Age Discrimination???

But not at a university and not re research?

It's hard for me to see a university ignoring her creds, unless maybe her cred studies were at some odd school.

Brandon. What to say - if we have talked before, it's been not all good, politics or whatever.

I am extremely interested in how this goes. I want to see her doing well.

It has to be her resume if she doesn't get even a foot in the door. You cannot model her resume after your own, Brandon. You are in a completely different profession. She needs to model her resume according to the medical community. Maybe if her name suggests that she's a foreigner, just use a middle name then and your married name. If she writes under skills that she speaks several languages and one of it is her native tongue, that could be a red flag too.

I don't know where you live, but I'd think in certain areas they're not accustomed to foreigners. Also, try to omit years - like jespah had suggested, this way they cannot pinpoint her age. No one needs to state their age, but when they graduated high school in 1960, it's obvious that
they're not in their 20s.

Get as much written recommendations as possible from previous employers/internships/professionals, that helps too.

Rewriting her resume is the easiest part you can do, yet you keep saying that she has a good one. Obviously is not good enough if she doesn't get an interview.

Try several variations and see what it brings. On the other hand, your wife has already applied to every hospital in your area, I don't think that it would be wise to re-apply with a different resume. Can't she go into private industry? Does it have to be a hospital?

what does her school do to prepare students for job-searching? do they have campus recruiting events? what support does the school offer grads who are looking for work?

32 years after graduating from one university and some mysterious number of years after completing a few programs at another (somewhere in the 20 - 25 year range), I still get emails letting me know about programs offered to grads who are job-hunting.

What if you or she could see a resume of some of her former classmates to see what theirs looked like?

Is she still in contact with any of them?

Brandon9000 wrote:

It doesn't have to be the CV. It may be simple age discrimination.

if your wife isn't even getting an interview, how do recruiters/employers know she isn't in her 20's?

if they are figuring it out by way of her resume (c.v.'s are usually only for academics and teachers), then, yes, it is the resume and her age - though 40 seems very early for that to kick in

she definitely does not want a one-size-does-not-fit-all resume. She needs to prepare it sniper-style to suit each ad. Another factor is that by the time there is an actual ad, it can be too late to apply. A good resume with a superbly tailored cover letter can get her some attention from h.r. when postings are sent to them by hiring departments.

has she done any informational interviewing? where she contacts potential employers to find out where their new employees come from.

my current employer hires virtually nobody straight out. everyone (below executive level) comes in on a 6 - 12 month contract to begin with. People applying for apparent job openings will be sorely disappointed as they aren't going to be considered for a permanent role to begin with. if things are sticky, you've got to find out what the industry-specific tricks are.

Due to the economy, many medical professionals returned to work ( after raising kids, etc). There is also the factor of infusion of young professionals. Maybe the field is saturated at the moment. If also depends on the size of the community where you reside. If it is not a large community, but has numerous schools churning out graduates in greater proportion than needed, then it'll be more difficult to find work. You may want to wait, relocate, or consider non-traditional work. For instance, medical sales , pharmaceutical sales....case management for medical insurance companies...don't get discouraged. Best wishes!

but if it is her resume, is it also the resume for the rest of the grads over 40 who mostly also can't get a nibble?

What if you or she could see a resume of some of her former classmates to see what theirs looked like?

To the best of my knowledge there have been no such programs, at least not that I have ever heard mentioned.

I have a hard time believe that all of the people too young to have worked before had good resumes

I suppose that it would be possible to send out resumes proactively.

As for targeting the resumes to each employer, it might be slightly possible, but remember that these are not employers in different lines of work.

These potential employers are all hospitals in precisely the same line of work as each other.

She has gone to places she rotated through as a student to say hi to the people and sometimes bring them cookies, but we haven't heard of "informational interviewing."

My rant here in this thread, though, is that a student with virtually the highest possible grades and excellent references is ignored, while other graduates, with worse records sail into jobs with no problem.