- Paperback: 224 pages
- Publisher: Business Plus Imports (24 Oct 2005)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0446695394
- ISBN-13: 978-0446695398
- Product Dimensions: 15.6 x 1.9 x 22.9 cm
- Average Customer Review: 2.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (1 customer review)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 973,560 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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More About the Author
Product Description
Synopsis
As the average age of our society steadily increases, the ability to find employment decreases. In this one-of-a-kind book, Betsy Cummings shows older people how they can go about finding quality employment in a shrinking workplace. As workers get older many of them look to take on new careers to alleviate boredom, pay the bills or simply to explore new options. This book details how to look for a new job and also gives hand-on tips on how to gain the necessary experience and how to handle the transition back to the workplace after a long absence. Along the way, Cummings provides solid, practical advice on how to re-write a resume for today's job market, how to prepare for a job interview, especially when the interviewer may be 25 years younger than you are and how to make plans that will make that dream job a reality.
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
This book was totally American, and did not relate to the U.K. job market. A waste of money, considering that the postage was more than the book.
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
2 reviews
55 of 56 people found the following review helpful
Nothing new in this book
3 Dec 2005
Format:Paperback
There is nothing really new in this book. The advice and tips in it are the same old stuff that you have already seen a hundred times. Don't burn bridges; network; keep your chin up; be prepared for rejection. A lot of it is psychobabble handholding about soul searching and knowing what you really want to do etc. etc. I suppose if you have not yet seen this stuff in Dear Abbey it may be useful to you.
Some of the advice seems to be cut right out of a recruiter's handbook, and is actually bad advice. Here is an example from the book. The author is talking about how to update your resume to enhance your chances of landing an interview. The book advises to keep it recent, "limit your list of work experience to the last fifteen years" to avoid appearing old, I guess. And yet a main thread in the book points out that your long experience is a selling point. If you fracture your resume, you will end up having to explain the holes in it anyway. I would have advised to include the entire history, but keep the older information very brief.
Here is a particularly disturbing comment. "Skip listing the bachelor's degree you got in 1950 (or if you do mention it, leave off the year you graduated)". So what do you do if the job you are applying for requires that degree?
I just served on a search committee to find a director for our local library, and we reviewed dozens of resumes. In every case where the candidate left off the degree dates it aroused suspicion about what that candidtate was trying to hide, like maybe the fact that they are over 50 years old. The age was not an issue with us, but the trickery was. Don't do this. It is a red flag. And even if you do get an interview based on such a dishonest resume, you had better dye your hair and go for the extreme makeover as well so that they will not notice that you are old when you show up for the interview. And when they realize that you have tricked them into interviewing you, the trick may backfire. This is just bad advice.
I was hoping to find a lot more real-world, practical information in the book and was disappointed.
Some of the advice seems to be cut right out of a recruiter's handbook, and is actually bad advice. Here is an example from the book. The author is talking about how to update your resume to enhance your chances of landing an interview. The book advises to keep it recent, "limit your list of work experience to the last fifteen years" to avoid appearing old, I guess. And yet a main thread in the book points out that your long experience is a selling point. If you fracture your resume, you will end up having to explain the holes in it anyway. I would have advised to include the entire history, but keep the older information very brief.
Here is a particularly disturbing comment. "Skip listing the bachelor's degree you got in 1950 (or if you do mention it, leave off the year you graduated)". So what do you do if the job you are applying for requires that degree?
I just served on a search committee to find a director for our local library, and we reviewed dozens of resumes. In every case where the candidate left off the degree dates it aroused suspicion about what that candidtate was trying to hide, like maybe the fact that they are over 50 years old. The age was not an issue with us, but the trickery was. Don't do this. It is a red flag. And even if you do get an interview based on such a dishonest resume, you had better dye your hair and go for the extreme makeover as well so that they will not notice that you are old when you show up for the interview. And when they realize that you have tricked them into interviewing you, the trick may backfire. This is just bad advice.
I was hoping to find a lot more real-world, practical information in the book and was disappointed.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Good Advice and Resources
17 July 2011
Format:Paperback
As a Career Counselor, I found Betsy Cummings offered practical advice and excellent resources to individuals over 50 who want to get back into the workforce or make a career change. I disagree with the previous reviewer who may not have faced the blatant discrimination older workers have been experiencing in this difficult economy. Career Counselors concur with Cummings that resumes should reflect the past 10 - 15 years of employment and dates on degrees should be eliminated after five years. Cummings also offers good advice on how to debunk the myths employers often harbor regarding the older worker. It would be helpful if the book had an index and provided a few resume examples and responses to interview questions, but for anyone over 50 looking for employment, I highly recommend this book.
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