Are older Americans completely ignorant?

Simple economics is hurting them too. Why hire person that old when you have to pay $800 a month for their insurance soon?

I did recently, but he looked way younger, I was totally fooled because he runs circles around me at 58. Whole different kind of work ethic with that generation.

 

First off, you speak of 6 job interviews as if that is an astronomically high number to have attended and not gotten a job yet. When I received my first real job back in 1991, it was with a company that conducted interviews on campus. They had 3 people holding 8 different hour long interviews each, for a total of 24 people interviewed on my campus. They also conducted this same interview schedule at another campus on the west coast, for a grand total of 48 candidates interviewed for ONE position. Out of these 48, they chose 4 of us to go to Chicago for the final interview. I was fortunate to have received the job. By sheer numbers, I had to be number one out of 48. In most positions, you are competing against at LEAST 20 other people for one position, and very commonly as high as 50. With all other factors being equal, this would equate to on average having to have at least 20 - 50 interviews before receiving one offer. With those numbers in mind, complaining that you haven't received an offer after 6 interviews is laughable to someone that has been there and done that, which are the older people to which you are disparaging in this thread, and also happen to be the subset that is likely to be the ones interviewing you.

Interviewing is a learned skill, and is always a work in process. The fact of the matter is that you will get better with every interview that you have. After you have had 25 interviews, you will look back at your 6th interview and laugh at how naïve and ill prepared you were. I have since had many other jobs and had countless other interviews since my first job. I also have spent a fair amount of time on the other side of the desk being the person doing the hiring. You mention that you have "memorized" all the answers, and studied the website of the companies. Let me remind you this is not school, and there is not one right black and white answer for every question. It is good that you have taken some time to prepare, but that doesn't get you the job, it only gets you in the game to be considered. If I interview 50 candidates for a position, the truth of the matter is, probably 30 of them will be ill prepared, and thus not in the game. It is blatantly obvious within the first minute of the interview, and the remaining time is nothing more than an exercise in futility with those 30 candidates. You also mention that you have questions to ask at the end. Let me give you some advice. I am not impressed because someone asks me some generic question about my company's balance sheet at the end of the interview. A good candidate asks pertinent questions DURING the interview, that shows they have an understanding of what is being discussed. I like a candidate that takes charge of the interview, and doesn't wait for my questions. If a candidate only gives me direct answers to my questions, then shuts up after giving me his "memorized" response, I will continually be firing question after question after question. That type of interview is tedious, and that interviewee is not likely to stand out as one of the few who will be getting a second interview. If on the other hand, after answering my question, the candidate asks an insightful, relevant, OPEN ENDED question to what was being discussed, and he gets me talking, I may continue talking for a large portion of the interview time. I would recommend that you ask relevant questions after answering each of my questions. It keeps the interview more conversational, and lets face it people like to talk about themselves and what they do. If I just left an interview that was conversational, I am FAR more likely to look upon that candidate favorably, and he is much more likely to get a second interview. I couldn't really care less about your BS self reported weakness ( you are a college student, your weakness is lack of experience), I am really trying to ascertain whether you are prepared, do you meet the minimum qualifications, and most importantly do I like you. My ultimate test is could I stand riding in a car with no radio with this person from the east coast to the west coast, or would they drive me up a wall. Likeability is ultimately what answers that question for me. Interviewing is not easy, and it takes a lot of practice and repetition before one is good enough to be one in 20 or one in 50.

To answer your question....Are older Americans ignorant?....NO, but you are. Which is OK, because you are still a kid, and you are supposed to be ignorant.

 

Confidence bordering on arrogance works well. Tell your next interviewer if they want the best then hire the best, YOU. If you happen to get that job, you better be the best. Works well...

 

I do not feel that way
There are so many reasons why you may not get a job
But take A old man's advice
Let everyone you come in contact with you're looking for a job
Do not keep quiet about it
Or become discouraged
I remember stopping at a store for coffee one morning and mentioning to the guy Who owned the store I was looking for a job
He said his brother Was the manager in a factory And they needed a licensed boiler operator
Go there and tell him I sent you
I got the job And it was night shift So I could do other things during the day Like to look for a better job
So casually mention what you do and that you're looking for a job to everyone you can

 

Is that a real question? There are tons of people who do that very thing. I did it myself. It isn't easy by any means but it isn't some impossible feat.

 

Sorry, dude, but the notion that they had it easier is naive. We have way more resources today than ever before. How cool is it that with the click of a few buttons, we can punch up a website and find everybody that's hiring in our general area? Gone are the days when you had to drive around town looking for Now Hiring signs in store windows.

Here's the underlying truth that a lot of older folks get that younger folks don't. Blaming external circumstances doesn't move you forward. It might make you feel better about where you are, but now you just feel justified in being stuck. And you have to ask yourself which one you want more; to move forward or to feel validated. Whichever is your priority will determine the direction that your life takes. Most people prefer to sit around and point fingers at other people/things/circumstances and quote Snitzky, "It wasn't my fault." And then they wonder why - year in and year out - their lives are not as they want them to be. I read a lot of self-development books. It's one of my passions. And one of the common themes that all self-development authors make a point to drive home is this; it's a lot easier to change yourself than it is to change the world. If you recognize that your actions or attitude are the problem, then that's relatively simple to correct. But if you think that the world is the problem, then you've got quite a daunting task on your hands trying to change the entire world, don't you?

