Facing 60

cj wrote :



i'm rather surprised to read that .

before canada adopted "government insurance" , many companies provided private health-insurance for their employees and the insurance was usually for the whole family - though it would be slightly higher for "family' insurance .

we carry supplementary insurance - called "extented health benefits" - (in addition to our "government insurance" ) and to cover a married couple or family costs about 25 % more than insurance for a single employee or retiree .
hbg

My former husband passed our son to me to insure and it was just in time: after eight years of being without insurance, I finally was able to obtain it. There was a copay, of course. However, the copay for me was $97 a month. For the two of us, its $242.

...$ 242 - that sure is a lot of money , it sems to me !
(we better not complain too much about our health-insurance in canada ).
hbg

hamburger, our company does not insure the families of employees.
They do have an option though to have family members insured through
the corporation but need to pay for the premium themselves.

Insuring employees and their families would cost twice as much, and
smaller corporations cannot afford to pay that.

POM, did the HR lady tell you why she won't interview you?

Sorry about the job POM.

Some feedback: If it were me... if I were the one hiring... I'd immediately cull any application that didn't reply to the ad as specified. Seriously, I wouldn't even read it -- straight to the garbage.

The woman said that there were others more qualified than I am. However, the ad called for customer service experience -- I have worked in retail for almost 15 years in total; I was a welfare social worker for a year; oral communication -- I have been a museum tour guide, a teacher, a disc jockey; written communication -- I was a staff writer and assistant editor of a weekly paper for four years. It said experience working in a university was a plus -- I worked as publicist for a NH college and my desk was in the development office.

That looks pretty qualified. There was nothing in the requisition about computer skills, but, among the older teachers not in the math department, I share the title of computer guru with the French teacher.

BTW -- I always thought jobs in university administration were "old lady jobs." All of the administrative assistant types at Marygrove and Wayne State were my mother's age or older.

Still waiting to hear about the job with Antiques Roadshow!

But, let's face it, why should be called when no has interviewed me since 2001? Where is the line be optimism and delusion?

Sounds like you're over-qualified, POM. Are you putting too much in your resume?

When I used to do volunteer work they later on offered me a position
within their operation which I declined, as I really just wanted to volunteer
a few hours, but this happened at 2 volunteer jobs. That might be an option too, POM.

Or these temporary agencies are constantly loooking for temps for various jobs. A lot of temps are hired by the companies they're working for a limited time. We did that once, as the temp secretary had done an excellent job.

There's no such thing as over-qualified.

CJ -- First of all, women here are being told to never say they do volunteer work because the feeling is "she is willing to work for nothing, so why should we hire her?"

Second, temping has dried up. Temping does not put you in decent jobs. It gives you things ranging from stacking potato chips in stores to handing our flyers to jobs that companies keep in reserve to avoid having to pay benefits. I was advised for years to avoid temping for just those reasons. I found them to be true when I did temp. The other thing is to survive here in MA (puh-leeze, do not tell me to move: for one thing I have no money to move) a single woman needs an income of close to $30,000/annum and you will not make it temping. I earned $11,000 in the year 2000 and I had 7 solid months of temping plus a part-time job in retail and part-time job shelving library books.

Excuse me, but where have you been? Of course you can be over-qualified... they might think you will want too much money, or you will be bored and leave, or you will be bossy and cause trouble, or that you will be working below your education and intelligence and will get bored and quit. Don't assume that everyone is going to want everything you have to offer. Your resume might be being reviewed by someone intimidated by who and what you are, in toto.

You should tailor your resume for the job in question.

POM- I know I mentioned this to you once before as something you are qualified to do, and I think from what I've read of you on this forum, have the right personality for and really might enjoy- but I'll just ask again- have you thought of teaching young adults in either a community college or youth offenders setting? These are settings in which your skills in remedial education would be valued, you'd get paid more than you would in a public school setting, and you wouldn't have to put up with the bullshit behavioral issues or interference from parents.

It's much more about pure teaching and much less about all the other peripheral and administrative crap that has invaded public school education. And by the time you get these students, they've had enough of failure and are motivated and determined to learn and succeed.

I know for a fact that there aren't people standing in line to do prison education, so if you were willing to start as a supply or substitute teacher, you'd probably be welcomed with open arms. The hourly pay rate is much better than you'd get in retail or temping or even as a full-time teacher in a public school, once you factor in all the hours you put in at home.
And I think you have the just the right kind of no-nonsense personality that would establish routines and boundaries that these particular students would appreciate and thrive under. I've found it to be very rewarding- I don't know that I'll ever teach in a regular public school again.

You should give it some thought

aidan wrote :



as i mentioned , i taught part-time at the local community college - the pay was quite good and the work rather enjoyable .
never worked for pay for correctional services , but volunteeredd for a local half-way house for many yes - i was the accountant .
no pay , but interesting work , a chance to mingle with the "house guests" and gain experience .
getting a "foot in the door" - no matter what door ! -is half the battle !
hbg

Aidan's suggestion is quite good. I've been teaching incarcerated youths for the past 11-plus years and find it quite rewarding. And -- just like for you, Plain -- teaching was a mid-life career change for me. Had never taught before except in a military setting as a Reserve officer in the Army National Guard. (My civilian resume was mainly in communications -- news reporting, writing, editing, public relations, etc. etc. But 11 years ago I was working part time in one of the places you had applied, as a gallery guard at the Boston MFA, and was desperate for a full-time job. So I was steered to the Department of Youth Services [DYS] by a friend who taught at one of their facilities.)

In the Boston area, where you and I both reside, DYS doesn't actually hire its own teachers. The education component is sub-contracted by various private agencies. Aidan is wrong on only one point -- the pay is not "more than you would get in a public school setting." In fact, until recently, we made somewhat less than public school teachers customarily start at. But the Commonwealth, in its infinite wisdom, has seen fit to increase the DYS budget in recent years and, consequently, our pay is now just about equal to that of a public school teacher. And there are medical and dental insurance options available as well.

I don't want to go into any details on a public forum here but if you're interested, PM me and I'll get back to you on whom to contact.

Wow! Talk about networking. What a generous offer, Merry Andrew.

I've been applying for posts at junior colleges -- not religiously, mind you -- for several years, beginning sometime in the 90s, perhaps as early as 1994 but definitely by 1996. Had one interview at Middlesex, in part, because the wife of the out-going president was in my book group. Although I have re-applied, I wasn't called for an interview.

I just applied to Mass Bay Community College for a writing coach job and received an automatic response email that they get soooo maaaany applicants . . . .

As I do not have a computer at home, tailoring my resume to each job is difficult. I have three: administration, teaching, writing. I am not actively pursuing writing although my daughter said as soon as I have a computer and internet access at home, her firm will send me work.

An older friend told me not to worry about work but to sell my house and put all the funds into money market funds. I thought that was totally crackpot.