Only eleven months! (Denver, Center: mortgage, job market, buy)

[Silver_Surfer]

OP, did you end up getting breast enhancement surgery?

[Thoreau424]

We've got some first-degree, heavyweight taunting today

[Quietude]

Originally Posted by Timmyy

OP must be too busy at his new job to respond back. Congrats!

Originally Posted by Silver_Surfer

OP, did you end up getting breast enhancement surgery?

Originally Posted by Thoreau424

We've got some first-degree, heavyweight taunting today

Sigh. But I appreciate the humor, barbs and all.

Yes, us workin' folks ain't got time for this yack-yack stuff.

• Gender: male.
• Age: exceeding the old hated national speed limit.
• Situation: relocated here to either return to salaried employment or rebuild an agency.
• Field: writing, editing, graphics, publications, print, online, presence, photo, video, marcomm... basically, if a large corporate communications department does it, so do I, and my experience and skill level in all facets is from journeyman to expert/trainer/award-nominee. (The winner to one of my second-places was some guy named Stephen King.) My 'specialty' is combining them for end-to-end project management and delivery, and I didn't mention my supervisory and management experience (up to 100 employees).
• Effort: around 200 applications since last September, most shaped and targeted from a 5-page c.v. (Did I mention I did a few years as a resume editor and coach?)
• Response: three employer interviews, two recruiter interviews, one decline phone call (from a peer), maybe three non-form decline emails, and about twenty belated, generic "thanks but we found someone" emails. Many, many *crickets*, and FYVM, thanks.

I lose out to mid-20s women with a still-smeary degree and a portfolio of intern/college work unbound by actual need, budget or audience response. And better ta-tas.


This is an amusing little position but 50-50 that it's a long-term match. I am still looking for the right slot if there's anyone with hiring influence who values extreme skill and experience over cuteness. I can get pretty cute after a couple of beers, though.

[ponyupgrl]

Originally Posted by Quietude

• Gender: male.
• Age: exceeding the old hated national speed limit.
• Situation: relocated here to either return to salaried employment or rebuild an agency.
• Field: writing, editing, graphics, publications, print, online, presence, photo, video, marcomm... basically, if a large corporate communications department does it, so do I, and my experience and skill level in all facets is from journeyman to expert/trainer/award-nominee. (The winner to one of my second-places was some guy named Stephen King.) My 'specialty' is combining them for end-to-end project management and delivery, and I didn't mention my supervisory and management experience (up to 100 employees).
• Effort: around 200 applications since last September, most shaped and targeted from a 5-page c.v. (Did I mention I did a few years as a resume editor and coach?)
• Response: three employer interviews, two recruiter interviews, one decline phone call (from a peer), maybe three non-form decline emails, and about twenty belated, generic "thanks but we found someone" emails. Many, many *crickets*, and FYVM, thanks.

I lose out to mid-20s women with a still-smeary degree and a portfolio of intern/college work unbound by actual need, budget or audience response. And better ta-tas.


This is an amusing little position but 50-50 that it's a long-term match. I am still looking for the right slot if there's anyone with hiring influence who values extreme skill and experience over cuteness. I can get pretty cute after a couple of beers, though.

With all of your special "experience" I'm surprised you submitted 200 applications.

After my first couple of jobs I quickly learned that the best way to get a new job is by networking with people who know how good at your job you are. I haven't interviewed for years...

Maybe it's the brains, not the ta-tas that those 20's women are using to get their jobs over you ;-)

- Woman in her late 20's

[maciesmom]

Originally Posted by ponyupgrl

With all of your special "experience" I'm surprised you submitted 200 applications.

After my first couple of jobs I quickly learned that the best way to get a new job is by networking with people who know how good at your job you are. I haven't interviewed for years...

Maybe it's the brains, not the ta-tas that those 20's women are using to get their jobs over you ;-)

- Woman in her late 20's

Also rightly or wrongly employers will often select less experience and a younger applicant because the experience they do have is "fresher" and more importantly those with ink still drying on their degrees can usually be had for less $.

I'm curious how you know this information about the successful candidate? Did you actually get a notification letter (Impressive as many employers can't seem to be bothered lately), and what did it say? "We've selected a young woman with perky breasts but we'll keep your application on file in the event the breasts, oops we mean woman, doesn't work out."

