Job Searching

[ch willie]

I've retooled my resumé for the non-academic world and have applied for a number of jobs.

Oh boy have I picked a time in America to go job hunting. Surprisingly, companies around here are hiring.

Outside of earning a meager living from playing music, I haven't had a real, non-academic job in 30 years. I know I'm Don Quixote battling windmills, but I have to keep hoping and keep trying. I'm not going to lose hope, even on those days when I'm frustrated. I'm checking my email all the time to see if I get a reply. Indeed.com is great at tracking the progress of your applications.

[Laker]

I've retooled my resumé for the non-academic world and have applied for a number of jobs.

Oh boy have I picked a time in America to go job hunting. Surprisingly, companies around here are hiring.

Outside of earning a meager living from playing music, I haven't had a real, non-academic job in 30 years. I know I'm Don Quixote battling windmills, but I have to keep hoping and keep trying. I'm not going to lose hope, even on those days when I'm frustrated. I'm checking my email all the time to see if I get a reply. Indeed.com is great at tracking the progress of your applications.

What I ran into when when I went back to school and graduated with my degree in Computer Science at 40 years old was, “at this point in your life(they couldn’t say age) why did you to decide to change careers.” I was constantly competing with fresh, young college grads. Ironically, after spending some time as a programmer/analyst I got back into the metal working trade where the degree aided in advancment.

[ch willie]

What I ran into when when I went back to school and graduated with my degree in Computer Science at 40 years old was, “at this point in your life(they couldn’t say age) why did you to decide to change careers.” I was constantly competing with fresh, young college grads. Ironically, after spending some time as a programmer/analyst I got back into the metal working trade where the degree aided in advancment.

I've got to hope that someone in charge of hiring somewhere appreciates the experience and wisdom that comes with being a professional for 30 years. In other words, someone who will hire a 58 year old.

[Laker]

I've got to hope that someone in charge of hiring somewhere appreciates the experience and wisdom that comes with being a professional for 30 years. In other words, someone who will hire a 58 year old.

I wish you nothing but good luck my friend. At 73 years old I’ve retired from my useful days in the job market seven years ago. I actually found it hard to retire as I’d worked hard to make something of myself and, once you get there, it’s hard to walk away. For me, the key to success was that I actually eventually stayed in the field I really knew quite well and could help to make improvements based on my knowledge/experience.

[ch willie]

Thanks for your best wishes.

I loved teaching, but my job of the last 15 years have burned me out. Administration had a lot to do with it. People who had never taught a day in their lives got more and more intrusive into our classrooms. Most of my former colleagues, at least the ones with five or more years of experience there, are burned out as well. Lack of administrative support, policies that blamed student deficiencies and laziness on the teachers, more outside projects than we could manage and still teach effectively. No, I'm finished with education even if that means I have to take a menial job.

[OldStrummer]

I've got to hope that someone in charge of hiring somewhere appreciates the experience and wisdom that comes with being a professional for 30 years. In other words, someone who will hire a 58 year old.

It will happen. I was 60 when I was hired at my last job. It took a bit of searching (probably about 18 months) before The Right Job landed, but it did.

And I was recently told that they wanted to keep me around. In this time of unexpected mass unemployment, that's a nice feeling to have.

Good luck. Keep the faith and don't get discouraged. It WILL happen!

[ch willie]

Thanks, OS. I'm glad to hear a bit of your story. Gives me hope.

[Offshore Angler]

Thanks for your best wishes.

I loved teaching, but my job of the last 15 years have burned me out. Administration had a lot to do with it. People who had never taught a day in their lives got more and more intrusive into our classrooms. Most of my former colleagues, at least the ones with five or more years of experience there, are burned out as well. Lack of administrative support, policies that blamed student deficiencies and laziness on the teachers, more outside projects than we could manage and still teach effectively. No, I'm finished with education even if that means I have to take a menial job.

Wow, wait until you try corporate america. You'll go RUNNING back to teaching. Be careful what you wish for. I'm a couple years away from retiring and they are squeezing more and more out of us every year. A lot of my peers have said "Enough" and are retiring earlier. I'm lucky I love my work but man, unless you're at the very top your gonna work hard! 50-55 hours per week is the expectation nowadays.

[ch willie]

Chuck, my days of a high powered career are over. I'm aiming for assistant mgr positions in retail or even just as a clerk. I've applied recently for jobs such as car salesman and bookstore clerk, etc. A new career, maybe; I'm not looking to reach the top. I've had enough of careers.

[Offshore Angler]

Chuck, my days of a high powered career are over. I'm aiming for assistant mgr positions in retail or even just as a clerk. I've applied recently for jobs such as car salesman and bookstore clerk, etc. A new career, maybe; I'm not looking to reach the top. I've had enough of careers.

Car salespeople work like dogs including nights and weekends for a pittance. Rain, snow, whatever. I'd avoid that. It's a tough, tough job. I feel for the poor bastards every time I buy a car.

[ch willie]

Car salespeople work like dogs including nights and weekends for a pittance. Rain, snow, whatever. I'd avoid that. It's a tough, tough job. I feel for the poor bastards every time I buy a car.

I know you are right. You can smell the desperation emanating from them.

I'm just slinging shit against the wall to see what sticks. I'd try the job if I got it. Fortunately, I'm in a position where I can quit a shitty job if I need to.

