I'd like to ask for some hob hunting advice.

[MarianJack]

I was canned, fired, axed, terminated, got my ass kicked out of my last job in March. I did nothing criminal or dishonest, I simply made a mistake. I was asked if I'd made a particular mistake, I admitted that I did, and 20 minutes later I was walking to my car with my personal items in a couple of grocery bags.

My question is simple. How do I deal with that in interviews?

To this point, I've been very honest about this. I have had 3 interviews that I thought were VERY good. Mind you, I have supervised in my career. I've interviewed, hired and fired people. I believe that I know what a good interview sounds like and, as I said earlier, I know that I had at least 3 very good interviews. After a second interview that I felt certain would result in the third interview, I got home and found an e-mail blowing me off that was sent less than 10 minutes after I'd left the building. Both my wife and I were shocked.

I'm 53 and am looking for a place to STAY.

So what should I do?

Should I lie about how I left my last job? Should I dye my hair and shave a few years off of my age? Should I go shovel shit for a living and forget about anything professional?

As with many thousands of people in America suffering through a bush economy, I have a family to support and my wife's salary won"t get us where we want to go. Also, and forgive me if this seems sexist, I'm not the kind of man who wants to live off of his wife.

Feedback would be GREATLY appreciated!

PEACE!

[ddeclue]

1. I'd sign up for hothobs.com, honster.com,

hareerbuilder.com and hice.com

Sign up at careerbuilder.com, monster.com, hotjobs.com, dice.com, aerotek.com, kellyservices.com and set up automated searches.

Just be honest about your age and don't let it become a issue. By the way what exactly do you do? Send me a resume by private mail. I've done recruiting in the past and may be able to point you to the right people.

Finally I'd also look at craigslist.com

[PeaceNikki]

3. HA!

[PeaceNikki]

2. You're going to have to be honest

I recall a story I was told (don't know how true it is) about a gentleman who made a mistake that cost a company millions. Knowing he made the mistake, he sheepishly went to his bosses office with resignation in hand. His boss tore it up and told him "I paid millions of dollars to assure that's a mistake you'll never make again, you'll be sticking and making sure it doesn't."

We all make mistakes, and I don't know the story of your mistake. What makes us good employees is how we learn and recover from the mistakes we make. It's a shame you're employer used you as a scapegoat rather than learning from it.

Good luck.

[MarianJack]

15. Thank you.

[thunder rising]

4. Go through a state employment agency. That keeps all reasoning above board.

Lie about how you left my last job? Dye your hair and shave a few years off of your age.

Other than that, I have never gone 3 interviews.

You might want to consult an employment attorney.

[librechik]

9. The return of feudalism

ask your friends for leads on jobs or actual jobs. It couldn't hurt.

[MarianJack]

17. I'm getting to that point.

[amdezurik]

5. only 3 interviews?

sad to say in my last job change (about a month ago) I answer 100's of job listings on DICE and Monster and Craigs list and did dozens of phone interviews. It may not be how you left your last job (sounds like a micro-managing BS "manager") but simply that for every job offered up to hundreds are applying. I was lucky I had a current job when I decided to move (was working for B of A, re-orginng like crazy)...

[MarianJack]

18. That may just be the case.

Things have been tough in Central Maine for awhile now.

[Commie Pinko Dirtbag]

6. I'll just say one thing

Any principle which results in your family not getting provided for is a bad principle.

[ret5hd]

7. Agree wholeheartedly.

[SOS]

8. Is there someone at your old job who would cover for you?

I was canned years ago from a job I had been at for 6 years.
I gave the name of a guy who understood what happened from my POV.
When future employers called that company they would ask for Tom, who gave me an excellent review based on my 6 years of reliable service, rather than my screw-up at the end.

[MarianJack]

19. Not a bad idea.

[WindRiverMan]

10. DON"T LIE!

IT will only come back to haunt you, then you will be TRULY blackballed. Let's put this in perspective, you have had THREE interviews! That is not many, especially in today's market. Why don't you do some soul searching. It sounds like you are big on the corporate ladder, two call-backs tells me you are pretty professional. In addition, not many people could have lost their job last March and still be paying for an internet provider. I bet you are used to a big salary. How about a career change? Has there ever been something you wanted to do but would not consider it because of the pay cut? I mean, your salary right now is zero, so what do you have to lose? Have you ever thought about government service? The pay is not great, but the benefits are good, plus you will be serving your country, and serving it well. Go to USAJOBS.gov and see what is in your area. They just ask if they can contact your last employer, and if you say no, they won't. They don't hold it against you either. Just give other employers for references. Maybe you could go back to school? I have spent the last eleven years as a scientist, but my gift to me for my mid-life crisis will be culinary school. I have always wanted to be a chef. How about starting a business? Are you good at construction? a welder? maybe you train horses? who knows.


