Tomorrow, I start anew on a contract with a financial institution located here in Jacksonville. I am so excited I can barely contain myself. And I am nervous about this as well.
I am, if you have been following this blog, not a kid anymore. Things I used to understand on the first reading now may take me two or three times through. I am certain it is not the complexity of what I am reading as it is just loss of brain cells through age (and maybe the occasional glass of Scotch).
I have stated, in the past three blogs, that companies are becoming more and more hesitant to hire old-timers. I wish it was because of what companies see as too much experience (yes, I have been told by more than one potential employer, that I was too experienced, and the work they wanted a person for would probably bore me - hey people, let me decide if I am bored!) but I believe it may be that some potential employers may be staring at the same face as I am, getting older, slower, requiring more time to get things done.
So, I have to wonder, is my future employer going to be happy with an older, slower, (possibly more meticulous) project manager? Will they consider my work to be "plodding"? I certainly hope not.
Project management is a very intense career. I equate it with my years in nuclear power, in a way. Intense feelings exist on any project -- feelings of money being spent by the business customer -- feelings of being overwhelmed by the IT team -- feelings of "WTF" by the PM. As the point of contact between the two organizations, the PM has to be able to think with the business's hat on, and react with the IT team's hat on, simultaneously.
Sometimes, that is a "tough row to hoe." It takes focus, it takes intensity, it takes art as much as skill. Project Management is, after all, more of an art than it is a science. The art of seeing the entire project spread out across time, with product development being the overall goal.
I am very comfortable in managing this art form. It's something I love. Probably because I am, in my way, a control freak. Being the PM means, I have to be in control. My question is, am I still a viable PM? Can I be in control? Can I make this project work, making my project team a success? Because you see, if the project is a success, it will certainly be more than my success. I merely convey messages from the business customer to the IT team and back. Oh, yeah, and manage the scope, the budget, the HR resources, and a few other things.
So, looking at it all, I think I made the right decision. Time will tell if my new employer did.
Next blog -- Making it all work. OR What the hell am I doing here?
Tuesday, February 22, 2011
Thursday, February 3, 2011
Baby Boomers vs. Babies - where would you put YOUR money.
"Age is an issue of mind over matter. If you don't mind, it doesn't matter." Mark Twain spoke precisely when he made this statement. So, why is it so many companies believe that they can hire someone who has never walked in the stream, and expect them to know if the bottom is muddy or stony?
But, in my years in both nuclear power and IT, that is what I see. If a man of 60 submits his resume for a position that a man of 30 has also applied for, and considering both their resumes to be equivalent - except of course for the experience that the oldster brings to the table, you can pretty much be sure, the youngster will get the first interview.
But, you say, the "Age Discrimination Act of 1975" prohibits this very thing. To which I say, bullshit. There are all sorts of laws out there that are ignored, bypassed, or just plain not cared about in the big ole world of business. And you can bet the bank, Age Discrimination is NOT on every HR rep or hiring managers lips.
So, how does an HR rep or hiring manager get around actually asking a potential employee how old they are? By asking some other simple questions, e.g., "High School attended: Graduate; yes or no; Year graduated?" or "University or College attended - and the same thing. "Year graduated?"
It does not take a rocket scientist at this point to determine, "graduated college, 1969, probably at age of 24 so this person has to be around 62!" And if, as they usually are, the HR rep or hiring manager is less than 40, then this person is about equivalent to a dinosaur.
With this said, I offer this: "The years teach much which the days never knew." ~Ralph Waldo Emerson. Not just in a specific field of endeavor, but in the real world. I am at that wonderful age where I don't quite qualify for Social Security or Medicare, but I remember when Medicare did not exist. I also remember when the light dimmer on a car was a button on the floor; records were made of vinyl and at one point turned at 78 RPM; McDonald's was still in the distant future, and if you wanted a good hamburger, you went to Beulah's or Strazi's; dances were held in the gym and you took your shoes off at the door (which would not work today, because other kids would steal the newest $300 tennis shoes and leave their outdated, last week $290 tennis shoes); coke came in bottles; gas costs $0.22 a gallon; you had to go to the Paramount theater and pay a quarter to see a John Wayne movie; and men had not walked on the moon.
