Career Bookmarks
Job Seekers Who are Over 45The world of work may have changed considerably since you last were looking for a job or perhaps you have been out of the workforce for a while. This guide highlights some of the job and career-related resources experienced or mature workers may find helpful. You can read through the guide from beginning to end, or select the parts of the guide that are most useful to you now.
For more information, use Career Bookmarks to create your own personal file of resources.
- Where to Start
- Community Services
- Changes in the Labour Market
- Salary Information
- Evaluating Your Transferable Skills
- Upgrading Your Skills
- Marketing Yourself
- Networking and the Hidden Job Market
- Alternative Work Arrangements
- Library Resources
Where to Start
If you are thinking of changing your career or are looking for work for the first time in many years, the process can be very daunting. These resources will help you determine your strategy.
Community Services
When you are looking for a job, you are not alone. In most cities there are government or community run career centres with staff to help you through the process. Some have programs specifically for experienced workers, as well as job finding clubs, help with resumes and interviews, computers, fax machines, job postings, and sometimes training for updating your skills.
Labour Market Information
The world of work has changed enormously over the past few decades. Researching some of these changes and becoming familiar with current trends will help you when you begin to look for work in this new economy.
Salary Information
During the research phase of your job search, it is useful to examine salary statistics for jobs which interest you or for which you will be applying. This will allow you to understand the realities of the job market and will be an advantage when you are at the stage of evaluating a job offer.
Evaluating Your Transferable Skills
Whether you have worked for many years, or are entering the workforce after a break, you have accumulated many skills and abilities which are not dependent on education, but develop with experience. These are skills which are valuable in many different work situations. Find out what your marketable skills are, and use them when considering a change of profession, developing your resume or preparing for an interview.
Upgrading Your Skills
If you have been working in a job which did not require computer skills, or are interested in moving into a new field of work, you may need to take some time to upgrade your skills. Many community career centres and boards of education offer basic training on the most popular computer software programs. Evening, distance and even Internet courses are available in many subjects.
Marketing Yourself
Creating an effective resume and feeling confident in an interview are essential skills which may be difficult for those of us who are not comfortable praising ourselves or selling our accomplishments.Experienced workers need to consider as well some of the stereotypes employers may have with regard to mature workers, and prepare ways of counteracting them in the resume and interview.
Technical skills are valued in the workplace today - having a resume that is scannable, and adaptable to e-mail or the Web shows a potential employer that you are familiar with new technologies.
The “Market Yourself” section of Career Bookmarks has numerous sites to help with writing resumes and preparing for interviews. The sites have information which is especially useful for experienced job seekers.
Networking and the Hidden Job Market
There are lots of job banks on the Internet which you can search through Career Bookmarks, however it is useful to remember that most jobs are found through the hidden job market - through your contacts. This is one area where experienced workers have an advantage - years of connections, both personal and professional. Consider volunteering , which allows you to help a cause you believe in, while enlarging your network of contacts. News groups and mailing lists on the Internet, related to both work and hobbies are other possibilities. The following resources will give you some ideas on how and where to connect.
Alternative Work Arrangements
While permanent full-time work with paid benefits used to be the norm, today’s workplace is often one of short or long term contracts, telecommuting, temporary work, or even self employment or consulting. These options should be considered for many reasons: perhaps you need a “survival job” to get you through until something in your field is available; temporary or contract work may lead to other contracts or more permanent work; self-employment may be an option, using the experience you have gained in previous work, or developing interests or hobbies into a business. Relocation may also be a possibility at this stage in your life - it is worth considering a move to a less expensive area , or to one in which employment is more readily available.Check Career Bookmarks in the following categories for suggestions of Web sites and library resources which will allow you to research alternative work arrangements:
Strategies: Self Employment
Strategies: Alternative Work
Self Assessment: Self Employment Potential
Library Resources
Check your local library for copies of these suggestions.Bowes, Barbara. The easy resume book: a transferable skills approach. Winnipeg: Barbara J. Bowes, 1998.
Canada. Human Resources Development Canada. 10 essentials to get that job : an employment guide for the experienced worker / [Enterprise for Youth Group and Human Resources Development Canada]. [Toronto?] : Human Resources Development Canada, c2001.
Canadian economic observer. (11-010) Ottawa: Statistics Canada. Monthly. For the latest key economic indicators for the Canadian economy, the Canadian Economic Observer is your best choice of sources. Local/provincial data is not provided here.
Cantor, Dorothy W. What do you want to do when you grow up? : how to use the lessons of your past to design a terrific future. Boston: Little Brown, 2001.
Career Monographs Toronto: University of Toronto Press. Looseleaf. Profiles of hundreds of occupations, each about 4 pages in length. They are regularly updated and contain Canadian salary information.
Challenger, James E. The Challenger guide: job-hunting success for mid-career professionals. Lincolnwood, IL: Contemporary Books, 1999.
Community Information Centre of Metropolitan Toronto. Blue book: directory of community services in Metropolitan Toronto. Toronto : Community Information Centre of Metropolitan Toronto. Annual.
Edwards, Paul, The best home businesses for people 50+: opportunities for people who believe the best is yet to be! New York: Jeremy P. Tarcher/Penguin, 2004.
