Finding work after you've been aged out
December 19, 2009 10:08 AM Subscribe
I'm a young 60 yr old woman aged out of my career of 30 yrs.--creating
advertising for pharmaceuticals. Is paying for help worth it? I'm lost
and must keep earning!! Suggestions?
I no longer want anything to do with my previous profession. But I'm
totally blocked as to what to do. I'm a really good writer, and usually
a creative thinker. And the recession? Even in my NYC area, it's horrible.
Should I pay a job counselor?
I no longer want anything to do with my previous profession. But I'm
totally blocked as to what to do. I'm a really good writer, and usually
a creative thinker. And the recession? Even in my NYC area, it's horrible.
Should I pay a job counselor?
I'm not in your field, but I work in the nonprofit sector, and I think this might be a good place to look. Most mid-to-large sized nonprofits have marketing/communications departments, and I'm sure they would be really interested in your decades of advertising experience. Good places to look for listings: Idealist, City Limits, The Foundation Center. With your level of experience, you will be overqualified on paper for every job you apply for, but in this economy that's ok - NPOs are hiring overqualified people all over the place.
One snag may be lack of NPO experience, although if you've volunteered, served on boards, etc, that will help. You could also start volunteering now for a smaller NPO that really needs marketing help but can't pay for it.
If you decide to pursue this, feel free to email me with questions.
posted by lunasol at 10:31 AM on December 19, 2009 [2 favorites]
One snag may be lack of NPO experience, although if you've volunteered, served on boards, etc, that will help. You could also start volunteering now for a smaller NPO that really needs marketing help but can't pay for it.
If you decide to pursue this, feel free to email me with questions.
posted by lunasol at 10:31 AM on December 19, 2009 [2 favorites]
If you feel lost and wondering what to do, it's always worth talking to someone. Engaging a counsellor or executive coach can help foster your self-esteem and focus your job search. It's important to figure out what you want out of a counsellor or executive, and it's important that the person is the right fit. You can probably get by on $1000 budget (6 sessions).
In the meantime, there *must* be non-profits in NYC that provide job counselling services to older workers like yourself. This should be free, so it's worth checking out.
Good luck.
posted by KokuRyu at 11:13 AM on December 19, 2009
In the meantime, there *must* be non-profits in NYC that provide job counselling services to older workers like yourself. This should be free, so it's worth checking out.
Good luck.
posted by KokuRyu at 11:13 AM on December 19, 2009
I worked in that area for a while - its a good area, but I'm afraid that pharmaceutical advertising may be drying up to some degree.
You might seen an image consultant or a career counselor - an investment that may pay for itself many times over.
Also, I hate to say this, but what about doing something to make yourself look younger? I remember attending a dermatology lecture with a woman whom I estimated to be around 35 or 40 years old. She revealed her true age: 67 years old. She used 1)Lanolin and 2)Tretinoin cream to achieve this youthful appearance.
Lanolin can be purchased here and you can get a prescription for a 30 gram tube of tretinoin 0.1% cream from your doctor. Make sure it is not Retin-A but actual tretinoin.
This might seem drastic - but if you can look ten or fifteen years younger with a simple regimen like this it might be well worth the investment. Age discrimination or not, sometimes one must do what one has to do to survive in this world.
posted by verapamil at 11:44 AM on December 19, 2009 [1 favorite]
You might seen an image consultant or a career counselor - an investment that may pay for itself many times over.
Also, I hate to say this, but what about doing something to make yourself look younger? I remember attending a dermatology lecture with a woman whom I estimated to be around 35 or 40 years old. She revealed her true age: 67 years old. She used 1)Lanolin and 2)Tretinoin cream to achieve this youthful appearance.
Lanolin can be purchased here and you can get a prescription for a 30 gram tube of tretinoin 0.1% cream from your doctor. Make sure it is not Retin-A but actual tretinoin.
This might seem drastic - but if you can look ten or fifteen years younger with a simple regimen like this it might be well worth the investment. Age discrimination or not, sometimes one must do what one has to do to survive in this world.
posted by verapamil at 11:44 AM on December 19, 2009 [1 favorite]
Before hiring a coach check out the local unemployment office. They often have free career sessions.
posted by Gungho at 11:55 AM on December 19, 2009
posted by Gungho at 11:55 AM on December 19, 2009
You might want to take a look at the wise and generous book, What Color Is Your Parachute, by Richard Nelson Bolles. Website here.
