Opinions please/jobs

LegacyUser

I'm hoping someone can give me their opinions on this as being right in the midst of it I'm not sure if I can do that in an unbiased manner. Almost a year ago my partner's company closed down, he was management IT. Since then he's had 3 interviews, not successful at any. We are both 50 and I work part time, always have done while raising our 3 children. 2 are now at university 1 at home. I am unable to work anymore hours due to disability. We are at crisis point now and are on the verge of losing our home and I have no idea how we will ever pay the debts we have incurred during this time. My problem here is, I don't want to blame him, or anyone else who is out of work. but while you are in it it's hard not to start the blame game iykwim.

He has registered with a job agency (doesn't appear to be more than 2) and has only communicated with them via e mail and some phone calls. He has never gone in person to see them or ever bought a newspaper. I did mention this but he said everything now is done online. I don't know if it's just desperation on my part making me feel this way or not but it feels like he's not doing enough. For anyone whose been in this situation does this seem normal. I sometimes what to scream but then I think would I just be kicking someone who is already down. He knew at least 10mths before his company closed that it was more likely than not going to happen and yet waited till the very end. Would really appreciate an outsiders view.

zoobizoo

All jobs I've discovered have been online.

With recruitment agencies, it really is a matter of getting onto them often and being at the front of their minds.

He should also be meeting the recruiters.

Eric Cartman

Nobody in IT advertises jobs in the newspaper anymore.

I think at 50 your husband may find it harder to get a job in IT , its a younger sector. Has he considered starting a company consulting or doing freelance work. If he has any current cisco / MS certs he could do that freelance.

jopax

has he considered retraining to do any other line of work or does he just want to stick at what he knows.?

LegacyUser

Thanks for the replies. He does think age is going against him, he almost got a job which had been 2mths of interviews and at the last moment the person leaving decided to stay as their new job fell through, as for retraining that's time and money of which we have none left. Have to go to plan Z.

iusedtoknow

Marketplace wrote: »

1) He has registered with a job agency (doesn't appear to be more than 2) and has only communicated with them via e mail and some phone calls. He has never gone in person to see them

2) ever bought a newspaper. I did mention this but he said everything now is done online.

3) He knew at least 10mths before his company closed that it was more likely than not going to happen and yet waited till the very end

I broke your questions into 3. Granted I am 20 years younger than your husband but am in IT management and know how that world works

1. This is all he can do. Most recruitment agents don't have their own desks as they would be known. Any that I have dealt with work in a call center environment and as such can't, and don't want to meet with their recruitees.

2. Newspapers: sorry, but that is frankly outdated in the IT world, and TBH the modern job hunting world outside of dodgy door to door selling. Your husband knows better than to look there for IT work

3. This is pretty normal - if his company was closing, it meant that he probably (hopefully at least) got a payout so he was probably under an agreement to work full steam for them until the end to wrap things up. As a manager who has gone through this - you have your team and/or projects to think about before yourself - i was made redundant and didn't start looking until my last deliverable was done and dusted.

In short, the IT world is hard, I can't imagine the IT world at 50 years old. Your husband may need to go a career counselor to make sure his CV is making the best of his experience that he built up over the years and that it is being couched in the right way. The other side he needs to look at is if it worth retraining, perhaps into project management (agile etc) and consult rather than look for a permanent job.

December2012

Contact MABS about your debts, or maybe New Beginnings.

Is there any different extra work you could do? Or any way to get more money out of your current skills and level of availability to work?

MrWalsh

Would he be willing to step down a level?

My whole department (IT) was made redundant 3 years ago. I secured new employment almost immediately. The thing is, my old boss has been offered some roles but because they focused on his technical abilities rather than his management skills he turned them down. He claimed that he would never get a management role again if he took one of these roles. While I see his point, the mortgage has to be paid and 70k for a techy position is a hell of a lot better than 0k for no position. On top of that, he is now coming up to 4 years unemployed - so thats not doing his CV any favours either.

LegacyUser

Thanks for your thoughts everyone. He has applied for less role jobs but doesn't even get interviews for those, they seem to want younger graduates. There is also the worry of longer out of work the worst the CV. The stress is unbelievable and I know we're not the only ones, but first time this has happened to us, and not at a good age.

kylith

If he's on Jobseekers he should be able to look at retraining through a Solas/FAS scheme.

jon1981

OP, is he on Linkedin? It's a pretty powerful tool when you're looking for a job. A lot of companies hire through linkedin, also it helps to leverage your connections too. My last 3 jobs were all based on recruiters seeing my profile and contacting me.