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Job seeking as a mature, overqualified adult
Suddenly in January 2008 I found myself looking for a job. One day I was gainfully employed making low six-figure money, a generous bonus plan and a very generous 401K that would ensured a very secure retirement in 12 to 15 years. The next day I was handed my walking papers and told to clear out my desk of my personal belongings. With less than a month until my 50th birthday I was certainly mature but was I over-qualified? I had recently completed 30 years of military service with an outstanding record of accomplishment; I had two undergraduate degrees and a Master's degree in addition to certification to be a counselor from the US Department of Labor. I'd also written extensively and had well over 100 published articles. During my military time I had taught undergraduate engineering and had even been designated a Master Training Specialist by the US Navy. For some jobs I may not have been qualified enough but for others I was sure that I was over qualified.

After a visit to the unemployment office where I signed up for the weekly unemployment check that would be 1/3 of my former paycheck I immediately made it my job to find another job. If only it had been so easy! Putting together a resume wasn't so hard because I'd had a good one when I left the service two years earlier. Perhaps in today's job environment it would be best to keep an updated resume at all times.
No matter what one thinks of the various job seeking services the fact remains that you have to use them in addition to every other resource you can get access to that involves job finding. You also have to fight the age discrimination monster and it is made even worse if you have been fired because now you have even more of a cloud over your head. One interview I was able to get was with the Veterans Administration in <?xml:namespace prefix = st1 ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:off ice:smarttags" />Boston and the interviewer asked me how I would feel about being mentored and trained by people younger than me. I explained that the idea of someone being younger than me training me was really not an issue because I'd experienced that in the Navy and that the issue for me was not age but rather knowledge. While I didn't get the job, I can't but help but wonder if it was the result of age discrimination. What really hurts is the fact I'm a disabled veteran and that perhaps the VA discriminated against me.
While drawing unemployment in Massachusetts

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