Support for something rarely done
July 23, 2018 12:41 PM Subscribe
How do I find support for reentering the world of job searching and reinventing myself to enter a new technical field at the age of 70?
I lost my job about this time last year. I had told them I would be retiring on my 70th birthday but they got rid of me anyway. It was a shock. I did a lot of immediate soul searching and summed up my current status in these statements.:
* I want to go out of the work world on my own terms.
* I need one more year of good retirement contributions to be able to feel financially comfortable in retirement.
* My brain is still sharp, flexible and stimulated by the world of work interactions. I can be a strong contributor to the right organization.
* I have no current interest in volunteering, but do have strong experience in coaching and mentoring millennial employees and want to continue to do this.
I have spent the last year gaining skills and reinventing myself as a Scrum Master which was somewhat similar to what I did before. I have 2 certifications, a good LinkedIn profile, and lots of team coaching experience.
After some initial success in the job search (a second interview and a couple of call backs), I have hit a plateau in my process. I find I need support in three areas and am unsure where to get that support.
1. I live in rural southern Vermont. According to LinkedIn, there is not another scrum master or person with that title within 70 miles of me. There are agile meet up groups in Northern Connecticut and the New Hampshire coast but nothing close to me. I need to create a localish technical support network when there doesn't appear to be one.
2. Although I have family and friendship support no one really gets what it's like to be on a what appears to a cutting edge of work culture. At times I feel like giving up/quitting this adventure. Most of the people my age are retired or desperately wanting to be there. I feel at times like a salmon swimming upstream to die. Need some "I know you can do it" support.
3. I am only wanting to work on contract and will temporarily relocate to place I want to be. I need to find a sharp recruiter that can sell me and my skills despite the odds.
I have to say that tI don't find either AARP or state government to be effective resources for this kind of job search.
Hivemind, shine a spotlight on my support options.
I lost my job about this time last year. I had told them I would be retiring on my 70th birthday but they got rid of me anyway. It was a shock. I did a lot of immediate soul searching and summed up my current status in these statements.:
* I want to go out of the work world on my own terms.
* I need one more year of good retirement contributions to be able to feel financially comfortable in retirement.
* My brain is still sharp, flexible and stimulated by the world of work interactions. I can be a strong contributor to the right organization.
* I have no current interest in volunteering, but do have strong experience in coaching and mentoring millennial employees and want to continue to do this.
I have spent the last year gaining skills and reinventing myself as a Scrum Master which was somewhat similar to what I did before. I have 2 certifications, a good LinkedIn profile, and lots of team coaching experience.
After some initial success in the job search (a second interview and a couple of call backs), I have hit a plateau in my process. I find I need support in three areas and am unsure where to get that support.
1. I live in rural southern Vermont. According to LinkedIn, there is not another scrum master or person with that title within 70 miles of me. There are agile meet up groups in Northern Connecticut and the New Hampshire coast but nothing close to me. I need to create a localish technical support network when there doesn't appear to be one.
2. Although I have family and friendship support no one really gets what it's like to be on a what appears to a cutting edge of work culture. At times I feel like giving up/quitting this adventure. Most of the people my age are retired or desperately wanting to be there. I feel at times like a salmon swimming upstream to die. Need some "I know you can do it" support.
3. I am only wanting to work on contract and will temporarily relocate to place I want to be. I need to find a sharp recruiter that can sell me and my skills despite the odds.
I have to say that tI don't find either AARP or state government to be effective resources for this kind of job search.
Hivemind, shine a spotlight on my support options.
Make sure you NEVER apologize for your age, or refer to it in any way. It's irrelevant barring the fact it has given you a lot of solid experience. It's others who should be apologizing to you for their prejudice or conventionality, not you who should feel sheepish or anxious about when you were born. Your former employers sound like s**ts, with all too common disloyalty for those who have served them well. I hope they gave you a very decent severance.
As for the AARP, it's unfortunately a fairly shady organization, comprised of a mixture of nonprofit and for profit organizations with listed revenue of $1,604,218,960 in 2016 who strongly lobbied against single payer. They also happen to sell their own pricey insurance packets — and if you become a member it will take them 12 weeks to get you off all the mailing lists they sell your name to.... So I wouldn't look to them for many solutions.
