I could use some advice/encouragement!

[tralaiven]

I just finished my Bachelor's last year and decided to start looking for a job here in the SFO Bay area after the first of the year. I have about 9 years of work experience, but that was 20 years ago....I chose to stay home and raise my children. I am only 47 (and in good shape thanks to Cathe), but I am so concerned that no one is going to give me a chance at a job!

My dad had his own business and is a very wealthy, retired man and he encourages me saying that employers want good, dependable, and intelligent employees like me and I just have to be patient....and it has only been a week of looking....

What do you think?

[fox2star]

Hi Tracy,

First off, congratulations for going back and getting that degree! Doing that after having children, and being home is a great accomplishment! That in itself shows that you are a self-starter, and when making up your mind to do something, you get it done. What field are you looking to work in?

Deb

[JT]

Tracy, SF Bay area is doing better than where I live. The problem is that I have is being 50 and laid off with no new job on the horizon after 6 months of intense searching. From Feb-April, I will be in a course to assist me find a new job in MI for the older worker called Shifting Gears or Spark! Ann Arbor.
Please keep us updated. Thanks & Congrats on your degree!

[Katerchen]

Tracy, I am in the same boat as you. I am finishing up my Bachelors this summer and have been looking for job on and off for the past two months. I have an 18 year gap in employment.

I re-wrote my resume, starting with college education (after all, you can't go to college unless you finished high school), followed by job skills (such as computer programs, credit in accounting, etc. ), certificates, memberships (professional associations, honor societies), and experiences (volunteer positions, internships, substitute teacher). Really focus on the cover letter and sell youself. Most resumes are not looked at if the cover letter is lacking.

I wrote five applications and got two telephone interviews. So the ratio is not that bad. However, during the interviews I realized that those jobs would interfere too much with my life. For example, the employer wanted to schedule my worktime 100 % to his suiting and he wanted me to give him my schedule so he could schedule me. Honestly, I have a hard time with that. It sounds spoilt but I want to be able to schedule my time on regular basis and not knowing each day or week what it looks like. By the way, I am in Alabama and the employer is "king" around here.

I have been scheduling my own time for 18 years and it will be an adjustment for me to not be that available anymore. I wanted to start out part-time but part-time jobs are not good jobs.

I already looked into different business opportunities but after I do a projective business plan/income-expense schedule I usually step away from my ideas.

Keep on looking and don't give up.

[mini-natty]

Hi Tracy,

I am probably not the best person to give advice with your situation, but I will tell you a few things that may encourage you.

My aunt was out of the workforce for 10 years, raising her children also. At 45, she got back into the workforce and because of her previous experience, had very little difficulty finding a job in her field. It's been 6 years since then and she is still going strong.

Before I had my daughter, I was a manager for a very large pharmaceutical company (currently I am choosing to stay at home with my daughter until she starts school). I was often hiring new employees. The people I would often hire, were not young twenty-something, fresh out of school individuals (don't get me wrong, we had those too of course), but older men/women returning to the workforce or changing careers. I am sorry to say, but my best, most hardworking, dedicated and most trusted employee's were all over 45+. We had a high turnover rate for the "younger" ones, but the older ones always stayed and became loyal and dedicated employee's for the company. I will never forget this Korean lady, Sarah. She was 55 when I hired her. One of the hardest working women I ever encountered in the 15 years I was with the company. She put all the young ones to shame, she was that good.

I hope my stories have been somewhat motivational.

Good luck, as I am certain you will do just fine.

Natasha

[RapidBreath]

Since I'm also in the job market, all I can tell you is to be active in your community, volunteer, go on meetups with fun activities, be visible, get to know lots of different people. Try a few internships. The thing is that no one really knows you right now, most jobs are gotten by meeting someone. Get yourself some business cards (I use the free ones from vistaprint. Put your name, phone number, include your BA after your name. Also add a couple of bullet items with skills. In essence this will serve as a tiny resume. And give them away freely. The other trick is every time you meet someone new that you think that you could help out in some way, give them your business card and start a relationship (business) that way. Friends help friends get jobs.