I wasted too many years caught up in the social conditioning victimhood narrative. After discovering self-development, it was essentially like taking the red pill [/The Matrix]. Now that I've seen what I've seen, I couldn't go back if I tried. Because I already know what the other side looks like.

You're a good guy, man. I know that in time you'll see what you need to see to make the right decisions. I have faith in you. Best of luck, dude.

 

We use interns in my firm. We do get some work from them, but we give them training and experience in exchange for that work. So far everyone of them has gotten good jobs after interning with us.

Try offering your efforts to a firm in a field that interests you with the idea that you are there to learn.

 

Same here. I had two jobs in college. Idle time in college is usually pissed away anyway.

 

You aren't lying. I had the GI Bill for spending money in college and I pissed so much of it away, but it was fun! Looking back I probably should have worked or something...

 

My father was 39 years old when I was born. He was born in 1925, I was born in 1964. by the time I was born he had lived through the depression and was drafted into WW2 at the age of 18. At the age of 19, he was sent to the Ardennes region of Europe as a replacement infantryman for what is referred to as the Battle of the Bulge.. On his 3rd day in the field, while walking down a road in Belgium talking to his buddy, his buddy was stopped mid-sentence by a rifle round that pierced his helmet...killing him instantly.
Welcome to combat...he survived all of that and returned to the United States and went to college....well the rest is history. If I fold my Dad, "I've got it much tougher today than you ever did" he would've slapped me across my face....literally. His generation beleived in corporal punishment, if I acted out...I was given a belt beating.

needless to say, I rarely acted out.

Because many of us "baby boomers" had tough Dads, it's my opinioin they tend to coddle their own children...protecting them from the realities of life..mainly that no one really gives a rat's patoot about you...you are not special..you are not unique...you are a face in the crowd, and it's up to you to make something out of yourself.

Harsh?

yes it is...

Now having said all of this....I do believe your generation is struggling and facing economic issues that we as baby boomers maybe struggled with also, but it's not easy today is what I'm getting at. I have no children, but I work with young people, both as a softball coach for a parochial school and as a member of the Civil Air Patrol. I try as best I can to instill in them, that life will never be handed to you on a silver platter...prepare for struggles, prepare for set-backs...to your parents you're a special and wonderful gift...to the rest of the World...you are a face in the crowd. You will be given no special treatment, so don't demand any...make your own way in this World without stepping on too man toes, as best you can...and always appreciate what you have, not what you don't.

 

Temp agencies are a great way to build skills and experience while making money. They also provide a way to widen your network. Are you a front or back end Developer. What languages, IDEs and servers do you use?

 

Honestly Andro, and I don't mean to come down on you here, It's not that the older folks are ignorant but that they are telling you something you don't want to hear. Enough about that though.

Capitalizing on your contacts / relationships is the best strategy given so far, especially in the small business sector. First of all I would not be so quick to excuse your outdated Uncle. If he's old enough to be outdated, he's likely to have accumulated dozens of contacts in the industry who could and would, on his request be glad to help you out. You need to recognize him and others you know as resources.

Look at who you know, then look at who they know. Make a list if it helps. Personal contacts such as these will help move you to the head of the line and distinguish you from the crowd. You mentioned in the OP that you were using "universal rules for landing a job." You need to realize that what you're doing there is exactly what every other Tom, Dick, & Harry are doing. You can't distinguish yourself as an alpha candidate by doing what everyone else is doing.

 

This is all true, AM.

First, "older Americans" are not "completely ignorant;" one does not generally get more ignorant with age, but rather the opposite. With age comes a multitude of experiences, which generally makes one wiser. I have no idea where you personally are actually coming from, but it seems as if a lot of younger people today have a sense of entitlement. Parents, it seems, always want their kids to have it better than they did, so they do what they can to give their kids a good life - but they didn't start out with a big house, great job, money in the bank. They started from the bottom and worked their way up.

I think the younger generation has advantages that the older generation never had - women and minorities have more opportunities and world travel is so much easier/common place and of course the internet opens the world to you. I'm not sure who you are referring to by "older Americans," but truly older Americans lived through the depression, WWII, the campaign for civil rights, Vietnam, the Cold War, etc. Many immigrated here for better opportunities without even speaking the language.

Many older Americans find themselves laid off due to downsizing or the bad economy or whatever and face the difficulty of trying to get hired in the work world that is ignoring them because they are close to retirement age and won't be in the work world that much longer.

It helps to see the total picture instead of just feeling sorry for yourself, and to be frank, that's how you could be coming across.

If you close your mind to the realities, if you don't like what you are hearing so conclude that older Americans are ignorant, it comes across as the pot calling the kettle black - and you are likely not doing yourself any favors in the process. Lots of times what we don't want to hear is what could ultimately be the most beneficial to us.