The state of Vermont may not offer much in the way of help to older laid off members of the workforce, but government itself tends to better than the commercial world when it comes to anti-age discrimination due to Equal Employment Opportunity oversight, and you may have a better shot of getting a contracting job for City or State government for that reason.
If you're in an isolated area, keep in mind developers have been at the vanguard of remote work, and there's a lot of it. Check out flexjobs.com (and also their sister site, which is listed there somewhere, which is nearly all development oriented). There are also reams of other remote development listings, as well as undoubtedly professional groups for them online to exchange ideas and ask questions, but I'll leave it to those who actually work in development for a living to give you tips on those.
As for other sources of information, I'll email you with a name.
posted by Violet Blue at 2:07 PM on July 23, 2018 [5 favorites]
As for the AARP, it's unfortunately a fairly shady organization, comprised of a mixture of nonprofit and for profit organizations with listed revenue of $1,604,218,960 in 2016 who strongly lobbied against single payer. They also happen to sell their own pricey insurance packets — and if you become a member it will take them 12 weeks to get you off all the mailing lists they sell your name to.... So I wouldn't look to them for many solutions.
The state of Vermont may not offer much in the way of help to older laid off members of the workforce, but government itself tends to better than the commercial world when it comes to anti-age discrimination due to Equal Employment Opportunity oversight, and you may have a better shot of getting a contracting job for City or State government for that reason.
If you're in an isolated area, keep in mind developers have been at the vanguard of remote work, and there's a lot of it. Check out flexjobs.com (and also their sister site, which is listed there somewhere, which is nearly all development oriented). There are also reams of other remote development listings, as well as undoubtedly professional groups for them online to exchange ideas and ask questions, but I'll leave it to those who actually work in development for a living to give you tips on those.
As for other sources of information, I'll email you with a name.
posted by Violet Blue at 2:07 PM on July 23, 2018 [5 favorites]
Need some "I know you can do it" support.
I know you can do it!
More seriously:
- dittoing the idea of remote work being a great possibility, especially in this field.
- I think that scrum, team coaching, etc. is a great area for consulting work. LOTS of teams struggle with it, believe me.
If you would like to DM me with your profile, I'd be glad to take a look and see if there are any suggestions. I've had some experience starting a consulting side-hustle and may be able to offer some help.
posted by randomkeystrike at 2:43 PM on July 23, 2018 [1 favorite]
I know you can do it!
More seriously:
- dittoing the idea of remote work being a great possibility, especially in this field.
- I think that scrum, team coaching, etc. is a great area for consulting work. LOTS of teams struggle with it, believe me.
If you would like to DM me with your profile, I'd be glad to take a look and see if there are any suggestions. I've had some experience starting a consulting side-hustle and may be able to offer some help.
posted by randomkeystrike at 2:43 PM on July 23, 2018 [1 favorite]
Response by poster: I am open to remote work and have been actively seeking it. One problem with looking for this work is that most of listings for remote tech work appear on a website that appears to be a scam of sorts. Monthly fee to see listings, no guarantee jobs are real.
posted by Xurando at 3:16 PM on July 23, 2018
posted by Xurando at 3:16 PM on July 23, 2018
Of course you can do this.
My SO who works at home started getting a variety of gigs with Upwork. It took a bit to get started with no reviews, but once he got going it picked up. Some have provided more than one project, and at least one could lead to something more permanent. (Of course, I should add that I am not quite sure what you do despite a brief google, so I don't know if this site is right for that job, but I can confirm it is a legitimate place you might try whether for your primary skill or another skill.)
Good luck! Don't give up. At some point that thing you want will be just one more step away.
posted by Glinn at 3:29 PM on July 23, 2018 [2 favorites]
My SO who works at home started getting a variety of gigs with Upwork. It took a bit to get started with no reviews, but once he got going it picked up. Some have provided more than one project, and at least one could lead to something more permanent. (Of course, I should add that I am not quite sure what you do despite a brief google, so I don't know if this site is right for that job, but I can confirm it is a legitimate place you might try whether for your primary skill or another skill.)
