[AccessD] On resumes and cover letters

[Rocky Smolin]

" younger generation grudgingly accepts being mentored by older more
seasoned
professionals, but they never give back."

Thus it ever was? I think Abraham had that complaint about Isaac. :o)

"I don’t know what is wrong with younger workers, they have little sense of
loyalty or giving back to those who helped them."

In the corporate environment I think you've got something of a chicken and
egg problem - corporations no longer have the commitment to employees that
they used to. I found from working with many companies over my career that
the employees reflect the attitude of top management. So upon
entertaining a company like that the employee understands the ground rules.
Get what you can, promote yourself, curry favor with your mentor if there's
a path for advancement, otherwise you're not going to be here in 3-4 years
anyway.

When I turned 60 I knew I didn't want to still be flogging the system I had
been selling for 20 years when I was 70.  It took 5 years to find someone
to acquire it from me. But then - since I was no longer Joe Programmer, and
the kids were out of the house,so I was no longer 'Dad' (on a daily basis,
they never really go away). Who was I?  Each of us going through this
'passage' has to find a way to redefine ourselves.  Most important, I
think, is to do something you would like to do but is out of your comfort
zone - challenge your brain with something new.

I turned to music, started to play more (I play upright bass, in a
variety of genres). And then three years ago, I joined a string orchestra,
something I would have bet large amounts of money I would never do in my
life.  I didn't know how to use a bow.  I couldn't read the bass clef.
After three years I'm still a grade B contra bass player at best, but I
think it's been really good for my brain (I'm 73, btw).

I also wrote a novel during the COVID shutdown - again, something that I
would have bet the house that I'd never do.  But there it is.  Why I did is
a longish and not relevant story here.  But it forced me into all kinds of
areas that I had no experience in (like writing a story, inventing
characters, doing dialog).  Now I'm in uncharted territory again, trying to
figure out how to drive 30,000 people to the Amazon web page.  I have no
idea how to do that.  But I've got a lead on a couple of millenials who DO
know this stuff.

You've got a kind of different problem because you've got a lot longer
horizon than I do. And since that fixed disability income will erode with
inflation, and as you approach Medicare age you'll GASP at the premiums
you'll have to pay. Is there a limit to how much money you can earn before
it impacts your disability payments?

OK, bit of a ramble here. But Arthur never answered my question.  Why is he
doing this resume thing?

r
On Fri, Apr 22, 2022 at 9:56 PM Bill Benson <bensonforums at gmail.com> wrote:

