GETTING NOWHERE WITH JOB AGENCIES - SO I WROTE ONE BACK!
I have been looking for a job for months now. I am a senior citizen with over 40 years of experience in computers, however, you would not know that from my resume as I don't list all my jobs from way back. I have recently moved from San Francisco (where I had no trouble finding temp or perm jobs) to Los Angeles, where I am now finding it extremely difficult. I have revised my resume several times and it's only 1 1/2 pages long, and I have excellent recent references.
Down here in L.A., unlike San Francisco, you cannot just walk into a job agency. You first have to apply online, and fill out all their forms, and then, if they deem you 'good enough', they will call you in for an interview. So far, after months of seeking work, I've only been in to about 5 agencies.
But almost all of them have yet to send me out to an actual interview with a client!
I got so fed up with this one particular agency that I wrote them this following letter. They keep sending me job openings to my email, but upon calling them, they say those jobs are already gone or not suitable for me, etc. So here is my letter I sent 2 weeks ago .... and I STILL have no response to this day! Please tell me what you think and/or if you had a similar experience......
July 28, 2017 Hello ______:
As you may remember, I came into your office to meet you way back on April 7, 2017, and filled out all your paperwork and forms. I left there feeling very positive that your agency would find me a job.
Throughout these past months, I have seen many jobs posted on various job sites such as Career Builder, Indeed, etc. and have actually even received emails from your firm itself informing me of openings that seemed right up my alley and what I am looking for. And even after frequently calling your office to inquire about some of these jobs that turn up in my inbox and on these career sites, I kept getting told they weren't 'really there anymore' or you hadn't found ANY ONE THING that suits my background.
I have been working in the computer industry for over 35 years, and am interested and available for various level jobs (both temp and perm) such as Administrative Assistant, Receptionist or Word Processor. My background and experience qualify me for all these types of jobs and even more, since I also have some excellent experience in the Media industry.
Therefore, I want to know why you are shutting me out? Is it my age? Whatever it is, I would appreciate hearing why you have not called me or referred me to any of these jobs I so frequently see!
Here are just a few that have been listed in the past few days and in my area:
July 13, 2017 - Receptionist / Office Coordinator job - AppleOne - Burbank, CA July 14, 2017 - Receptionist / Office Coordinator - Entertainment company needs a Jack/Jill of all trades! br E... July 20, 2017 - Receptionist job - AppleOne - Van Nuys, CA July 20, 2017 - Receptionist - Seeking a top notch receptionist, our Accounting firm is expanding and were looki... July 24, 2017 - Administrative Assistant - $35,000 Jobs in Los Angeles, CA - AppleOne July 27, 2017 - Apple One Jobs in Sherman Oaks, CA | Jobcase July 27, 2017 - Click here to see AppleOne jobs in Sherman Oaks, CA. Find other great job opportunities on Jobcase - the social ...
I came into your office as I had great faith that Apple One would definitely find me something, so this is very disconcerting and extremely disappointing that in all this time, you have come up with NOTHING for me.
I am very open to having my resume re-designed and/or formatted, however I KNOW I have excellent job experience for any of those jobs above or others you may have and also have excellent references. I am attaching my updated and re-designed business resume again (as well as my Broadcast Industry Resume), and would appreciate an (honest) explanation from you as to why you find nothing marketable on my resume!
Thank you very much. MY NAME & PHONE NO.
Way to go Karen. I haven't used an agency yet but I am suffering from what I believe is age discrimination as I too have a ton of experience and many other marketable skills. I must have 60-80 cover letters and 6 different resumes that I use when applying on the job boards and then I get updates from them and either the job isn't remotely what I want or it's filled. I know if I were in my 30's again I would have gotten a job quickly but in my 50's I'm not so sure. Employers, which are/can be the very young think we are technology inept, set in our ways, bossy and unable to take direction from younger bosses. I don't know about you but I am none of things. What I have to offer is a strong work ethic, practical and real life experience they could dream of, the ability to learn is still there, flexibility in scheduling and so much more. It's really frustrating and quite frankly insulting. Thanks for letting me vent. I just want you to know that I feel your pain. If it were me, in addition to the letter I would go in to the agency and speak with someone in charge and get to the bottom of it or try your luck surfing the Internet job boards. It's time consuming yes but hey we're unemployed, what else do we have to do all day? take care.
Hey Karen. I am not a patient person by nature so I would be all over her. My mom had a saying that went, "the squeaky wheel gets the grease." I think by going up there and explaining that you have been calling will show you are truly interested in this position. But confrontation is not for everyone. My time is valuable and I make sure whoever I am dealing with knows this. I assume you are job hunting because you NEED to work so time management is important and moving on from an opportunity may be the prudent thing to do.
You strike me as intelligent and you have a lot of practical experience so what do you think is the problem?. My resume work history used to start in 1988 but now it's 1993 and that still dates me. I think employer's representatives, which I've noticed are getting younger and younger, have preconceived notions about us older folks so we get passed over in lieu of younger and cheaper labor. It is the circle of life and I believe it becomes my responsibility when this happens to point out all the benefits of having a mature person on their payroll. I have other issues like large gaps in my employment history due what was a chronic health issue so I focus on smoothing that over before I worry about the age thing. They say you should only go back 10 years for your work history. Is that what you do? I can't because I only worked three out of ten years but I have 20 years of actual experience.
Like I said before. i feel for you. Being unemployed and stressing over how not to lose everything you own is bad enough but add job hunting and managers that leave you hanging and it becomes almost cruel. I would want to know one way or the other so i would go up there. Take the emphasis off of your age keep them focused on the benefits of your experiences and how if you choose to work for them they will be the fortunate ones and most importantly, try to control the interview by talking about skills and accomplishments from this century and not things that they may find irrelevant from the past.
I'd like to know how you make out. Instead of posting on here because I don't come here much if you wan to, send me an email at lchitester1965@gmail.com and let me know hopefully the good news. I will be thinking of you. I have also been writing and reviewing resumes and cover letters for over 20 years so if you would like an unbiased opinion of it feel free to send it on too.