The book is updated every year, and the 2010 version is available already. Bolles takes the position that everyone has problems or handicaps that they need to overcome on their way to meaningful employment, then provides resources for overcoming them. Bolles is an ordained Episcopalian pastor, and includes spiritual life as an important component of the jobsearch.
Good luck. I believe in you.
posted by Multicellular Exothermic at 12:29 PM on December 19, 2009
The book is updated every year, and the 2010 version is available already. Bolles takes the position that everyone has problems or handicaps that they need to overcome on their way to meaningful employment, then provides resources for overcoming them. Bolles is an ordained Episcopalian pastor, and includes spiritual life as an important component of the jobsearch.
Good luck. I believe in you.
posted by Multicellular Exothermic at 12:29 PM on December 19, 2009
As a former pharma copywriter, I would say move into other types of advertising. Financial services pays close to what pharma pays. I'm not sure if you're an account rep, designer, or copywriter but if it is writing, companies are always on the lookout for good writers. Time to get your portfolio ready.
Good luck.
posted by stormpooper at 1:43 PM on December 19, 2009
Good luck.
posted by stormpooper at 1:43 PM on December 19, 2009
KokuRyu is right - only pay someone if they are a right fit. I think a right fit means four things:
1. They are familiar with your field (must have)
2. They have worked with someone in your age group/demographic (pretty nice to have)
3. They have a successful track record of supporting people in your age group find a job in your field. (deal breaker if they don't)
4. You really like their counseling/coaching style. (nice to have)
I think there are a lot of people out there who really focus on number 4, because career counselors/coaches are usually very supportive and motivating, and often when you're deeply worried about something, there is something very comforting about partnering with someone who offers that support.
But I've got to tell you, that 1-3 is really key. I consider myself a crack career counselor (at a university), around some very specific type of career choices/fields, and yours isn't one of them. I even have a track record of working with folks in your age demographics, but, once again, since it's not in your field, that's not very useful.
Not very useful means that my understanding of how people transfer skills and market themselves in the sub set of like-professional opportunities (advertising to some other related career, or advertising in some other area....say advertising in the food industry, or the entertainment industry) is next to nil. Which means you shouldn't be paying me a penny, because I can't offer you tangible examples of how people made the transition, current information about trends in the market, relevant strategies about how to revise your resume/cover letter or how to interview, or discuss common mistakes that people in your field make. My advice would be general, which is better than nothing at all, but really second or third rate to someone who knows the industry inside and out first, and your demographic second.
Basically, do look at your local unemployment office first and use any free services they have. I do think that folks there are true generalists, because they have a lot of datapoints from a lot of folks who pass through their doors. If you do find a job counselor, feel free to interview them first and ask on those four points. Personally, regardless of how comforted I felt, if they didn't even have 1-2 people who they helped who were in advertising, I wouldn't hire them.
Because there's a big difference between someone who tells you "hey join your professional association and linked in, and network" ('cause that's worth like, $5 an hour), and someone else who says, "Hey, in your field, you need to join professional association X and Y, but avoid Z, because it's not worth it. Also, we need to revise your CV to highlight Q if we're going to make you marketable in an advertising firm focused on G industry. And we've got to get you started on informational interviews. Just for practice, let's have you talk to M, who also is in your age group and did a job transition, and start brainstorming people in your community who are doing advertising in the food industry to get you connected with them. And here's how I want you to use linked in. You're going to contact everyone you know and say....." (cause that's worth a bit more than $5).
Best of luck to you. Other people have weathered this, and you can too.
posted by anitanita at 2:20 PM on December 19, 2009 [1 favorite]
1. They are familiar with your field (must have)
2. They have worked with someone in your age group/demographic (pretty nice to have)
3. They have a successful track record of supporting people in your age group find a job in your field. (deal breaker if they don't)
4. You really like their counseling/coaching style. (nice to have)
I think there are a lot of people out there who really focus on number 4, because career counselors/coaches are usually very supportive and motivating, and often when you're deeply worried about something, there is something very comforting about partnering with someone who offers that support.
