Job Hunting

[melagras]

Out of 35 to 40 positions I have applied for online, I have been on three interviews. I can't seem to get my "foot in the door." I've never had this much trouble. I don't know what I am doing wrong. The last time I looked for a job was 10 years ago. I need some advice about interviewing, resume, etc.

 

[~Elsie]

I do not have sensible advice as I am in a similar boat. I am temping now after being out of the workforce for an extended time due to family caretaking. My skills have quite noticably declined. Everything has really changed over the past 7/8 years in terms of job search. Apparantly I need to get a Linkedin account.
Are there any employment agencies in your area specifically for women or have programs mainly for women? I would highly rec this since you have not been in the market for this long.
What industr(ies) have you been job searching in?

 

[melagras]

I do not have sensible advice as I am in a similar boat. I am temping now after being out of the workforce for an extended time due to family caretaking. My skills have quite noticably declined. Everything has really changed over the past 7/8 years in terms of job search. Apparantly I need to get a Linkedin account.
Are there any employment agencies in your area specifically for women or have programs mainly for women? I would highly rec this since you have not been in the market for this long.
What industr(ies) have you been job searching in?

I have experience as a legal secretary, office administrator/manager and administrative assistant. I'm now regretting not going back to school. It seems every employer requires a bachelor's degree.

 

[~Elsie]

I'm sorry you've been having a rough time of it ...it is tough after an absence. But you know what? Three interviews is actually pretty darn good. So, I think your resume is probably a good one.
I would still suggest trying out an employment center/agency of some sort. The temp agency I am working for always has a few postings for people with experience in legal clerical work. The downside of course is that you need to be available on short notice and the pay is unpredictable/unreliable. The upside is you are getting a current reference (which is very important), some more recent experience on your resume and also getting to network and meet new people who may be able to offer contacts or some advice. It also really helps to get in the 'groove' of being social again in an office type of situation. (I, personally, have some discomfort with that type of thing after such a long absence from it).

 

[desertambrosia]

Three interviews in this job market is very good. Good luck to you!

 

[ElleJay]

Melegras - are you over 50? If so, AARP has a ton of resources. I watched a good webinar about being a contractor the other day, good information and a lot of resources were provided. Also, check out your local unemployment office if you're here in the US? I found some are better than others. Like the Chester County, PA unemployment office is outstanding, the Montco one is .. meh.. You don't have to be collecting unemployment to take advantage of their services (a fact I didn't know until recently).

Do get your LinkedIn profile up there, some places even say to put a professional Facebook profile up - I only have LinkedIn, and I'm constantly getting recruiters reaching out and I have a semi-private profile.

Hang in there,
Elle

 

[melagras]

Melegras - are you over 50? If so, AARP has a ton of resources. I watched a good webinar about being a contractor the other day, good information and a lot of resources were provided. Also, check out your local unemployment office if you're here in the US? I found some are better than others. Like the Chester County, PA unemployment office is outstanding, the Montco one is .. meh.. You don't have to be collecting unemployment to take advantage of their services (a fact I didn't know until recently).

Do get your LinkedIn profile up there, some places even say to put a professional Facebook profile up - I only have LinkedIn, and I'm constantly getting recruiters reaching out and I have a semi-private profile.

Hang in there,
Elle

I am 55. Sorry if I sound old school but I don't really care for social media such as LinkedIn and Facebook. I am a very private person.

 

[beskinny]

I would suggest having your resume reviewed. AARP may offer such service. Or reach out to a recruiting/placement/temp agency. Since firms like that present resumes to their clients they will usually offer suggestions for improvements.

I see a lot of resumes when looking to hire...sometimes 50 for a single position. The content of the resume is so very important. Right or not, I usually know if I want to bring someone in for an interview after less than a minute of review.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[melagras]

I would suggest having your resume reviewed. AARP may offer such service. Or reach out to a recruiting/placement/temp agency. Since firms like that present resumes to their clients they will usually offer suggestions for improvements.

I see a lot of resumes when looking to hire...sometimes 50 for a single position. The content of the resume is so very important. Right or not, I usually know if I want to bring someone in for an interview after less than a minute of review.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I did go to one agency for a job they had posted on indeed.com. I went through their whole filling out the application, taking assessment tests, etc. I wasn't impressed with them at all. I used a feature on ihirelegal.com to review my resume. I made their suggested changes.

I was told by one of the employers I interviewed with that I had an impressive resume. I must be doing something right.

 

[lioness]

My sister was laid off at the end of February and has been looking for a job ever since. We live in a small town so we have to go out of state (30 minutes away) to get a job. She has called every agency in the area and has sent out close to 40 resumes maybe more. She has been on 3 interviews. She was down to the final 2 in one interview and didn't get the job. Another one told her that she was overqualified. The salary for the last interview was so low she would not be able to make a living and was farther away. She got called for a second interview but after much thought she did not go through with it. That decision was based on the fact that she would have to keep looking for a better job with better pay and since the job was farther away it would be harder to get away for interviews.

She has really done everything she can but I think because she was a Director at her last job, that people are afraid to hire her for administrative assistant jobs although she was a Director in a small association and most of the work was of the administrative variety. She is still confident that she will find the right job. Her last job was so horrible that it was a relief to be laid off. In fact she is happier now than when she was working there.

My sister is now looking at temporary agencies although there are few in our area. That might be a good place to start. Many of the jobs can go from temporary to permanent. At least you will be working and getting experience and you will have the freedom to look for a permanent job.

By the way. I have some college as does my sister but neither of us has a degree. This has not held either of us back in getting jobs in the past. The job I'm currently at never even asked me about college. Both my sister and I are 54.

Good Luck. I hope you find something soon.

 

[ElleJay]

I am 55. Sorry if I sound old school but I don't really care for social media such as LinkedIn and Facebook. I am a very private person.

I don't think you're old school at all - I only have LinkedIn and I restrict the permissions such that you have to reach out to me to see the details of where I've worked. I don't have a FB page and I don't buy from companies that make you login to FB to see their product. I have throw-away accounts that I use for places like forums and don't do a lot of posting, I too, am a very private person. It used to be because of my job, now I'm just used to being like that.

I belong to AARP, and the webinar I watched the other day did have a lot of good sources: workforce50.com; wahve.com; and www.jobs.aarp.org

Also simply hired has a specific job search for those of us over 50: http://www.simplyhired.com/a/special-searches/fifty-plus

Best of luck in your job search!