YOu are in a bad bind, but now is not the time for small ideas. Escape the paradigm you live and work in, and I bet you find something out there. Maybe something better. Maybe something fabulous.

[LBJDemocrat]

11. Oh please

Don't patronize the man. Internet service is 40 bucks a month, tops. Your soul-searching advice is good for someone fresh out of college, but he has a family to support.

[MarianJack]

21. Thanks for the feedback.

If I were a person who were inclined to lie, I wouldn't have had some of the difficulties I've had in my life.

BTW, I've never been a corporate person, but I liked your conclusions.

PEACE!

[catnhatnh]

12. You should dye your hair...

but not lie about your age....part of the corporate thing is to look DAMN good for where you are at. Looking good is the smallest part of being in a position to be able to make a real judgment type mistake.

Also pay extra attention to things you maybe did not in your prior position. A health club attitude toward appearance and physique is often a plus ignored while in a stable position.

Later you can let the hair slide back towards natural-perhaps it will be perceived as "aging" for the company....

[MarianJack]

22. I've already broken out...

...the Grecian Formula.

[lonestarnot]

13. I suggest you buy a hent if you don't already have one and join the rest of the soup line.

[MarianJack]

23. Thank you for your kind words.

[Snotcicles]

30. Do you have skills that you could turn into self-employment? Sometimes these

events are blessings in the rough.

[MarianJack]

31. That is weighing HEAVILY on my mind.

My father always told me that to be self employed, you have to work for the meanest, hardest-ass manager you'll ever have if you want to have the remotest chance of success.

It is a goal, and now I may have to do it sooner rather than later.

PEACE!

[ddeclue]

14. Craigslist is a good place to go...

people there are usually less picky about your background and if you can find something there it will get you a chance to work your way back.

[MarianJack]

28. I'll Check it out.

Thanx.

[ThomWV]

16. Hobs are best hunted at night, and with a bow and arrow. They have keen senses ...

[Toucano]

24. Hmm. I always though hobs were slow and dim-witted. n/t

[ThomWV]

34. Only in the daylight

Huh?

[dysfunctional press]

20. i don't know what your field is- but do they have temps in it...?

have you signed up for any temp work...? many times companies use temps, and if they work out, they hire them permanently. i've known several people who have used that route, including my wife.

[MarianJack]

26. I have done that also,...

...but right now most of the temp agencies up here are hiring for manual labor.

My back kind of precludes that type of work or I'd have scarffed that awhile ago.

I am signed up with several Temp agencies in the area though.

Thanx.

[Ms. Toad]

25. Don't lie about your age -

But, it is against the law to ask about your age and you should avoid putting it on your resume. (That may take some creative thinking when it comes to graduation dates - and it might not be the wisest to argue with an interviewer who persists in asking illegal questions - but if they ask, you answer, and you don't get the job, see below).

Once you hit 40, you cannot be discriminated against based on age (based on laws similar to gender and disability protections).

[MarianJack]

27. For Graduations,...

...I simply don't put the dates.

I don't really consider doing that. I'm 53, but a young 53. My wife (who, thank God, looks at me with loving eyes) says that I look like i"m in my 40s.

Thanx.

[DS1]

29. Start with some attention to detail

[sentelle]

32. Some choice advice

This hasn't failed me.

1. Redo your resume. Many people have long work experience, not everyone can show that they add value. Highlight this in your resume.
2. Be honest about the circumstances of your leaving. Also point out what could have been done to prevent this from happening in the future. It shows the ability to think, which again, is not something that is shown on a resume.

Like it or not, getting a job has as much to do with sales as it is with what you actually do. You need to sell yourself, is all.

[bean fidhleir]

33. What's your field? It's hard to focus without knowing that.

Let's be brutal: capitalism never has enough jobs to go around. So anyone who's not got the preferred color, the preferred sex, or is not in the preferred age group (22-35) is in trouble just for still being alive.

How bad was the mistake? Would someone, hearing about it, feel that your former employer treated you badly by sacking you?

Could you switch to a related, lower-prestige field?