Age discrimination is still alive and well, so make sure your friend gets current on all tech stuff as well as gets a fresh new outfit and hairdo.

I'm a retained executive recruiter. Job posts represent only 15% of all avialable jobs. That means 85% of jobs, on average, are not posted. Problem is that too many job seekers spend 100% of their time going after only 15% of openings then, and the odds are terrible. 300 people might apply for one job.


Like others have said then, your friend will need to network and join all relevant LinkedIn groups and any church or social groups that have job searching resources.

Good luck! I know it's not fun.

Anonymous wrote:What part of "IT"

software testing, technical writer, business analyst, some configuration management, all mainframe based though....

What part of "IT"

Anonymous wrote:She's in IT? Tell her to do to the meetups like DCTech and whatever specific technology she's into. Usually at the start of these meetings, they ask everyone to stand up and say a few words who is either looking for a job or is offering a job. The job offering people usually outnumber 5 to 1.

SocialRadar (just got $15m in funding) is hiring big time, as is Capital One in their mobile division. She needs to network.

thanks!

Anonymous wrote:Accenture is hiring these days. They are in desperate need for software developers and testers in DC Metro area.

I got hired a couple of months ago. All they needed was right qualification and right attitude. I had no referrals and I did not send any thank you notes until I got the job. Oh, and I am a minority female in my early 30s and a recent graduate, who never worked in IT field before.

Hope this helps.

I'm the OP, thanks for the responses. I personally know of Accenture (worked alongside their Indo staff at SLMA in 2003 ), and know a couple people now working there that were converted. I Think she mentioned that she already sent in a resume to Accenture, but I'll mention it again to her. Thanks for that tip.....

See part of the problem is that she's in her early 50's and have a ton of experience in the IT field. Accenture is known for hiring very junior people, at least that was my experience working with the 70+ folks from India back in 2003.

Accenture is hiring these days. They are in desperate need for software developers and testers in DC Metro area.

I got hired a couple of months ago. All they needed was right qualification and right attitude. I had no referrals and I did not send any thank you notes until I got the job. Oh, and I am a minority female in my early 30s and a recent graduate, who never worked in IT field before.

Hope this helps.

She's in IT? Tell her to do to the meetups like DCTech and whatever specific technology she's into. Usually at the start of these meetings, they ask everyone to stand up and say a few words who is either looking for a job or is offering a job. The job offering people usually outnumber 5 to 1.

SocialRadar (just got $15m in funding) is hiring big time, as is Capital One in their mobile division. She needs to network.

Anonymous wrote: so everyday she gets maybe 10+ emails of potential jobs from dcjobs.com, monster.com, dice.com, solgig, etc. She keeps applying to these posting but hasn't so much as received a response recently from any of the advertised companies.

Are these job postings real, or is it some sort of marketing ploy? Oh, this is in the IT field, she's stayed out for three years to take care of her kid.

Job posts pushed to thousands of people are meaningless. She needs to be networking and getting referrals, especially if she is over age 29. Job searches in your 30s and 40s are not like in your 20s where you login to career services for your entry level or 0-4 yrs of experience stuff.

I have quite a few friends in IT who have found their current positions through recruiters; they are not a thing of the past. Also, networking is very important. Your friend should contact former coworkers and managers to see if their current companies are hiring; a lot of jobs in IT are found through inside connections.

As for 'fake' ads, yes, there are. Sometimes they are a ploy to get personal information (Craigslist), sometimes ads are posted because of hiring rules (the job must be advertised to the public for 10? days even though the company already plans to hire someone who is here on a work visa).

Anonymous wrote:There are IT recruiters out there--my husband is in IT and he gets calls from IT recruiters all the time.

I think meeting with a recruiter or even a career counselor would be a good idea. They can let her know the best approach for job searching and give her some tips that she may not have thought about before. Has she tried networking with some of her old colleagues/industry contacts? I think that is the best way to go about it. Or, try taking on temporary/contract work and see if that gets her foot in the door. Applying only for jobs that are being sent to her (and likely thousands of other people) is not going to get her a job.

I asked her about IT recruiters, specifically in her area which was software development and testing. She replied recruiters are a thing of the past and the days of recruiters calling your home phone are long gone.

^^^Agree, networking is essential. Has she had someone who's current in the field critique her skills and application materials?

There are IT recruiters out there--my husband is in IT and he gets calls from IT recruiters all the time.

I think meeting with a recruiter or even a career counselor would be a good idea. They can let her know the best approach for job searching and give her some tips that she may not have thought about before. Has she tried networking with some of her old colleagues/industry contacts? I think that is the best way to go about it. Or, try taking on temporary/contract work and see if that gets her foot in the door. Applying only for jobs that are being sent to her (and likely thousands of other people) is not going to get her a job.

Anonymous wrote:It's a really tough market. I spent 3 months applying for jobs before finally working with a recruiter. Has your friend tried that? A recruiter will be able to point her in the direction of jobs that are best suited for her and also help her to tailor her resume to the specific things she's looking for.

Most companies only respond to your resume if they want to interview you. Given how many applicants there are, it would be unwieldy at best to respond to everyone who sends in a resume. Most people just do not have that kind of time.

I'm not sure if there are still recruiters/head hunters in the IT field now. I know in the mid 90's there were tons of them, prior to the interwebs. I will mention that to her now.

It's a really tough market. I spent 3 months applying for jobs before finally working with a recruiter. Has your friend tried that? A recruiter will be able to point her in the direction of jobs that are best suited for her and also help her to tailor her resume to the specific things she's looking for.

Most companies only respond to your resume if they want to interview you. Given how many applicants there are, it would be unwieldy at best to respond to everyone who sends in a resume. Most people just do not have that kind of time.

so everyday she gets maybe 10+ emails of potential jobs from dcjobs.com, monster.com, dice.com, solgig, etc. She keeps applying to these posting but hasn't so much as received a response recently from any of the advertised companies.

Are these job postings real, or is it some sort of marketing ploy? Oh, this is in the IT field, she's stayed out for three years to take care of her kid.