Hi Everyone,

I'll make this as short and concise as possible. Currently, I'm a 30-something who has spent the last 13 years (almost right out of college) working for a major insurance company in an administrative/customer service focused capacity. It was a job I took more out of necessity than anything else, as I had student loan payments coming due soon, and it was the only fairly well paying job offer on the table at the time (the rest was for minimum wage retail, commission only sales, or second/third shift front line call center work).

Fast forward 13 years, and here I am still in the same position due to a complete lack of upward (or even lateral) mobility. And now, there are going to be budget cuts as well as an upcoming "head count reduction," with our facility being the top target. Combine this with the fact that my job is not what I went to school for, and needless to say my motivation and morale have been negatively affected.

I have a Bachelor's degree in communications, and am looking to transition into a more writing/marketing/creative focused role that allows me to put my true passion, writing, to work for me. However, after two straight years of searching and applying for jobs that are right up my alley, I've gotten zero callbacks.

To add to this, the only calls I DO get are for those same minimum wage retail/call center/sales/manual labor jobs, which perplexes me to no end seeing as how I have over a decade of professional experience with a major insurance company. Not only that, but I've also written for our internal company newsletter, having received recognition for my articles from both middle and upper management.

My question (or more accurately, question(s)) - What am I doing wrong? I've made sure to craft my resume and cover letter to specifically tailor to the job I want, without fabricating or overexaggerating any information or accomplishments. I cannot help but wonder what makes an employer look at my application and say, "Communications degree? Passion for creativity and writing? Familiar with marketing communications? Has written for a newsletter and received recognition for his articles? Nah, we'll pass...but he'd be a perfect fit for door to door sales, or working the midnight to 8 am shift in our call center, or flipping burgers in our cafeteria?" Is there something I'm overlooking?

What can I do to better improve my chances in a career transition of this nature? I've currently been trying freelance work, but most of those sites are swamped by professional writers with years, if not decades, of experience, who constantly undercut bids. Maybe I need to tweak my resume and cover letter a bit more? I want to show that my skills are tansferrable and that I can be successful in a writing/communications role if employers would just give me a chance.

Or am I simply doomed, having waited too long and done too little too late? Maybe I need to just "suck it up" and realize that customer service is all I'm capable of?

Thanks for taking the time to read my post and let me vent for a bit. I'm open to any serious advice.