Btw, don't be discouraged after only 1 week. Think of it this way: you have a certain number of job interviews that you will go on before you get hired. You don't know what that number is, but no matter what it is, if you keep applying and keep going on interviews, you will be one interview closer than if you had stayed at home worrying about whether they will like you. You only have to worry about one person: the one that does like you. The rest who don't aren't your cup of tea anyway.

[Epcot Chick]

I fnished my BS/BA in 2007 and I had difficulty finding suitable employment. I ended up working at Starbucks. I had the bright idea to go back and get my master's degree. I graduated in June, but I have been looking for a job in earnest since March '11.

I kick myself daily for doing this. The competition for jobs is fierce in my city and my profession. In my experience, employers do not want to "train" people anymore. Even for entry-level jobs, they want "turn key" hires. I keep seeing 3-5 years experience required for entry level jobs, that's not an entry level job--so don't call it that.

I do get discouraged, because I put so much effort into getting my degree. I also had to complete internships. I took on extra work and said yes to any experience that came my way. I happily did this, thinking I would get a job in the end.

But definitely network with people, I have gotten interviews that way. Another good source is the career center at your uni. They usually have career counselors and job fairs. Are you on Linked-In? Network though there and join groups affiliated with degree/career. While you are networking, ask people for informational interviews. This can lead to job interviews, too.

I know it is frustrating, but I think things are going to pick up soon.

I hope this helped you and I wish you luck in your job hunting.

[Trixoo]

First, I'm totally jealous of you being in the SF area!

Don't get discouraged after one week...it's a tough job market out there right now; however, employers are starting to hire again and you are PERFECTLY positioned having gotten a BA.

I have experience in hiring, past and present. Your time away from the job market shouldn't be an issue at all.

In this job market we get hundreds of applications for our open positions The majority don't meet the minimum qualifications, but for those who do, what usually sets them apart is an excellent cover letter. I'm glad somebody already raised this earlier. For some reason people always seem to think everything is obvious from their resume, but when you're reading lots of them, the person who connects the dots for you has a better chance of being considered more closely. For example, for a position the requires fluency in French, submitting a resume that shows you have a BA with a major in French is okay, but writing in your cover letter that you're suited the job because not only do you have that degree, you have experience speaking French in a business setting by an internship, blah,blah,blah or some personal experience or quality that may not be obvious from your resume (e.g., I lived in Senegal for three years, whatever...). You know, you might want to address your time away from the job market, stating that you spent the last X years raising your children, and while it was not an easy job, it required long hours, diligence, loyalty, patience....whatever might be hallmark qualities for the position you're seeking. I like it when people address this up front...that way I know what you've been up to and don't have to guess (okay,she was raising children, not just getting out of prison). It's something to consider.

Also extremely important is that the cover letter be well written and without grammatical or spelling errors. I can't tell you how many cover letters and resumes I've seen from highly educated and presumably intelligent individuals that read as if they were written by 10 year olds. If that's the best they can do before they get the job, when they're trying to impress us, well, they usually don't get more consideration unless there's some other exceptional reason to consider them.

Oh, and although you'll be applying for lots of positions, don't make the cardinal sin of mixing up letters or listing the wrong position in your cover letter. I find this funny, but most hiring officials don't. :-)

These are just my random thoughts!

You'll probably have a job before you know it...then you'll have to ask about advice for how to fit in you workouts around your work schedule! :-)

Best of luck and let us know how it goes.

[lizh]

When I was looking for a new job a few years ago I enlisted the help of a career coach. She helped me with my resume and cover letter and gave me a bit of coaching for interviews. It boosted my confidence a ton. I don't think she is in business anymore, but I'm sure there are many in SF.

One resource I can recommend is Liz Ryan at Ask Liz Ryan | Answers for the New Millenium Workplace I've been a subscriber to her newsletter for close to 10 years. She is now branching out and offering a community and some telecourses and promotes a "Human-voiced resume approach". Definitely check out her free resources...I've learned a lot for my next job search.

Hang in there...and try to ignore all the doom and gloom!
Liz

[JT]

Thanks for the tips for me as well, I have noticed gearing up a cover letter towards the specific position helps. One of my past interviews for a State government position, there were 400 postings, about 1/2 may have met 50% of the qualifications and I was one of interviewed.
Also, doing accounting in one industry make not you out of another. A friend of mine and myself have experienced that.