Edit: you describe your current job as "an amusing little position"? Are you as arrogant and condescending in real life? Maybe there's your reason.

[penski1919]

Keep using the word ta-tas in reference to professional women in the workplace, and you won't have much of a job anywhere doing much of anything.
Consider yourself lucky that you landed something in 11 months.
You sound like a loser.

[pikabike]

Originally Posted by Quietude

Sigh. But I appreciate the humor, barbs and all.

Yes, us workin' folks ain't got time for this yack-yack stuff.

• Gender: male.
• Age: exceeding the old hated national speed limit.
• Situation: relocated here to either return to salaried employment or rebuild an agency.
• Field: writing, editing, graphics, publications, print, online, presence, photo, video, marcomm... basically, if a large corporate communications department does it, so do I, and my experience and skill level in all facets is from journeyman to expert/trainer/award-nominee. (The winner to one of my second-places was some guy named Stephen King.) My 'specialty' is combining them for end-to-end project management and delivery, and I didn't mention my supervisory and management experience (up to 100 employees).
• Effort: around 200 applications since last September, most shaped and targeted from a 5-page c.v. (Did I mention I did a few years as a resume editor and coach?)
• Response: three employer interviews, two recruiter interviews, one decline phone call (from a peer), maybe three non-form decline emails, and about twenty belated, generic "thanks but we found someone" emails. Many, many *crickets*, and FYVM, thanks.

I lose out to mid-20s women with a still-smeary degree and a portfolio of intern/college work unbound by actual need, budget or audience response. And better ta-tas.


This is an amusing little position but 50-50 that it's a long-term match. I am still looking for the right slot if there's anyone with hiring influence who values extreme skill and experience over cuteness. I can get pretty cute after a couple of beers, though.

The young women probably thought the salary was acceptable. Maybe the hirer figured you would demand a big raise soon.

[Quietude]

Originally Posted by ponyupgrl

After my first couple of jobs I quickly learned that the best way to get a new job is by networking with people who know how good at your job you are. I haven't interviewed for years...

Nor would I have, in my prior two areas of domicile. Not knowing a single person in Colorado limits the networking, as does not being able to hang with the metro crowd from the 'burbs where I bought a house. (Plans are to change both, but that was all necessary first steps.)

For one thing, it's very difficult to know what companies use my skill set - I don't really care to work for specialized contracting agencies, having done that long enough, and prefer to do what I do from within a company that actually does something and needs the support skills. It's an incredibly opaque job situation with no obvious avenues of door-knocking or blind solicitation.

Originally Posted by maciesmom

Also rightly or wrongly employers will often select less experience and a younger applicant because the experience they do have is "fresher" and more importantly those with ink still drying on their degrees can usually be had for less $.

Oh, that's the generality of it. Of course, no one over 30 could possibly be in touch with client or market audiences.

Nor was I seeking top dollar, which on linear career basis would be nearly $150k. I was looking downfield for many reasons, and pay level was about the least of my concerns.

Originally Posted by penski1919

Keep using the word ta-tas in reference to professional women in the workplace, and you won't have much of a job anywhere doing much of anything.
Consider yourself lucky that you landed something in 11 months.
You sound like a loser.

I could explain the joke, but rest assured that's what it is. (Seriously. The above is fairly crude humor coming from me and nothing I would say in a RW context.) However, in nearly 30 years of working, managing, owning, hiring, firing and "networking" with peers and parallel companies, it's not an entirely inaccurate observation. The vast majority of lower- and mid-tier hires in the field are young and often attractive women... with, many times, indifferent abilities and very poor employee attitudes, who end up in other fields after a few rounds.

[Quietude]

Originally Posted by pikabike

The young women probably thought the salary was acceptable. Maybe the hirer figured you would demand a big raise soon.

There's that, too. I'd be "too expensive." I'm not, for a variety of reasons, which I was happy to discuss when asked.

[Left-handed]

It basically sounds like you're in marketing/advertising. If that's true, it's extremely cut throat here. Several friends I've made over the years are in this field. It's one of those fields where younger is better, more relevant. They jump around a lot between different companies and geographic locations. One of my closest friends ended up relocating to Dallas because the market was very rigid here in Denver despite having worked for many of the large ad firms and having an expansive network.