sharing my worries today

[morenews]

I got so upset this morning while reading messages to monster.com from people who are looking for a job there. And it goes for every board( as they say). People say that they send tons of resumes and applications using those boards, no response...no nothings. Also a lot of those people are not young( as me) and they keep saying that it is almost impossible to find a job if you older than 50 years old. I wish i did not read it, but on other hand i picked up some useful information there. They advice to contact all agencies directly, not thru those boards...call agency, talk to the person, etc. Will try that as well. I feel that i have to be responsible for the outcome, get every piece of advice and try to use it, "just do it" attitude ...and the rest : up to universe. Did not i say that already?

Any advice from you, guys, re looking for a job for a person who is 59 years old and can not do retail(standing on my feet), but wants to do accounting and have experience in it. thank you!

[gogogirl]

Perhaps contact AARP?

[morenews in reply to gogogirl]

not sure about that, i have to sign up to be a member probably, and don't know what they do about helping with jobs. thank you for your reply.

[gogogirl in reply to morenews]

AARP is pretty inexpensive to join- google them. I used to be a member, but I have not been in quite awhile. I have heard that they have a job board though. It is tough to get a new job after a certain "magic" age. Have you thought about starting a business even part time?

[morenews in reply to gogogirl]

I am not business type. I don’t think I want that but I would work as self employed, sure, on contract basis.

[gogogirl in reply to morenews]

That's kind of like a small business , right? Good luck to you- sounds like you have a lot going for you!

[MariaLove123]

Finding a job these days is so tough. Remember the days we’d mail our resumes to companies around our area? Everything is through websites now. I use Indeed, Career Builder, Next, ZipRecruiter and local temp agencies. I feel like I never hear back. I remember reading an article once that explained how you can use certain words to make you and your resume stand out. Maybe google it. And maybe use a site to proofread your resume and cover letter. Companies tend to look for certain things. What do you want to do? Have you thought about going back to school? Keep track of where you apply so you can follow up. I hope this helps! Good luck 😊

[morenews in reply to MariaLove123]

thank you, i am using also all those sites. Sent today a bunch of resumes Yes, know about those words to be included, i will check again my resume. I feel that i can not be idle and passive, no matter what, i should keep pushing. thank you for understanding. No, i don't want to go back to school, will spend money and no guarantee, i have different degrees and experience. I am studying on line (free) right now to update my skills. I am looking in accounting.

[MariaLove123 in reply to morenews]

Wow you have so many degrees and experience. Accounting is a great field and good money. It’s also nice to have busy periods and know there will be slow periods too for you to do other hobbies and concentrate on yourself. Send 10 resumes a day. Don’t overwhelm yourself. Make a goal to do that and study once a day on those sites. Job searching these days takes a lot of patience. I hope you have other things to do when you’re not job hunting. It sounds like you have a lot of knowledge. Maybe you can help students find their goals in life. Helping others feels good. You can create a YouTube blog or a website on how to accomplish dreams and goals!

Best of luck! Keep me posted!!

[morenews in reply to MariaLove123]

Thank you so much. It really helps me to get advice and encuregement from you. I will do that: send out 10 resumes a day. I wanted to have some tutoring hobby maybe later on paid ...for elementary school math. But I don’t have any certification and only experience with my grandchildren. I even got 2 books for math tutoring for grades 3 thru 6. Will be going over them as well. Don’t know how to get to do something like that, did not research yet...

[MariaLove123 in reply to morenews]

That’s so cool. You should totally be a tutor. There are sites you can sign up on. I looked some up for you.

Here are 3:

m.vipkidteachers.com/?utm_s...

justaddtutor.com/?gclid=EAI...

yup.com/parent?utm_source=g...

Sorry the websites are so long. Helping kids especially with MATH is huge! And I researched if you need a degree and it says just a high school or GED. You would create a resume, cover letter and send an email to the centers. Hopefully the sites above allow you to do that.

It’s a start right? 😉

[morenews in reply to MariaLove123]

o, yes, thank you so much! it is a great start.

[Hidden]

I cannot recommend the Ask A Manager advice column/blog enough. (askamanager.com) Alison Green is amazing. Smart, kind, knows her stuff inside and out. She has endless advice on interviewing, writing a CV, writing a cover letter, negotiating salary, anything you can imagine (and the advice column part about the actual WORKING? Gold.)

My best advice to you would be learn (and ACCEPT!) the current norms of hiring and generally and your industry specifically. You will save yourself much time and heartache if you do this. Honestly. I think some people get locked into "how it was done" twenty years ago and want it to be that way still.

I would be careful with cold calling companies. It's best to do what they are asking for. If they say go online and apply, do that. I only say this as someone who has fielded these calls and knows the reactions to people "refusing to follow directions and apply online as instructed." You don't want it working against you!

Work on your CV. The current trend is to note measurable outcomes, not tasks and responsibilities. You're an accountant, so this should be right in your wheelhouse! Stats, numbers, lucky you. I'm the worst at this. I'm all soft skills. Boooo.

Also know that many companies use a program that reads your CV. It catches keywords and phrasing and filters out CVs that don't meet what they are looking for. Unfortunately what a nice human being reading might see, a computer can't necessarily...so maybe do a little research on that, what wording is appropriate and desirable in your industry.

I wish you so much luck. It is a painful and discouraging process. Even though it's a numbers game, it can feel very personal.

[morenews in reply to Hidden]

thank you, will look at blog you have recommended. and will work more on my resume...to follow your recommendations. Thank you!!!!

[Hidden in reply to morenews]

You're welcome. I feel for you and I'm cheering you on!

[BA-H]

I've heard the answer is network-network-network. This actually benefits those of us who have been around for a while because we have build up more contacts over the years as former colleagues scatter from company to company. As much as possible, get together with as many people as possible, even if it doesn't seem like they will be able to help. All it takes is one person who knows of one job.

As an aside, I have a former colleague who later became a client. He decided he wanted to come back and work for my company, and applied for a job very similar to what he had done for us before. But the computer robot sent him an auto reply saying he was not qualified...for a job he had already done! He contacted me, because I could find the job internally, and submit an internal recommendation. I don't know if it'll help, but again, having contacts from within can't be a bad thing, right?

[morenews in reply to BA-H]

thank you, BA-H,, great story. Yes, networking is a key. My issue a little bit more difficult because i am trying to get back to a field which i moved from many years ago, i got a little experience from that field now, but don't have many contacts yet. And I moved from IT tech field ...where most of my resent contacts are from resent years. I know: it is confusing, but it happened this way.

[gogogirl]

Accounting is a great field I have heard- is there any way you could start off volunteering and maybe do an internship? How about workshops and in person conferences to learn about others in the field?

[gogogirl]

Another thing- depending on what state you live in- there is a great need for Math teachers- if you are interested you could see what requirements are necessary since you have degrees- or there are teaching assistants as well. Math is a real key player these days.

[gogogirl]

PS- I know it is not easy- but I have heard of teachers in their fifties getting hired especially in Sped, Math, Reading etc.