Late Comers

Reflecting on the value of my out-of-the-norm career path

I was married for 7 years to a woman who was very career driven. She was (and probably still is) very good at her job. She was a high achiever and she achieved highly.

I was the counter-weight. I was the stress-less, unstressable, balance to the equation. She made the money, I saved the world and tried to take the edge off. I made her laugh and rubbed her feet.

“I will make the money, you go ahead and do something that makes you happy” was her advice to me.

I worked in philanthropy. I tried to protect the rivers. I took two years off to be a stay-at-home dad.

My experiences were fantastic and fulfilling. At the same time, her advice was terrible.

At the end of the 7 years the marriage was over and I was in a poor position. At every turn when I could have increased my earning potential I had chosen not to. I had other priorities. I was thinking of my kid, of my wife, of my family. I was thinking about what I needed to do so my wife could go out and take over the world.

Looking at my resume when the marriage was at an end was a bit depressing. I had experience, but not the kind of experience that gets you a badge entitling you to free lunch, white shuttle buses or on-site massages.

I don’t think there are a lot of men in my position, but I do think there are a lot of women who end up where I’m at now.

My experience is rich and varied. You could call it eclectic… interesting. When I look at job openings I see 8 years of this specific experience required or that I need to have 5 years of doing exactly this type of work. It puts us late comers, us second-time-around folks, out of contention. Companies can say they are not typical when it comes to hiring, but really, they are. They want the widget which fits the exact specifications for the hole they have.

Now, I remarried well and I’m figuring it out, bit by bit, although this is Silicon Valley, so there are some ups and some downs. I’ll be OK. I’m resilient like that.

What I ask of you is simple. The next time you look through a pile of resumes for that job opening, give one of use late comers a shot. We’ll bring a breadth of experience, a different view, a fresh eye. We are out-of-the box thinkers, because we haven’t spent our time in the box to begin with.

Go on. Give us a try.

UPDATE: 2017 and I’ve been in my sales role at a small blood testing laboratory for three+ years. I have no background for this type of work. The owner took a chance on me because he knew me and liked the kind of person I was. It has worked. I love my job. I’ve grown into it. I am, more or less, a subject matter expert (if you pick the right subject). I’ve grown sales 40% year over year for the past two years. I’m well compensated and I pull my weight.

Basically… it worked.

So, yes, still, give us a try.