Job searching in your 60s - old dog needs new tricks

[gee]

I need a new job. I am a medical transcriptionist who wants/needs to change jobs. This profession is circling the drain. Nowadays, applications are done online. It is very frustrating. I have applied to 3, heard nothing. Resume - yikes! I have looked at online samples, but I need to help. I am looking at jobs as a receptionist or scheduler, etc. Not sure how to talk myself up. I have been with the same company for 21 years working from home. I hate this company. This profession has turned into a sweat shop and pay has been practically cut in half. I want to work outside the home.

I guess my one problem I have is writing an objective. It has been eons since I worked in the office setting, so obviously some technology has changed but from what I understand, pretty much everything is programmed for you. I am good at learning new platforms, etc. I know I am babbling, but any ideas, hints, etc., would be greatly appreciated.

ETA: I'll be 62 in a few months, not ready to retire.

[LeoApp]

Well here is a simple fix. Do not have an objective on your resume. They are passe. You also do not need to do a chronological history. You can do bullets that highlight the accomplishments that you want a prospective employer to know about.

[PaulaO]

Check the jobs at your local hospitals. Nowadays the trend is for physicians to be hospital employees, so receptionist/scheduler jobs would be listed within the hospital jobs.

[WheresMyWhite]

I used suggestions from monster.com on resume writing when I'd been at a place for many years.

Rather that write a job "timeline", break down your career to really, at a max, the last 10 years and what tasks/projects you've done and make the resume "tasks".

Your cover letter should tell your prospective employer what you can do for them. Look at the requirements for the job and tell them how you can solve those requirements. The resume is what you have done.

If you are applying online to "large" employers, many use application screening software that look at actual words in your resume and see how many times they occur and how close to the top of your resume. I customized my resume to the job every single time I applied to a job online. I even used one of the online word cloud sites for the requirements and objectives to see what words were important to include in my resume.

Applying just 3 times and nada I would not consider unusual. You might have to apply 15-20 or more times to hear anything.

I don't know about the medical field but finding jobs in the IT field today are not like finding jobs 20 years ago.

If you don't use LinkedIn, might want to consider that. Many people don't like it but many do. It can help you find past co-workers and use them as a way to get into an employer.

If you do LinkedIn, make sure you do not push updates (ie, update but don't tell all your connections you have). Do remember your current employer might noticed your LinkedIn so be prudent as to what you say; have a profile but minimize that you might be looking for an opportunity.

[piedmontfields]

Lots of good advice. You might also want to seeking out a temporary or medical placement agency as a way to help you get in various doors.

As you also may know, many physicians now hire a medical records person/transcriptionist to work with them while they see their patients (my rheumatologist does this, so he can talk and listen while his staff member writes and inputs data). I don't what the requirements are for that work, but it might be a good fit for your experience and it is rather more lively than working remotely since you see/hear lots of patients.

[gee]

Lots of good advice. You might also want to seeking out a temporary or medical placement agency as a way to help you get in various doors.

As you also may know, many physicians now hire a medical records person/transcriptionist to work with them while they see their patients (my rheumatologist does this, so he can talk and listen while his staff member writes and inputs data). I don't what the requirements are for that work, but it might be a good fit for your experience and it is rather more lively than working remotely since you see/hear lots of patients.

I really need a job with benefits, especially health insurance. The position you are talking is a medical scribe and it does not pay well at all and in all honesty, I am so done with transcription.

[Tarlo Farm]

Check with your local "OregonWorks!" website

[Sunshine2Me]

Because you have a medical background, and are familiar with medical terminology, processes and procedures, I would check the websites of the hospitals in your area. You should be able to get decent benefits there as well. For online job searching I like indeed.com.

[silk]

Not in the same field, but when I last applied for jobs, I was applying for upwards of 10 every day, and I would hear back from 1 in 10 at the most. They don't usually bother to get back to you if they don't want to interview you, only if they do. One piece of advice I got is that looking for a job is a full time job.

[acheyarcher]

are you willing to relocate?

don't overlook the research field at university in your region. There is top notch research in your region

companies to manage and run clinical trials may find your skills valuable

[Josette]

You might consider a CRO company - Clinical Research Organization who do much of the contract work for biotech and pharma.

http://www.contractresearchmap.com/places/oregon

[WheresMyWhite]

What silk said... looking for a job anymore is a full time job.

Get used to hearing nothing after submitting a resume/cover letter and also get used to (at least in my personal experience) hearing nothing after an encouraging phone screen with a recruiter.

I did think the suggestion of going temp to get your foot in the door was a good one but temps may or may not have benefits depending on the agency they temp with. But definitely worth checking it out!

How close are you to retirement, being able to draw on SS and Medicare? You can always supplement your SS income with a PT job and use Medicare for your healthcare insurance.

