Friday, November 6, 2009

Start a new business or look for another job?

After losing my job back in March due to a reduction in workforce I was forced to learn and re-think a lot of things, as I'm sure is true of everyone in this economic climate right now.

I was fortunate enough to have access to an outsourcing company that was able to help rebuild my resume.  I had not been in the "job market" for quite some time and it was amazing to me how much everything had changed. 

Resumes are written with a different theme to them now.  Employers don't want to see what your job descriptions and duties are anymore, now they want to see your accomplishments and what was affected by your duties.  You have to quantify all your duties with money and/or time saved and by how much, the scope of the job duty and who and what is effected by your efforts.

Today everything is about computers.  There are no more job postings in papers; they're all on the internet and you need to become very savy in it's use to stand out and get noticed.  Most of the jobs posted on Monster or Career Builder are employment agencies trying to make sure their data bases are full just in case they get a call for a job opening, they need to have someone available to send.

I did get another job after my job loss.  It was a temporary contract that was suppose to last 3 months.  I was told that it was a temp to hire job and that after the contract was up I would be able to apply for the position permanently.  After working in this position for 1 month I received a call from the employment agency one morning as I was getting ready to walk out the door for work.  She informed me that, without her knowledge, this company had continued to interview for this position and had hired someone else and my services were no longer needed.

Then came the re-thinking part,  I had to realize that age and experience relate to another problem I see happening with people in the employment climate of today.  If you are over 50 and trying to find a job, interviews are intimidating, expecially if you are insecure about your age.   Though we may like to believe that and are told that the world doesn't discriminate, well, think again.  It does.  There will be 100 reasons why you didn't get a job when you had more experience and credentials than someone else 20 years younger who applied for the same job.  Of course the employer can't ever admit to that, but they are looing out for the best interest of their company, even if it means not hiring someone older. 

This is where I decided to try my hand at something I've always wanted to do:  BE MY OWN BOSS!  If you take a 50-year-old self-employed accountant, bookkeeper (or whatever your specialty is), you will have customers/clients confident in your experience rather that using it against you.  If you are starting out on your own after you have worked for someone else for 30 years, then use it to your advantage, because it won't matter with the tables turned.  They need YOU, which is why they're looking for your expertise.   Your experience and your age will be one of your assets.

If there is anyone out there in the same situation, I would love to network and brainstorm ways to make your business grow.  I am available for resume writing, bookkeeping for small businesses, QuickBooks consulting or just trading information.


checkedandbalanced.vpweb.com

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