A former manager says a 5-month job hunt has her eyeing a pivot: 'I'm starting to get excited about not managing people'

""I just get recruiters who say they're going to send the résumé on, and then I never hear back - I get ghosted," she said."

""It doesn't have to be in management; though, preferably, that's the pay scale that I'm looking for," she said of her next job."

""I'm starting to get excited about not managing people.""

Karen Del'Olio, 59, was furloughed from a research program manager role in April after a sponsor pulled project funding. She began a job search the same month, applied to dozens of positions, and initially received only recruiter contacts with no substantive interviews for four months; she later had two interviews but no offer. Her furlough ends in October and rehiring appears unlikely because of recent NIH funding cuts. Savings have covered expenses but are depleting. Unemployment was applied for in May and approved in August with retroactive payments. Financial pressure is prompting exploration of non-management roles despite preferring management-level pay, and she increasingly welcomes stepping away from people management.

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