Nobody Wants to Hire Me

[Anonymous]

You may have to loosen your requirements in one or both areas (part time and or remote). Even people consistently in the workforce and in steadily increasing positions have to do this for jobs they are already in.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Business technology has not changed in 10 years.

OMG - if the business technology you're using hasn't significantly changed in the last 10 years... I hate to break the news, you are seriously outdated.

I see it with my mid-40s/early 50s coworkers. Unwilling to start using collaborative features of Microsoft Office, never heard of something like Chili Piper/Calendly/Bookings, can't adjust to communication norms over Slack or Teams, run super disengaging virtual meetings, can't comprehend how to build team culture remotely, struggle to understand short communication forms like Twitter or short-form video, don't understand how to use data analytics and dashboards available to them in their existing tools. Massive under-utilization of technology. And they think they are with it because they know how to make something a PDF and didn't forget to attach it to the email.

If you're still using technology largely the same way you were 10 years ago, and if you still run most of your communication through email - you are equivalent of the people in the late 90s/early 2000s who refused to give up fax or asked their assistant to print out emails for them.

You’re an ageist.

I’m 42, and guess what….you’ll be in the same age bracket soon. Think about how you talk about people, and then stop looking at age. I work in IT and I know how to use Business Technology. Your problem is not with their skillset. It’s with yours. You don’t know how to work in a team with a diverse skillset. Figure out how other people communicate and work within their skills, and then teach them how to use yours from their vantage point. Complaining people don’t do things your way is just arrogant.

[Anonymous]

That stated, I do agree that it’s different than 10 years ago. I just hate when people point to age.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Has op ever responded? Is this a troll?

I did wonder that because the used all the DCUM trigger words: SAHM, remote, part-time.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What am I missing...why are people suggesting adjunct professors, consulting gig, etc to Op?
All those types of jobs take a TON of time to establish, launch, and dive into...Op has no time for that.
Presumably, she can barely manage a PT job in her life; not to mention one that offers the perk of being remote .

+1

If she has a PhD she can probably get a lecturer gig at a local community college or university. Won’t pay much, very part time, maybe… remote (some CC really leaning into online courses) but not flexible

This is actually a hard job to get unless the PhD is in a desirable niche.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What am I missing...why are people suggesting adjunct professors, consulting gig, etc to Op?
All those types of jobs take a TON of time to establish, launch, and dive into...Op has no time for that.
Presumably, she can barely manage a PT job in her life; not to mention one that offers the perk of being remote .

+1

If she has a PhD she can probably get a lecturer gig at a local community college or university. Won’t pay much, very part time, maybe… remote (some CC really leaning into online courses) but not flexible

This is actually a hard job to get unless the PhD is in a desirable niche.

I know some places that are always looking for adjuncts. I don’t know about social science though.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Business technology has not changed in 10 years.

OMG - if the business technology you're using hasn't significantly changed in the last 10 years... I hate to break the news, you are seriously outdated.

I see it with my mid-40s/early 50s coworkers. Unwilling to start using collaborative features of Microsoft Office, never heard of something like Chili Piper/Calendly/Bookings, can't adjust to communication norms over Slack or Teams, run super disengaging virtual meetings, can't comprehend how to build team culture remotely, struggle to understand short communication forms like Twitter or short-form video, don't understand how to use data analytics and dashboards available to them in their existing tools. Massive under-utilization of technology. And they think they are with it because they know how to make something a PDF and didn't forget to attach it to the email.

If you're still using technology largely the same way you were 10 years ago, and if you still run most of your communication through email - you are equivalent of the people in the late 90s/early 2000s who refused to give up fax or asked their assistant to print out emails for them.

I was with you till email. Email is a killer app that remains unkilled. It’s openness, flexibility, portability is unmatched. But yes to the rest.

Don't get me wrong - email is awesome. You need to be skilled at communication via email, and there are a lot of features people don't know how to use well. But email becomes more powerful when it is used in the connected ecosphere that has taken off in the last 10 years, not when it is the end-all, be-all of how people communicate when working remotely.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Business technology has not changed in 10 years.

OMG - if the business technology you're using hasn't significantly changed in the last 10 years... I hate to break the news, you are seriously outdated.

I see it with my mid-40s/early 50s coworkers. Unwilling to start using collaborative features of Microsoft Office, never heard of something like Chili Piper/Calendly/Bookings, can't adjust to communication norms over Slack or Teams, run super disengaging virtual meetings, can't comprehend how to build team culture remotely, struggle to understand short communication forms like Twitter or short-form video, don't understand how to use data analytics and dashboards available to them in their existing tools. Massive under-utilization of technology. And they think they are with it because they know how to make something a PDF and didn't forget to attach it to the email.

