But What Now?

I don’t always read the Job Market section of the Sunday Times (for me it’s the Seattle Times) because it’s usually not very interesting to me. However, today’s was all about boomers looking for a job. Since I might be in that position myself in another 8 months, I was interested in reading it.

Turns out, according to this article, is that the biggest obstacle is “aren’t you overqualified?”. Ok, are they worried that once we get in we’ll be so upwardly mobile that we’ll want their jobs?

All kidding aside, the article initially focuses on someone who spent 25 years in information technology in Dallas. Maybe that person just didn’t have good interview skills or maybe the Dallas IT market just isn’t very hot. From what I hear in Seattle, if I want a job in IT once I leave my current job, I probably won’t have much difficulty finding it. Especially since I am no longer concerned with receiving benefits and would prefer to work as a contractor.

I suppose it’s beneficial in some way to know what others are experiencing by reading these articles. Having said that I am a firm believer that I will manifest what I desire. Even though my life hasn’t fully been a bed of roses, I have never gone hungry and I’ve pretty much always gotten the jobs I’ve gone after.

Just so you know, though, this article states that “workers 55 and older take an average of 21 weeks to find a job, five weeks longer than younger job seekers, according to the AARP Public Policy Institute.” Sounds like reason to celebrate. After all, haven’t we earned that extra five weeks off? I mean, really!

Back to the guy with 25 years in IT in Dallas. He never did find a new IT job so he started his own business. I’ll bet that’s what he really wanted. He obviously had the drive and now he’s his own boss. I celebrate his achievement. I work in IT now and while I love a good technical puzzle, I don’t love being a slave to the machine. It’s a fine line.

Bottom line, we’re living longer, we’ve got dynamite skills and we’re always starting over. The world is truly our oyster. Let’s not forget that.