Where are all the Director Level jobs?

When you start your career you are taught to brush off your resume, sit down in front of a computer and send out 100 resumes. By a sheer stroke of luck, some HR person will pick you and off you go to your new job.

Your second job usually looks the same. You start feeling the urge to move on so you grab your resume and you rinse and repeat. Success!

But here is where it gets tricky. By the time you have 10 years of experience or more, you don't just want ANOTHER job. You want a job that fits into your list (yes we all have a list). So you start looking but there is nothing?

So you try a headhunter and they either ghost you or offer you a random accounting role which would be awesome except you are a marketing expert.

So what are you doing wrong? Where are all these jobs?

I am going to tell you.

This also might be really hard to hear but I will start by telling you that I have been hiring for over 20 years. I have been a career coach for the last 5 and have worked with thousands of individuals and dozens of companies. So I want you to know that this is from experience.

In the past 3 years, I have helped hire over a dozen senior leaders. I have helped companies craft their executive strategy. I have advised growing companies. In those 3 years, I have never posted a job ad for any single one of those roles.

We have asked our teams to recommend leaders they have worked with. We ask our networks who they know who would be a good fit and we invite between 8-12 individuals to come and chat. When we hire leaders we are hiring people who align with our goals, who can bring something amazing to our teams, and who are going to be really great managers.

I get probably about 5-7 LinkedIn messages a day asking me who I know (because I know a lot of senior-level women) and if could I make a connection. I do it all the time because - well I am a person who knows people!

About 3 years ago after connecting 20 people in one week I realized that this is what is missing in women's groups. I was referring people who I knew, liked, had gotten to know, and could vouch for. You can't do that with a stranger on LinkedIn. You can't do that for your brother-in-law's friend because...you don't know them!

If you want to change industries, or move cities, it gets even harder.

It is the lack of network that is keeping women out of leadership roles and the leadership pipeline (manager and director roles).

I built the Moms at Work Collective to crush this problem. We don't need another women's group that holds a random networking night or pairs you with a mentor (you are going to need lots more than one person). We needed a COMMUNITY. People who you connected with on a personal level (motherhood is a powerful connection) as well as professional. People who you could get to know in a safe space and who you would feel pretty darn comfortable submitting their resume because...you know them.

And guess what? It works. I have lost count of the connections, job offers, and raises. Women are 26% less likely to have a strong professional network and it is exactly what you need in order to get your foot in the door. It is the combination of trust, and desire to help each other with the added benefit of having career coaches and experts to answer your questions whenever you have one.

We only open the doors to the Collective 2x a year so get on the waitlist but in the meantime here are some other ways to get you going:

1. Fight the urge to take another course. Instead of spending 30 hours on the course work commit to reaching out to old colleagues and friends.
2. Don't message people and tell them you are looking for a job. Ask them if they want to have coffee. Spend the whole time talking about them. On your next coffee you can bring up the fact that you are starting to look.
3. Make growing your network a #1 priority. Above management training, MBA, software skills etc. Make it a priority!!
4. Volunteer to join a board with the purpose of building a network, volunteer with a women's group to meet the organizers (organizers know all the people)
5. Do not wait for a company to post a job. If you are interested in them send a FRIENDLY informal email to the hiring manager. Tell them you admire their company and wanted to throw your hat in the ring in case anything comes up.
6. Follow Moms at Work on Instagram and join our newsletter where we do share jobs, tips and you can find support

That is where I would start. Follow me on Linkedin where I drop daily truths about careers, the job market, pay transparency, pay equity and so much more.

Allison Venditti is a Career Coach, HR Expert, salary negotiation whisperer, and pay transparency and equity advocate. She is the founder of Moms at Work Canada's largest organization committed to helping women earn more money, land better jobs, and build community. All with a LARGE HELPING of advocacy baked in.

Allison was named The Globe and Mail Report on Business Top 50 Changemakers 2022 and is a regular speaker and media expert with over 100 interviews in 2022. Find out more about how you can work with us and create change for working women everywhere.