The last three months of my life have been demoralising, demotivating and a total reality check.
When I resigned from my last job (for reasons I won’t go into), there is absolutely no way I predicted what was in store. I was not prepared for the ageism that exists in the job market and how it would shrivel up the professional opportunities I felt I deserved.
Why would I not land a job quickly? I have a very broad skillset, years of experience, and a history of long-standing roles on my CV. Sound familiar? I’m tipping everyone puts this in their cover letter, but in this case, I can assure you, it’s true!
Not only was I to discover that scoring an interview is like climbing Everest, but getting a courtesy response – yes or no – is apparently ‘old school’. I even had occasions where I had to follow up with the employer/recruiter after a face to face interview due to no response. No. Response. At. All.
Seems it’s quite common these days for a job seeker to spend considerable time and effort on an application and interview, only to be left waiting for a nod or otherwise. I wish someone had told me there’s no human side to the process any more.
Top Comments
Twice lately I have been asked for a photo and a skype session. I can't help think its to see how old I am. First one was for a job with no experience but the reply was other people had better qualifications. Stick it up you ****** KFC. And Im now waiting for an online test which seems to have got lost in the mail after a skype session. Frankly, Im at a loss what to do next.
After a formal interview, I had a casual job interview to meet the Executive director of a government agency. He was ageist and sexist in his comments. He has a daughter and a stay at home wife. He may be intimdated by my experience. He does not understand my desire to work a front line job rather than management. He dismissed all the previous staff and is employing new. Employing women because they will work harder adn longer for the same money. I cannot believe these types are still employed at executive levels with such an arrogant attitude but put on a really good show.