Learning 2.0

I'd like to dispel the old belief that you cannot teach an old dog new tricks. Because you can! Well, at least you can teach a middle-aged dog some new tricks.

As my job hunt continues I have been finding a wider community to help in the job search and helping my job skills. I have also learned from my mistakes.

A friend told me about a resource here in Washington, DC called 40Plus, an organization striving to empower experienced professionals for successful career & life transitions.

They run a four-week Job Search Training Course. I haven't decided if I will take it, but I may - I need to look at the calendar. They provide resume help, interviewing skills (mock interviews that are video-taped), and negotiation lessons. I have to sort out some things before I can commit to that.

In addition 40Plus runs a Monday morning Speaker Series. This week I went to a session titled 7 Mistakes the 50+ Job Seeker Should Never Make that was given by Laura Labovich of Apire-Empower.

As she pointed out - there are no mistakes that one should make - but the seven she talked about are important. I won't rehash the session but among the mistakes to avoid are - not having a plan, not using social media, and Going back to Nixon on your resume. Yeah - she has a sense of humor!

She did mention that while stereotypes abound regarding hiring people over 40 or 50, truth is people over 50 require less training, we are more flexible about our schedules, we're good team players, we're good with customers, we're loyal and we generally need less supervision.

Yea Rah!!

So I keep at it. Finding openings - reaching out to friends, colleagues, former teachers and classmates, attending job fairs and generally being open to what is in store for me.

I missed out on one opportunity - but I figure that means there is something better waiting for me. My sister saw this somewhere - I do perfect work in a perfect way in a perfect job for perfect pay. Okay - it is a little Mary Poppins-esque, but I know the right thing is out there for me - and I do hope it comes along soon!