But I've got to tell you, that 1-3 is really key. I consider myself a crack career counselor (at a university), around some very specific type of career choices/fields, and yours isn't one of them. I even have a track record of working with folks in your age demographics, but, once again, since it's not in your field, that's not very useful.
Not very useful means that my understanding of how people transfer skills and market themselves in the sub set of like-professional opportunities (advertising to some other related career, or advertising in some other area....say advertising in the food industry, or the entertainment industry) is next to nil. Which means you shouldn't be paying me a penny, because I can't offer you tangible examples of how people made the transition, current information about trends in the market, relevant strategies about how to revise your resume/cover letter or how to interview, or discuss common mistakes that people in your field make. My advice would be general, which is better than nothing at all, but really second or third rate to someone who knows the industry inside and out first, and your demographic second.
Basically, do look at your local unemployment office first and use any free services they have. I do think that folks there are true generalists, because they have a lot of datapoints from a lot of folks who pass through their doors. If you do find a job counselor, feel free to interview them first and ask on those four points. Personally, regardless of how comforted I felt, if they didn't even have 1-2 people who they helped who were in advertising, I wouldn't hire them.
Because there's a big difference between someone who tells you "hey join your professional association and linked in, and network" ('cause that's worth like, $5 an hour), and someone else who says, "Hey, in your field, you need to join professional association X and Y, but avoid Z, because it's not worth it. Also, we need to revise your CV to highlight Q if we're going to make you marketable in an advertising firm focused on G industry. And we've got to get you started on informational interviews. Just for practice, let's have you talk to M, who also is in your age group and did a job transition, and start brainstorming people in your community who are doing advertising in the food industry to get you connected with them. And here's how I want you to use linked in. You're going to contact everyone you know and say....." (cause that's worth a bit more than $5).
Best of luck to you. Other people have weathered this, and you can too.
posted by anitanita at 2:20 PM on December 19, 2009 [1 favorite]
Don't pay anyone. You are asking to be ripped off.
I don't know how internet friendly you are, but if you are, that's your avenue, and if you're not, take some free classes at the library or community center or Y. Go on meetup.com and find a group of people - advertising professionals, copywriters - and go to those events. Find out what the hot internet networking events are and go to them. Good writers are very, very hard to find. VERY hard to find.
If you can't find a group, start your own! I guarantee you you're not the only person in your shoes out of work right now. Network, network, network. Start a blog about copywriting and advertising. Get yourself out there as much as you can.
LinkedIn might also be helpful, but I haven't found it to be. I would also go check out mediabistro's job board and their classes.
If you're in NYC do not bother with the local unemployment office. They won't know what to do with you, and being there will just be disheartening. And they will have their hands full right now.
I'm not saying lie about your age, but knock some things off your resume to make it in question. I'm not 60, but I took the years I graduated college and grad school off my resume a few years back and I believe that got more calls as a result. I don't present as old as I am and that way I can at least get my foot in the door.
posted by micawber at 9:34 PM on December 20, 2009
I don't know how internet friendly you are, but if you are, that's your avenue, and if you're not, take some free classes at the library or community center or Y. Go on meetup.com and find a group of people - advertising professionals, copywriters - and go to those events. Find out what the hot internet networking events are and go to them. Good writers are very, very hard to find. VERY hard to find.
If you can't find a group, start your own! I guarantee you you're not the only person in your shoes out of work right now. Network, network, network. Start a blog about copywriting and advertising. Get yourself out there as much as you can.
LinkedIn might also be helpful, but I haven't found it to be. I would also go check out mediabistro's job board and their classes.
If you're in NYC do not bother with the local unemployment office. They won't know what to do with you, and being there will just be disheartening. And they will have their hands full right now.
I'm not saying lie about your age, but knock some things off your resume to make it in question. I'm not 60, but I took the years I graduated college and grad school off my resume a few years back and I believe that got more calls as a result. I don't present as old as I am and that way I can at least get my foot in the door.
posted by micawber at 9:34 PM on December 20, 2009
This thread is closed to new comments.
I'd also recommend that at 60, it might be a better idea to think in terms of a career shift rather than a radical change. That way some of your skills, experience and education will still be of use to you, and to your new employer, so you can make more of a lateral move, rather than having to start from some entry level position in a new line of work.
posted by orange swan at 10:30 AM on December 19, 2009