Enelow, Wendy S. Kursmark, Louise. Expert resumes for career changers. Indianapolis, IN: JIST Works, 2005.
Enelow, Wendy S. Kursmark, Louise. Expert resumes for people returning to work. Indianapolis, IN: JIST Works, 2003
Foot, David K. Boom, bust & echo 2000: profiting from the demographic shift in the new millennium. Toronto: Macfarlane Walter & Ross, 1998. Update to the bestseller that forecasts economic changes to expect as a result of demographic shifts.
Good, Walter S. Building a dream: a Canadian guide to starting a business of your own. 5th ed. Toronto: McGraw-Hill Ryerson, 2003.
Hofferber, Karen. Isaacs, Kim. The career change resume. New York: McGraw-Hill, 2003
Ibarra, Herminia. Working identity: unconventional strategies for reinventing your career. Boston, Mass.: Harvard Business School Press, c2003
Job futures. Human Resources Skills Development Canada. Annual. This resource gives information on thousands of occupations. Canadian salary ranges are included.
Kanchier, Carole. Dare to change your job and your life. 2nd ed. Indianapolis, IN: Jist, 2000.
Krannich, Ronald L. Change your job, change your life: high impact strategies for finding great jobs in the decade ahead. 7th ed. Manassas park, VA: Impact Publications, 2000.
Labour force information. (72-001) Ottawa: Statistics Canada. Monthly. Detailed employment/unemployment data by geographic location and industry is provided here. Note: In most cases, the job hunter is well advised to use the latest available information from Statistics Canada, as well as articles from newspapers and magazines. Books published on the topic date quickly.
Makra, Kevin. The Canadian Internet job search guide. Toronto: Sentor Media, Annual.
McKinney, Anne. Real-resumes for career changers: actual resumes and cover letters that helped real people change their careers. Fayetteville, NC: Prep Publishing, 2000.
Mannion, James. The everything alternative careers book : leave the office behind and embark on a new adventure! Avon, MA : Adams Media, c2004
Mediacorp Canada Inc. Who's hiring ... Toronto : Mediacorp Canada, Annual
Mediacorp Canada Inc. Canadian directory of search firms. Toronto: Mediacorp Canada, Annual.
Morella, Angela. O'Hanlon, Mary.Job sharing: two heads are better than one Crows Nest, N.S.W.: Allen & Unwin, 2003
Patte, Edmund Neil. The Directory of Canadian recruiters. National and Toronto ed. Brampton: Continental Records Company Ltd. Annual.
Perspectives on Labour and Income. (75-001-XPE) Ottawa: Statistics Canada. Quarterly. A quarterly analysis of labour and income data produced by Statistics Canada, providing a summary of important trends and articles describing major issues affecting the labour market.
Rubin, Harriet. Soloing: realizing your life’s ambition. New York: Harper Business, c1999.
Sedlar, Jeri. Miners, Rick. Don't retire, rewire! : 5 steps to fulfilling work that fuels your passion, suits your personality, or fills your pocket. Indianapolis, IN : Alpha Books, Pearson Education, Inc., c2003
Stein, Marky. Fearless career change: the fast track to success in a new field. New York : McGraw-Hill, c2005.
Stepping up: skills and opportunities in the knowledge economy / report of the Expert Panel on Skills; presented to the Prime Minister’s Advisory Council on Science and Technology. Ottawa: Expert Panel on Skills, 2000.
Toronto Board of Trade. Contact Toronto. (formerly: Guide to the Toronto region's top employers) Toronto : The Toronto Board of Trade. Bi-Annual.
Tullier, L. Michelle. Networking for job search and career success. 2nd ed. Indianapolis, IN : JIST Works, c2004.
VGM Career Books (Firm). Resumes for the 50+ job hunter. 2nd ed. Chicago, IL: VGM Career Books, 2002.
Walker, Jean Erikson. The age advantage: making the most of your midlife career transition. New York: Berkley, c2000.
Washington, Tom. Interview power : selling yourself face to face. Bellevue, Wash.: Mount Vernon Press, c2004
Watters, Marge, Lynne O’Connor. It’s your move: a personal and practical guide to career transition and job search for Canadian managers, professionals and executives. Toronto: HarperCollins, c2004.
Wendleton, Kate. Getting Interviews. Franklin Lakes, N.J.: Career Press, 2000. Sub-titled “For job hunters, career changers consultants and freelancers”.
Wilson, Diane Grimard, Back in control: how to stay sane, productive, and inspired in your career transition. Boulder, CO : Sentient Publications, 2004
Yerema, Richard W. Canada's top 100 employers. Toronto: Mediacorp, Annual.
Subject Headings: use these words to search your library catalogue for other items. Career changes Career development Economic Forecasting Employment Employment interviewing Labor Market Labor Supply Older People -- Employment Middle-aged persons - Employment Resumes (Employment) Retirees -- Employment Social networks Use this call number to browse your library shelves for other items: 650.14
To suggest a site or source to be included in future updates, e-mail us at
cbmmail@torontopubliclibrary.ca
A brief guide to sources of information for job seekers who are over 45.
Last updated: April 21, 2005
