Advice for someone wants to come out of a Stretched Career break

Have been Out of Work since Nov 2023 i.e. 15 months. Took a career break to take care of my child- but the condition of the market & vague expectations of hiring system have pushed this break by almost an additional 9 months.

Profile -

• 7 yrs exp,
• MBA (IIFT), B.Tech (NIT),
• Post MBA Experience of 5.5 yrs in Consulting + General management (CEO office) + Program management (Supply chain & Business Strategy Pharma),
• last salary was near 20 LPA.
• Used 50% of the career break about 7-8 months on upskilling in PRODUCT MANAGEMENT (Online course & XLRI Executive course) - built a portfolio.
• And 50% learning Data analysis (sql), AI tools

Over last 12 months Had interviews (out of 1000+ applications) in

1. Amazon - L5 role 7 rounds took almost 1.5 months (didn’t even get feedback on what went wrong)
2. PwC - 1 managerial round (HR ghosted after that)
3. Medibuddy - 4 rounds including CEO (no feedback either)
4. Uber - 2 rounds including hiring manager (ghosted again)
5. Oracle - via referral, one Product Director round for Product manager role (no feedback)
6. Crocs - via referral, 2 rounds including EMEA supply chain head round for India Planning head position (they ultimately hired from footwear industry)
7. 4-5 Pharma roles which got ghosted after 1-2 rounds (not sure why)

Nobody wants to give any chance in PRODUCT roles if no IT/SAAS/Product/Design background is there- not sure whats the use of all these product courses (all the placement which occurs are to those who already have product or IT or consumer retail background)

As for startup roles - STARTUP EXPERIENCE is mandatory or TOP MBB or Big4 CONSULTING EXPERIENCE.

Did 10-12 assignments - but seems like they are of no use.

1. product role -

• designed new tool for lead finding including GTM- they didn’t check the assignment and rejected because I didn’t have SAAS exp.
• designed new strategy for Uber’s event management transportation - top 10 in Product competition
• created app strategy for Eldercare
• new UPI-based credit system
• redesigning suggestions for Fintech apps - super.money & stablemoney
• mental health wellness app idea
• Creator app based on Community engagement
• Content moderation framework for Social media (strengthening community based moderation with AI & ML)
• Game structure design for learning Product management

2. Startup strategy roles -

• process optimization for MEESHO
• Solutions for Ride related mismatches & Cancellation of Rides issues in RAPIDO
• Blueprint or Process flow chart design for Ticketing system for TRACXN
• Gap analysis of Retail Dairy delivery app
• Customer Feedback mechanism, Metrics, Improvement in current system for DITTO INSURANCE

Have applied in

1. Program manager roles - SUPPLY CHAIN, PROCUREMENT, LOGISTICS
2. Founder office roles - Startups , MNCs, Pharma companies, Manufacturing companies, E-Commerce, Quick Commerce, Fintech 3.Strategy roles - New Business, Category, Supply Chain, Ops improvement 4.Product roles

I prepare detailed interview prep notes with STAR framework, RCA framework, Industry analysis, Product-Service analysis- almost for every interview rounds. I must have been faltering in interviews in some aspects

• may be it’s the initial nervousness,
• may be it’s my profile (with so many industry exposure) confusing the interviewers
• may be it’s my answers which sometimes go deeper that interviewers does find relevant. I wish interviewers or HRs give Feedbacks- frankly never got any.

Financially I am lucky that my wife is supporting with her job, but with a toddler the expenses are equal to earnings & most of the times out of control. About 8 months ago the emergency fund which I built had exhausted. I took out my PF to build another emergency fund. Started doing gig work (like data annotation, helping out acquaintances with assignments etc.) to get some extra money.

Recently via referral I got a call for Sr Executive Procurement profile at BigBasket which is a very Junior role (salary range 6 LPA) in bangalore, something which I did in my 1st job as a Graduate engg trainee in Punj Lloyd 12 years ago.

• I am in a fix, if I should take this junior role and restart my career ?
• I am also confused looking at my Profile as to - where do I even fit ?
• Even if I want to start anything on my own, it is not easy beyond taking care of the baby?