> Rocky, I won’t speak  for Arthur but it is a sound question to ask oneself
> as they get to an age where they need less to satisfy materially but
> perhaps don’t have large extended families who hold them in any regard
> whatever. We like to use our minds and skills to earn us the only things
> that still matters, and that some of us will ever have:  accomplishment,
> and if possible, respect and appreciation.
>
> Recently I had to go through a soul searching exercise. My cornea damage
> had gotten to the point where at almost 57, work has become much harder. I
> got the surgeon who messed up one of my eyes to help me go on disability.
> So I would get 60 percent of my current pay (adjusted for CPI annually but
> never again a raise, no opportunity for increasing one’s 401K- and no
> mental stimulation. OTOH, the disability income isn’t taxed, and there is
> no FICA so I think it works out to about 80 percent of net pay. And if not
> medicare eligible, then not having company paid benefits would be another
> rub. But any way if we handled our finances decently along the way it might
> not be about the money. For now I am going with partial disability since I
> can see for part of the workday.
>
>  One thing I find most frustrating in the modern workplace is that younger
> generation grudgingly accepts being mentored by older more seasoned
> professionals, but they never give back. I don’t know what is wrong with
> younger workers, they have little sense of loyalty or giving back to those
> who helped them.
>
>
> On Fri, Apr 22, 2022 at 11:48 PM Rocky Smolin <rockysmolin2 at gmail.com>
> wrote:
>
> > "To put this all another way, I don't need the money. I don't need to be
> > rich. Enough money to pay the rent and feed the cats and once in a
> > while pay for a new laptop, that's enough. So money alone is
> > insufficient incentive."
> >
> > So what's your motivation for doing this exercise?  If you were offered a
> > job,would you take it?  You say you have everything you want at the
> > moment.  SO economics is not the motivator. Do you want to go to work
> every
> > day, put in 40 hours of programming, in a corporate environment? (Even if
> > you get to work from home, you aren't shielded from corporate culture.)
> >
> > So what is the point of this exercise?
> >
> > r
> >
> >
> > On Fri, Apr 22, 2022 at 8:43 PM Bill Benson <bensonforums at gmail.com>
> > wrote:
> >
> > > Arthur, the solution for your MAIN problem is simple. Leave off dates
> of
> > > graduation, and only show the last 10 years of work you have done and
> for
> > > whom. You include all the technologies you know in the Experience
> > section,
> > > that ticks enough boxes for AI to get your resume matched to jobs.
> > >
> > > No one can legally ask your age or when you graduated or started uour
> > > career. In fact with many application processes they don’t even want
> you
> > to
> > > give them dates because then they can get audited by EEOC and he shown
> to
> > > have rejected more older people than younger, as a percent of age
> strata,
> > > so you are doing the employer and yourself to nix that sh-  er,
> > > shenanigans.
> > >
> > > But do list the projects where you came on the scene, saved the day,
> > worked
> > > well with teams, brought projects across the goal line.
> > >
> > > And don’t say things like “30 years later my solution is still in
> place”,
> > > for obvious reasons.
> > >
> > > And I totally agree with Susan, lose the preemptive scorn!
> > >
> > > On Fri, Apr 22, 2022 at 5:12 PM Arthur Fuller <fuller.artful at gmail.com
> >
> > > wrote:
> > >
> > > > Premisses:
> > > > a) I am 74 years old and all too aware of the ageism that rules our
> > > > industry.
> > > > b) I am also aware of the severe shortage of programmers who can
> > actually
> > > > program, and the desperation in the industry to find and hire such
> > > persons.
> > > > c) Certain skills slowly evolve, to keep pace with their underlying
> > > > languages. SQL is a case in point. Newish features  have been added
> to
> > > the
> > > > core SQL definition, some of which are vendor-specific -- which
> > violates
> > > > the pure abstraction that SQL initially offered. Big Data Clusters
> are
> > > one
> > > > example, an attempt (IMO) to stave off the onslaughts presented by
> > other
> > > > offerings. More importantly, the shift to document storage kicked the
> > > knees
> > > > out of the traditional SQL religion. Documents, by definition, do not
> > > > conform to neat rows and columns, and are more easily described and
> > > > expressed in HTML and similar formats. This shift led to a gradual
> > > > rethinking of the domain formerly understood as Database Management.
> > > > d) It is not easy for a SQL developer to make this shift in domains.
> It
> > > is
> > > >
> > > > . All this can be taken in stride by a competent SQL programmer. And
> so
> > > the
> > > > firm (whether large or small, or even indirect -- call them staffing
> > > > agencies, lest I use a more insulting term) employs allegedly AI
> > software
> > > > to scan the submitted resumés.
> > > > I digress. Now that I have managed to survive this many years, I
> really
> > > > don't give a fork about how I am perceived by the headhunters and/or
> > > firms
> > > > on whose behalf they toil. In fact, what I want to do is disrupt
> their
> > > > algorithms completely. I don't care whether I am considered for an
> > > > interview, much less hired or contracted. I can survive without them
> --
> > > and
> > > > that is a degree of freedom almost no one knows. It doesn't mean
> that I
> > > can
> > > > thrive; that's another discussion; but it does  mean that I can pay
> the
> > > > rent, feed my two cats and myself, pay the internet and cell
> providers,
> > > so
> > > > to that extent I am free.
> > > >
> > > > So I want to craft a resumé that basically says, "I don't need you,
> but
> > > you
> > > > need me, and I am willing to discuss terms and conditions, but your
> > offer
> > > > better be good or I shall just Walk On By and say Bye Bye."
> > > >
> > > > To put this all another way, I don't need the money. I don't need to
> be
> > > > rich. Enough money to pay the rent and feed the cats and once in a
> > while
> > > > pay for a new laptop, that's enough. So money alone is insufficient
> > > > incentive. A truly challenging problem, ideally one that could
> improve
> > > the
> > > > world at large, now that is an incentive!
> > > >
> > > > So how do I write this up?
> > > >
> > > > --
> > > > Arthur
> > > > --
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> > > >
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