If you're still using technology largely the same way you were 10 years ago, and if you still run most of your communication through email - you are equivalent of the people in the late 90s/early 2000s who refused to give up fax or asked their assistant to print out emails for them.

You’re an ageist.

I’m 42, and guess what….you’ll be in the same age bracket soon. Think about how you talk about people, and then stop looking at age. I work in IT and I know how to use Business Technology. Your problem is not with their skillset. It’s with yours. You don’t know how to work in a team with a diverse skillset. Figure out how other people communicate and work within their skills, and then teach them how to use yours from their vantage point. Complaining people don’t do things your way is just arrogant.

I'm 38. It isn't about age. It is about willingness to learn something new and not lean on "the way we've always done things." And often, those are the people in power, so they slow down others from starting to adopt technology that seriously improves team collaboration, communication, and engagement.

I don't need people to do things my way. I need people to be open to doing things a different way - and preferably, be continual learners who seek out those different ways.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

I think I’d be hesitant to hire a person who has been a sahm for 10 years part time. I’d assume they don’t share responsibilities equal with their husband (hence the part time) and would always be asking off work / being late / constant sick appointments. Full time I think it would be different.

+1. As an employer I prefer someone who has zero learning curve with Outlook, Zoom, project management software, etc. I don't want to spend 3 months training you on how to work in an office again after a decade long absence, when there's a relatively high risk that you're going to back to your comfortable SAH life.

How hard it is to learn outlook and zoom?

[Anonymous]

I think I’d be hesitant to hire a person who has been a sahm for 10 years part time. I’d assume they don’t share responsibilities equal with their husband (hence the part time) and would always be asking off work / being late / constant sick appointments. Full time I think it would be different.


+1. As an employer I prefer someone who has zero learning curve with Outlook, Zoom, project management software, etc. I don't want to spend 3 months training you on how to work in an office again after a decade long absence, when there's a relatively high risk that you're going to back to your comfortable SAH life.


How hard it is to learn outlook and zoom?

Not hard if you've been been working and are used to technology. More difficult if all you've managed for 10 years is gmail. But really the issue is: Is the person a problem solver or not? I've hired people who don't know how to schedule a meeting or add an email signature. The successful ones figure it out quickly on their own. The ones who will quit in less than a year demand meetings with IT or their supervisor to be walked through it. As an employer, you need to suss that kind of thing out in the interview process.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote: I've hired people who don't know how to schedule a meeting or add an email signature. The successful ones figure it out quickly on their own. The ones who will quit in less than a year demand meetings with IT or their supervisor to be walked through it. As an employer, you need to suss that kind of thing out in the interview process.

Quoted for truth. Although - even worse - when the ones who need their hand held stay for 20 years. Because they're unmotivated and not self-starters.

I have inherited some of those over the years and yeet them off to another team ASAP.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:See op is proof that this job market is not hot.

Part time remote flexible is limiting no matter what.

Yeah. Those are really specific requirements that are truly hard to find. Those kinds of jobs are in really high demand.

[Anonymous]

Haha yup, that’s the dream; decently paying, remote, part time work.

I just took a job (F/T, remote now but transitioning to hybrid) after a 5 year gap. It basically only covers childcare but you’ve got to be flexible and put some hard work in if you’re returning to the workforce after spending a significant amount of time away. It’ll pay off but it’s unlikely you’ll be able to just walk into a cushy position after staying at home so long.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

I think I’d be hesitant to hire a person who has been a sahm for 10 years part time. I’d assume they don’t share responsibilities equal with their husband (hence the part time) and would always be asking off work / being late / constant sick appointments. Full time I think it would be different.


+1. As an employer I prefer someone who has zero learning curve with Outlook, Zoom, project management software, etc. I don't want to spend 3 months training you on how to work in an office again after a decade long absence, when there's a relatively high risk that you're going to back to your comfortable SAH life.


How hard it is to learn outlook and zoom?

Not hard if you've been been working and are used to technology. More difficult if all you've managed for 10 years is gmail. But really the issue is: Is the person a problem solver or not? I've hired people who don't know how to schedule a meeting or add an email signature. The successful ones figure it out quickly on their own. The ones who will quit in less than a year demand meetings with IT or their supervisor to be walked through it. As an employer, you need to suss that kind of thing out in the interview process.

It's not rocket science. I learned Teams and Outlook pretty quickly and never used them before as a grad student. I mean, they're quite intuitively designed. I can't believe there are people out there who don't know how to schedule a meeting. How old are these people?!

[Anonymous]

OP has decided not to return to work or this thread.