Dear member,
When someone hits the reset button on their career at 37, qualifications and past employment may not matter much. After your MBA, you did not pursue a career in HR. Even if you had pursued it, because of the gap, it would have become difficult for you to get a decent job.
Relying on a qualification acquired fourteen years ago may not give you the expected benefits. You may get a job, but you will have to start as a fresher. This, in turn, may not give you the salary you desire.
New career opportunities
New career opportunities have emerged in the fields of ChatGPT, data science, business analytics, etc. You may obtain more information and take advantage of them. A job in this field may not give you the desired salary, but working in these recently emerged fields will lay a foundation for the future.
Importance of soft skills
Whatever field you choose, the requirements for supporting soft skills do not diminish. Many job candidates lose because of their poor communication skills. A few candidates assume they have good communication skills. Because of their assumptions, they lose the race. Apart from soft skills, this is also true for basic computer skills like MS Office. I have seen candidates fumbling while using MS Word, Excel, PowerPoint, etc. Employers expect perfection in these supporting skills.
Convincing the employer
Lastly, whatever field you choose, when you appear for an interview, you should be able to convince the employer that you have a very high grasping power. Your high grasping power, overwhelming communication skills, and excellence in computer and IT skills could compel the employer to overlook the career gap.
I wish you all the best!
Dinesh Divekar