Old But Not Retired

Let me clear the air.

I never expected to be at this career juncture at 60-years old. But life circumstances being what they are, I found myself moving across the country and settling into Houston to help care for my elder parents. And for the first time in several decades, I was having to brush off and update the resume. How hard could it be? I mean I have a masters and doctorate and a few licensures so it should be pretty straight forward, right?

Enter a bumbling older woman, a clueless month stumbling through a job market apocalypse and totally overwhelmed in today’s high tech AI world. I was wholly unprepared. Like so many, I made the same mistakes as others in searching for a job the way I always had in the past.

After much frustration (OK, a lot of frustration) I finally asked myself – what do you do for a living? Oh yes, public health research and evaluation and capacity building for agencies. So, I took a time out and spent a month reading, watching videos, and testing various methods of how to get a resume into the hands of a recruiter and actually connect with a job offer. What I encountered, like so much of my career when evaluating programs and carrying out research studies – is the identification of serious gaps and barriers and no agreed upon direction of how to approach the job market.

Just bring up the question of a cover letter – to be or not to be – and you find strong beliefs on both sides of the issue. Who knew a cover letter could be so controversial. Is it truly outdated, and if so, why do so many companies still request, or require one? And should it be used to sell yourself further, or align with the position of how your background and your proposed employers are a true destiny match? And are those cover letters even read?

Some recruiters state they never read; others read them all. And I have to say as a grant writer who has written over 75, and having brought in over $40 million for clients – if a person is serious about a position, believe they are the best candidate for the job, then shouldn’t they have to go the extra step when applying? Isn’t that like having to follow the directions in writing a grant? Because a funder may believe, rightfully so, that if you can’t follow directions exactly as written, how effective or responsible are you going to be with their grant funding? Having overseen grant portfolios in excess of $25 million as a grant officer – I agree that if you really want a position, believe you are the best fit, then that cover letter should be written. Right?

And I empathize with recruiters. People don’t follow directions. Last week I was contacted for a federal government position as a public and behavioral health subject matter expert. A few hours after I spoke with the recruiter, the position was formally announced on LinkedIn. After 48-hours they had over 190 applications. But only 26% of all applicants had doctorates – which was a clearly stated requirement for the position. Which meant 74% either didn’t read the directions or didn’t care and applied anyways.

And then there is the question of age. Do I include that I have over 35-years of experience, or do I leave that off in concern over ageism? There are two sides to that question, both compelling, but it doesn’t leave me with a clear approach and how to byline myself. I was told to take off my earlier work dates and title a section as “previous” or “other” work experience. But when I did that and my resume is parsed in an AI screening program – it spits out a result that I am mid-career level with only 15 years of work experience limited to four positions. And please don’t get me started on whether or not to have a business website or a personal one. In case you are wondering – I chose both.

So, what does a seasoned old person do amidst all this chaos? I continue to do what is agreed upon as best practice. Spend my time professionally networking, linking with recruiters, applying to positions where I am a qualified fit, and sending in cover letters appreciating that they will likely never be read.

But just in case they are.