IBM Mainframe Forum

Hi,

I am finding it very difficult to get into development/testing field.

I have 3 years of technical experience in IBM Mainframe environment as Mainframe system programmer and my last employment was with CSC as senior storage engineer. Thereafter i took 6 yrs of break for the upbringing of my son.
recently updated myself with P.G Diploma certification in IBM Mainframe Application Programming.
The challenge iam facing now is iam getting offers for system admin which are generally UK,US shifts but iam looking for a day job in mainframes.
The recruiters who approach me asking for 3 yrs relevant experience in application and as a fresher i dont come under their criteria(age/year of passout) .

please guide me as iam very confused and disappointed .

I am sure your son will have benefitted enormously. Whatever anyone says, it won't have helped your career directly, however.

It is always a problem to get a job where experience is a pre-requisite, when you don't have the experience. Are you any good at application programming? I ask because the experience you have, and application programming, are quite different things. If you are good, then you have to concentrate on how to get an interview. This means gearing your CV/Resume towards that. Explain clearly to recruiters (although they won't always take it in) what you want. It might mean looking for a more junior position, but above "fresher". If the recruiters are too rigid, is it possible to approach local companies directly? I assume you've tried your previous employer? That would be my starting point.

Hi Billy,

Thanks for your suggestions. Yes i think iam good at application programming since having an experience as MF System admin i know how the jobs are executed and what steps to b taken to resolve them- as admin n as a developer.
I have posted my CV on job-portals with the cover-letter describing job opportunity in dev/testing and have applied directly on the company websites as well, just waiting for their response.
And i tried convincing the recruiter once and went to a walk-in held at pune but at the first round of interview(screening CV) i was told that they need hands on exp particularly in application .
Its almost 4 months iam headhunting, do you think i should quit mainframes and do someother course and certification...... its sad as i have put so much efforts
into mainframes and i really wanted to b into it.

It is a very difficult question, as I'm sure you are aware.

The "usual" migration is the occasional application programmer getting into the system's side, as the employer wants to keep them but they want more technical challenges. I've never found anyone going the other way.

You have excellent reasons for wanting this particular type of job, which is to still be able to be active in your son's day-to-day life. As with your decision to stay out for six years, I commend that decision and think that your son will really benefit from the time you have spent and want to spend with him, while still wanting a job/career.

In Europe and the US, many employers are "family friendly", and there exist schemes like part-time work, job-sharing, tele-working, etc.

I think you have to think of ways to be creative in presenting your requests for work. Highlight the time-out already taken and the hours that you want to work to show that you are a responsible, thinking person. You're stuck with those things, so make a virtue of them.

Another suggestion depends on you. Back in the 70's, I think it was, some women in situations similar to yours set up a company called F-International. How about hunting out others locally in your situation and seeing if you can pool ideas, find employers who are more family friendly, or whatever else you can think of between you. If you set up something, you can try to get newspaper articles published about the particular problems of accomodating your type of work to a family, when the "noraml" hours are those of a foreign country. Aim to get on TV. Maybe then employers start contacting your group.

Also do what you can to "hone" your skills. Look in on the "sister" website to this one, http://ibmmainframes.com for instance.

Should you train for something else? That is something for you to plan for. There are costs there, as well. Maybe more work, though, if you choose the right thing.

Take some time to think things through. Plan. Design. Use tools you have, or can make available. Use the thinking skills from your job to get some short-term, medium-term and long-term strategies together. Think about what might happen that requires the strategies to change. Be creative, think creatively.

I hope this helps rather than hinders, and I wish you the best that you can achieve for your future.

Thanks Billy, Thanks for guiding me. Your message has certainly made me overcome my confusions n dilemmas.