrens' educations, provide her personal fulfillment, and help instill a strong work ethic in her kids.

In 2020, she began pursuing an MBA in Finance, and by the time she graduated this past January, she thought she had a job opportunity lined up. When that role unexpectedly fell through in February, she says she was forced to start her search from scratch.

This began the first phase of her job hunt, one she called "not strategic," given she had minimal insight into the new tips and tricks of the job search trade.

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"I was filling out applications and throwing them around like confetti at a birthday party," she said. "I had been out of the professional arena for so long that I felt very much like a fish out of water. And I was kind of floundering along the side, just not really sure how to rectify that situation."

After about four months in, she says she had "gotten absolutely nowhere." Then, a friend gave her some valuable advice.

"She said, 'This is not how you get a job,' Glubzinski recalls. "'This is a professional arena, and you are sitting on a professional degree, and you need to treat yourself as a professional and help other people see you as a professional.'"

The friend encouraged her to begin using social media, in particular LinkedIn, to network and find job opportunities. Glubzinski listened, and even watched a few LinkedIn webinars about building her personal brand.

She had finally left the "confetti throwing phase."

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She says there is "great power" in the informational interview

Soon after, Glubzinski connected with a different friend who works in HR who helped her improve her resume and tailor it for each role. When she began actively applying again, Glubzinski says she opened herself up to a wider variety of roles and did substantial research on the companies she spoke with.

"I was doing a lot more research into where I wanted to be, what I wanted to be doing specifically," she said.

Glubzinski also says there is "great power" in 10-15 minute informational interviews. They provided her quick insight into whether a role and company might be a good fit and opened her eyes to opportunities she previously "had no idea even existed."

In June, one of these opportunities proved to be just what she was looking for.

She took part in an online job fair for military-affiliated individuals, where one role in particular sparked her interest. After speaking with the employer, she was able to go forward in the interview process.

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"It was very much right place, right time, right background, and right homework done," she said.

After tweaking her resume, and using all the tips she'd learned along the way, Glubzinski landed the opportunity. As a Military Outreach Coordinator, she's responsible for coordinating the recruitment of transitioning service members, veterans, and spouses for her company, a large US manufacturing and technology corporation.

"I'm very passionate about the military community, and I want to help the military community in whatever way I can," she said.

While she travels at least once a month for job fairs, her role is partially remote, which has enabled her to be there for her family while still getting the fulfillment she'd been looking for.

She says that while her family is only slated to be in Florida for three years, she hopes to continue this role beyond that.

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"I'm so extremely blessed to be in the position I'm in," she said, "to have a role that is fulfilling, that's allowing me to help veterans, transitioning service members, military spouses. I had no idea I would love it this much, but I love this job."

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