Good luck! Don't give up. At some point that thing you want will be just one more step away.
posted by Glinn at 3:29 PM on July 23, 2018 [2 favorites]
Find a reputable tech consulting company that places agile coaches at organizations for a constrained period of time to modernize their process. These agencies and their clients will be in larger cities so be willing to be on site at least a couple days a week because the coaching is very hands-on. Out here in the West, AIM and Slalom are the type of consultants I’m talking about - I don’t know who the East coast equivalents are.
posted by matildaben at 3:32 PM on July 23, 2018 [4 favorites]
posted by matildaben at 3:32 PM on July 23, 2018 [4 favorites]
I'm younger than you are, female, and find that age discrimination is quite real, even more so in technical fields. Not saying this to be discouraging, rather to give you some sense of why you aren't getting responses. Emphasize certifications and successful projects. Use your network. Talk to some young people about what they do when looking for work; traditional resumes seem to still be useful, but what about making sure you communicate in a non-old way, like using text. Don't ask me, I'm a geezer, too. One thing I hear is that some hiring managers think older workers will want too much money. Well, yes, we'd like market rates and benefits because we're still smart.
posted by theora55 at 3:35 PM on July 23, 2018 [2 favorites]
posted by theora55 at 3:35 PM on July 23, 2018 [2 favorites]
Have you seen We Work Remotely? It does not charge job seekers to view listings, it charges employers for posting job opportunities. Good luck!
posted by Bella Donna at 3:48 PM on July 23, 2018 [2 favorites]
posted by Bella Donna at 3:48 PM on July 23, 2018 [2 favorites]
This may or may not be what you're looking for, but I can send you the website of a guy who reworks IT-related resumes to hit on current tends and hot topics. I'm a former Jack-Of-All-Trades who could barely get an interview at mid-level local companies, and after his help I had one company fly me across the country for an interview, and ultimately got a position at a (local) premier software development consulting company. I would write up little tidbits of my past experience, and he'd rewrite it to actually look good. MeMail me if you're interested in details.
posted by Nonsteroidal Anti-Inflammatory Drug at 4:42 PM on July 23, 2018 [2 favorites]
posted by Nonsteroidal Anti-Inflammatory Drug at 4:42 PM on July 23, 2018 [2 favorites]
Best answer: I am a recently retired female software engineer. I am not sure why you say "most of listings for remote tech work appear on a website that appears to be a scam". Here are just a few go-to sources with legit remote jobs and/or companies that are all-remote:
Indeed
Stack Overflow
Remote OK
Hacker News (new thread every month)
posted by rada at 4:49 PM on July 23, 2018 [13 favorites]
Indeed
Stack Overflow
Remote OK
Hacker News (new thread every month)
posted by rada at 4:49 PM on July 23, 2018 [13 favorites]
Seconding rada's list. Stack Overflow listings tend to include salary details and have a flag for remote options, and HN was where I found the company that flew me in to interview. HN indicates remote options as well.
Both sites tend to be more personal and many times get you connected with the person actually hiring instead of HR or another middleman.
posted by Nonsteroidal Anti-Inflammatory Drug at 5:10 PM on July 23, 2018
Both sites tend to be more personal and many times get you connected with the person actually hiring instead of HR or another middleman.
posted by Nonsteroidal Anti-Inflammatory Drug at 5:10 PM on July 23, 2018
I DM'd the OP. I will put in my $.02 about "remote job sites." Unfortunately, the ones that bill as such are often, as others have said, entry level at best and scammy at worst. But if you look at indeed, LinkedIn, and other mainstream sites that list all kinds of jobs, and search with filters for remote positions, you can find opportunities that are legit, but remote.
posted by randomkeystrike at 6:14 PM on July 23, 2018
posted by randomkeystrike at 6:14 PM on July 23, 2018
This isn't exactly in any of your categories, but since you didn't mention it, how long has it been since you have been actively searching and applying for jobs? The processes and norms have changed a lot in the past 5/10/15 years--everything from how you look for jobs, how you apply, how you format your resume, has changed. I recommend reading articles in relevant categories on Ask a Manager as a resource for getting yourself up to speed on the current norms. I also think it's worth hiring a resume coach to make sure you're presenting yourself in the best possible way "on paper." (PM me if you want a rec for a resume coach.)
posted by radioamy at 6:32 PM on July 23, 2018 [2 favorites]
posted by radioamy at 6:32 PM on July 23, 2018 [2 favorites]
This thread is closed to new comments.
So I think decide what sort of scrum master you want to be and that will help the settle on type of company and location to aim for - big enterprise or small startup. Good luck!
posted by JonB at 12:55 PM on July 23, 2018