One of my daughters got hired in the (very competitive) field she was interested in by offering to put in time as an intern, as I recall someone else here suggesting, and once her boss could see how valuable she was, which didn't take long, she was hired.

At any rate, I don't really know what everyone else is doing in their resumes, but I think one thing that some employers like to see other than a list of accomplishments is a difficult situation that you personally went through and how you handled it and came out stronger/more experienced because of it. Anyone can handle success, but it's our overcoming adversity that proves what we are made of and that experience can make an employee more valuable.

Also, you say that you "memorized" the answers to the questions that you were likely to be asked; perhaps it came across that you were giving memorized answers. Employers are interested in how you think on the spot, too, so perhaps by being 'too prepared' you are losing some of who you are in the process; ie: not giving the interviewers the chance to see who you are. If everyone is giving the same memorized answers, you aren't standing out and really are not giving the impression that you have any more to offer than any of the other interviewees who are doing the same.

You may have to work at a job outside of your field for awhile as you look for what you'd really like to be doing. You also may have to move somewhere else where there are more opportunities, which many older Americans have done - sometimes several times throughout their work life.

Good luck. Hang in there. Make the best of opportunities that are available to you, you never know who you may meet/come in contact with in the process, and it will eventually pay off.

At any rate, once you are done attending college, things will likely change for you as that alone will limit your job opportunities.

 

Your question is ignorant.

 

Dude you are missing the damn point they are making, which is basically that (*)(*)(*)(*)(*)ing and complaining isn't going to solve your problem. And wishing won't work any better. We live in a world that was built by progressives. That means that entry level jobs are scarce as hens teeth which unduly penalizes the young.

In addition there are certain secondary rules of thumb now days that apply to the job hunt. 1st and foremost is that if you aren't willing to post it on a 30 foot high sign that's 40 foot wide sign don't post it on social media sites either because whether you like it or not whether I lke it or not, your boss is going to check out the social media sites you say visit. They might even do a search for you on utube. So step one of your job hunt should be sanitizing your face book page to the extent you can. Ditto your twitter account.

 

Being a fulltime student and having a fill time job will ultimately cause one to suffer.

 

No. You can do both, plenty of time. Keg standing will suffer.

 

Life will ultimately cause one to suffer. The trick isn't the suffering, everyone suffers to one extent or the other, the trick is getting beyond it.

 

I prefer to call them the "me me me" generation. Obamacare steals from the young, they applauded gore when he cut retirement for the young and raised their taxes, they heap mounds of debt on the young and mounds more of social programming an high tax rates. Hippy leftists are without a doubt the worst Americans to ever walk the earth and their super greedy "let me have comfort in my day" attitude will not be forgotten as they die off and we get to write their history.

 

When I was young I had it all figured out and old people were always in my way. Now I am old and young people suck and whine to much.

Well not really but it was fun to say. One thing I can say is the solution is within you and not with others.

 

True but the number of times my students said they couldn't complete assignments on time because they would say "I have to work". That is a problem. Working part-time is fine, I did it. But a 40 hour a week job and taking a full load of classes will mean something will be hurt. Often students complain about work load because of these work commitments.

If someone can do it then fine, but I discovered when I worked at University that most can't.

 

You're gonna be alright kid. Gather your language abilities and get out. You have no future in the US. It's all a lie.

 

I don't know whether older generations had it easier as far as jobs go but I do know that it is much harder to find a decent job today than it was just 10 years ago.

 

I'm an older guy with millennial kids.

Our generation screwed yours. We ran up debt, demanded generous defined benefit plans and spent lavishly on social programs. We encouraged crony capitalism by massively increasing regulations and making it almost impossible to start a new business.

You will have to pay for my Social Security. You will have to pay more for my health care under the ACA (as it lowers the ratio to 3:1) as it demands that the young and healthy finance the old and infirm.

Thanks to all the excess of the past 30 years and the stifling regulatory environment (designed by lobbyists to destroy competition and reward political patronage/special interests) in effect we will hand over to you a moribund economy where you'll find it increasingly difficult to find a job.

We had it good. Our taxes were lower, it was much easier to start a business and the government could borrow plenty of money to inflate the economy.

Minimum wage was never designed to support you, it wasn't in my time either. I was paid $3.35 an hour in my first job, I cleared about $400 a month. A one bedroom apartment was $490 a month.

I sympathize with some of your concerns but you need to bring it to the attention of your legislators. I have many friends who would love to start a business and create opportunity for people like you. I'd be happy to pay you $15 an hour myself. The problem is the taxes are so high that it doesn't make it worthwhile. The moment I self employ I have to pay 15.4% just for Social Security and Medicare. Add to that income tax. By the time I'm done it is half my profit. Add to that the considerable cost of paperwork, licenses and regulations. When all is said and done it isn't worth the risk, I'd rather work for an established business.

 

UMMMM...I did for ~2 years at UMass. Worked the night shift when I needed to and worked days when I needed to. It was a b*tch, especially with a wife and 6 year old daughter, but we lived through it.