Don't want to be a Debbie Downer and your areas of expertise might be different but if you need a job with benefits including health insurance, you might just have to be prepared to suck it up as it were until you can retire. I get you don't like the job or the employer but older people often have a harder time getting a new job particularly if you're looking into a different area/field than one you are currently in. You are right, they can't discriminate based on age but IMO employers do and hard to prove as all a prospective employer would need to show is that there was someone else who was more qualified and a suitable fit (they can't ask your age for sure but if you have a fair amount of experience, an employer can figure it out) (One reason to limit resume to last 10 years along with the assumption on employers that anything further back than 10 years is likely to be not relevant or out of date.)

I am not saying not to look but suggesting to be prepared for what you may be facing (given you would like benefits).

Please keep us posted on search and continue asking questions... the collective here is a definite benefit!

[gee]

Thank you all for your suggestions. I have been looking and applying to the hospitals and clinics in my area. One was a great job, radiology in-house radiology transcription. After 3 weeks when I checked the status of my application, said job closed, not filled. I understand my age is a factor, I don't put dates on my application, nor have I been asked, in regards to graduation dates, etc. I do not have a college degree but have a couple of years of college under my belt. As far as research labs, i don't think my background will be of any help. Transcription is typing/editing dictated medical reports. Voice recognition, btw, is crap. I even applied to Costco, so far have not heard anything, can reapply to them in a month.

I think the fact that I have not worked in an office setting for years may be barrier for me. I applied yesterday for a clerical assistant at the local hospital, was turned down in about an hour. I need to hone my application to emphasize on certain words. Thank you, WheresMyWhite for that suggestion. Talked with my brother this morning (a software developer) and he offered to help me with a resume.

[acheyarcher]

dont sell yourself short on the clinical research area. There is a need for people with communication and computer skills , knowledge of medicine and terminology and document production.

dont reject a job, let the job reject you.

Apply for things you dont think you are "qualified" for, usually no one is that golden unicorn they seek.

[silk]

Yep, I swung my CV at anything it might be relevant for, the job search prior to the last one. I had two "filler" jobs in a row and was finding it hard to get upwards on the ladder, only sideways or downwards, but I needed to move.
Last time, I was only testing the market to play "I am worth much more than you want to pay me" with my then-current employers, but I've ended up in a MUCH better job, almost by accident (I didn't want to move companies, or cities, but did both!).

[WheresMyWhite]

gee, employers aren't going to ask your age (they can't). But, there are things that may tip them off such as a lot of experience (which is, IMO, both a good and bad thing).

I had another thought. Are there any local classes or certifications relevant to what you would like to be doing? If so, take them and add those to your resume and potentially cover letter. Shows both that you've picked up new learning as well as the initiative and desire to keep growing and be active. Too often, for us oldies , it is too easy to just sit on our education and experience and not want to learn and grow. Taking classes, etc can change that perception potentially. (NB I know not all us oldies rest on our education and experience but often we do ).

Another thought prompted by what silk said. Would your current employer have some other job in some other area that you might be able to make a lateral move with pay and benefits and would be more interesting and a better place for you?

[goneriding]

Hi, gee! I hear a lot about the learning curve for electronic medical records, it seems to be the staff bugaboo. What about getting a certification in a much used medical record system?

My daughter is a social worker at OHSU and it seems to be one of the higher paid jobs in her field, definitely keep an eye on their openings.

[goneriding]

Also, my dd said the hospital hires a lot of administrative coordinators, they are in very high demand. Maybe look into that area?

[Saddlebum]

You can start collecting S.S. early at 62. Don't know your financial situation but...it will give you some income and...you can think about changing out of the medical field into something totally unrelated.

I have had 5 jobs in the last 5 years and some only lasted 3-4 months. Go figure. I'm turning 65 VERY soon. All employers were happy to hire me except now, with so many jobs behind me, the one I want won't even interview me. I'm a professional driver with all the endorsements possible except hazmat. I only want to work 3 days a week because I collected S.S. early and have a teeny tiny pension. But, I wanted a no labor involved driving job at my age (soft landing I told them in the interview) and found it almost 3 months ago driving for the local public transit authority. Pay is not great but they are accommodating my hours and 3 days in a row! I'm loving this job.

They train anyone without a CDL and...this place had a $1000 sign on bonus, 500 after 90 days and 500 after a yr). They offer benefits for part-timers. (I came with beenies and go on Medicare at 65 so I don't get the beneies).

I like the managements' attitude very much and most of the drivers (hardly have any contact with any of them). I enjoy the people riding the bus except for a very very few. Once the riders get to know and trust you, things can escalate to jolly in a heart beat. And, they are super quick to point out you made a wrong turn...I thank them profusly, grin.

They also have dispatch positions, again, they train you. Think outside the box and use indeed.com for job searches. I retired from a job 4 yrs ago and found indeed.com to have the most jobs for me.

Hope you find your soft landing and SOON!