[Laker]

Car salespeople work like dogs including nights and weekends for a pittance. Rain, snow, whatever. I'd avoid that. It's a tough, tough job. I feel for the poor bastards every time I buy a car.

I spent ten years working part time as a salesman for a Harley-Davidson dealer. I didn’t work like a dog at it because, as a long time rider, I really enjoyed motorcycles and looked forward to helping people who wanted to experience two-wheeled travel. A big reason was that we didn’t work for commission, we worked for a straight salary and worked as a team.

[renderit]

Try something different you WANT to learn. Hire in at the base and work up if you want. I retired 7 years ago from a very well paid computer based job I had done for 34 years. I found sitting at home/camping/traveling to be great for a few years but I wanted to work.

I started out soldering circuit boards for one company and moved on to an aircraft based operation after about a year.

Learning all sorts of neat stuff.

Also finding out each could really benefit from my past experience. The question has become: Do I wish to start THAT again?

I am sure a lot of the larger corporations could use in-house trainers.

I would think that experience in teaching would be a huge plus.

And doing that would remove the 'lazy' part of the students.

If it is company training they had better learn.

[sebastianwhite]

Thanks for the tips. I'm also applying for a new job now but most applications send are not answered by the employers. Should I wait longer?

[Offshore Angler]

As a former inmate of academia, I can assure you that laziness is not only an issue for students. I've had to help highly motivated students overcome lazy professors. And that was years ago. Today's students are a lot better than back in my day.

Chuck

[NTBluesGuitar]

The last three jobs I got came from recruiters hitting me up on LinkedIn. It sounds crazy, but if you build your LinkedIn profile out to match your resume, people will come looking for you.

The last 7 years at my company have been the job lottery. I am very blessed and lucky, but at the end of the day, if you've got any kind of real-world experience, the right people can find you on LinkedIn.

It's the only social media I have anymore and I don't do much on it. But every week someone tries to recruit me.

[gibsonjunkie]

I am a member of a non-profit board and was named chair of the tExecutive Director Search Committee. We advertised in more traditional ways and through various networks, but the only really good, credible applicants came through Indeed.

[Offshore Angler]

I'm crying for good people. We can't get anyone who actually wants to work. Apparently, lots of people think of employment as being paid for their "self actualization" time. Our work is difficult and challenging, and we pay handsomely. But it's work. I have no desire to send you home frustrated, but I have no remorse sending you home a little tired. We seem to have lost that concept as a nation.

Chuck

[ch willie]

Through Indeed, I applied for a receptionist position at a law firm. At the interview, they decided rather to hire me as a temporary legal assistant. It could turn into a more permanent arrangement if they can ever figure out how to make the most of me. They're very pleased with the work I've been doing--lot of writing, editing, and researching, but I'm not sure it's worth their money to keep me on. My contract period is up next month, so...fingers crossed. I've really been enjoying the work, including learning a lot about the law and getting to know folks at the courthouses around the area.

And indeed, Indeed led me to this job and the one I had before. I have a LinkedIn profile but need to work on it because I do pop up on recruiter searches.

[Laker]

I'm crying for good people. We can't get anyone who actually wants to work. Apparently, lots of people think of employment as being paid for their "self actualization" time. Our work is difficult and challenging, and we pay handsomely. But it's work. I have no desire to send you home frustrated, but I have no remorse sending you home a little tired. We seem to have lost that concept as a nation.

Chuck

I recently was at the company I retired from as quality manager to attend their annual holiday employee party that I get an invitation to each year. It’s interesting to see the changing technology and the new faces each year.

This year I was told the company is having a hard time finding people who really want to work, and that there were new hires that made it to the morning break on their first day and never returned to work at the end of the break. Now, there is no job at that company that is physically taxing, makes a person perspire or even get dirty, and the company is ISO certified so all operations and procedures are fully documented making it quite easy to perform the duties, both skilled and unskilled. I just don’t get it. My wife and I both worked two, and sometimes three jobs to get ahead in life.

[Offshore Angler]

I recently was at the company I retired from as quality manager to attend their annual holiday employee party that I get an invitation to each year. It’s interesting to see the changing technology and the new faces each year.

This year I was told the company is having a hard time finding people who really want to work, and that there were new hires that made it to the morning break on their first day and never returned to work at the end of the break. Now, there is no job at that company that is physically taxing, makes a person perspire or even get dirty, and the company is ISO certified so all operations and procedures are fully documented making it quite easy to perform the duties, both skilled and unskilled. I just don’t get it. My wife and I both worked two, and sometimes three jobs to get ahead in life.

A good Quality Manager is the best thing an enterprise can have. You need to understand how the whole organization works and have a backbone. Respect.

[gibsonjunkie]

One of the things I'm most proud of is instilling a strong work ethic in both my daughters. They both work hard, and give 100% when they are at work. Both are doing pretty well, because of that.

[chapmansean]

You don't always get the reply right away and it might be necessary to wait a little. Keep at it, and don't be discouraged if you don't hear back right away. Sometimes it can take a while for companies to go through all the applications.
The website you used is a good resource for tracking the progress of your applications. I personally prefer another resource you might want to check out - https://jobgether.com/. There you can find job opportunities that match your skills and qualifications.
And remember, don't give up hope. It might take some time, but the right job will come along.