My kids grew up in the 70's, 80's, and 90's. They know CDs, DVDs, home theater systems where they can ask who John Wayne is; there is a Mickey D's every 5 miles on the interstate system; gas costs more then $3.00 a gallon depending on what faction in the middle-east is kicking what other factions ass; a movie costs $7.00 and that's for the matinee, and don't even think about asking what a box of popcorn, which costs about $0.07 to make costs. Coke can be drank or snorted and comes in cans or plastic bottles, is calorie free, caffeine free, or contains extra caffeine. Kids can now go to school on-line, never attend a classroom, which means they have never met up with the school bully by the swings, ate a lunch with the lunch lady putting spaghetti and collard greens on your plate, had to drink white milk only, or have "that girl" pass you a note asking if you want to be "friends".
Today, there are four times more people between the ages of 30-40 than there are between 60-80. But hiring of these age brackets are more than 20 times more likely to occur for the 30-40 bunch.
I start my resume and my cover letters with a simple statement: "I am a seasoned, experienced project management professional offering more than 17 years of project and program management experience." I probably shoot myself in the foot right off the bat.
But, if the HR rep or hiring manager takes a minute to read my resume, they will see I have been a project manager in the nuclear power venue, environmental remediation world, and now the computer software development and hardware (infrastructure) environment.
I guess I am lucky in one way. After a long dry spell of no work, I am finally going back to work for Bank of America. And do you know how this happened?
I applied for the position, was interviewed 3 times, and was accepted BECAUSE I had the exoerience the hiring manager was looking for.
I leave this blog with just a couple of thoughts. One - do you prefer to drink a nicely aged red wine or Beaujolais Nouveau or eat a nicely aged cheddar over farm cheese; two - ever try to start a fire with green wood? Old wood burns cleanly and provides a nice heat; three - "We receive three educations, one from our parents, one from our schoolmasters, and one from the world. The third contradicts all that the first two teach us." ~Charles Louis de Secondat, Baron de Montesquieu.
All said, where would you put your money?
Next blog - starting the new job - did they make the right decision? Did I?
But, in my years in both nuclear power and IT, that is what I see. If a man of 60 submits his resume for a position that a man of 30 has also applied for, and considering both their resumes to be equivalent - except of course for the experience that the oldster brings to the table, you can pretty much be sure, the youngster will get the first interview.
But, you say, the "Age Discrimination Act of 1975" prohibits this very thing. To which I say, bullshit. There are all sorts of laws out there that are ignored, bypassed, or just plain not cared about in the big ole world of business. And you can bet the bank, Age Discrimination is NOT on every HR rep or hiring managers lips.
So, how does an HR rep or hiring manager get around actually asking a potential employee how old they are? By asking some other simple questions, e.g., "High School attended: Graduate; yes or no; Year graduated?" or "University or College attended - and the same thing. "Year graduated?"
It does not take a rocket scientist at this point to determine, "graduated college, 1969, probably at age of 24 so this person has to be around 62!" And if, as they usually are, the HR rep or hiring manager is less than 40, then this person is about equivalent to a dinosaur.
With this said, I offer this: "The years teach much which the days never knew." ~Ralph Waldo Emerson. Not just in a specific field of endeavor, but in the real world. I am at that wonderful age where I don't quite qualify for Social Security or Medicare, but I remember when Medicare did not exist. I also remember when the light dimmer on a car was a button on the floor; records were made of vinyl and at one point turned at 78 RPM; McDonald's was still in the distant future, and if you wanted a good hamburger, you went to Beulah's or Strazi's; dances were held in the gym and you took your shoes off at the door (which would not work today, because other kids would steal the newest $300 tennis shoes and leave their outdated, last week $290 tennis shoes); coke came in bottles; gas costs $0.22 a gallon; you had to go to the Paramount theater and pay a quarter to see a John Wayne movie; and men had not walked on the moon.
My kids grew up in the 70's, 80's, and 90's. They know CDs, DVDs, home theater systems where they can ask who John Wayne is; there is a Mickey D's every 5 miles on the interstate system; gas costs more then $3.00 a gallon depending on what faction in the middle-east is kicking what other factions ass; a movie costs $7.00 and that's for the matinee, and don't even think about asking what a box of popcorn, which costs about $0.07 to make costs. Coke can be drank or snorted and comes in cans or plastic bottles, is calorie free, caffeine free, or contains extra caffeine. Kids can now go to school on-line, never attend a classroom, which means they have never met up with the school bully by the swings, ate a lunch with the lunch lady putting spaghetti and collard greens on your plate, had to drink white milk only, or have "that girl" pass you a note asking if you want to be "friends".
Today, there are four times more people between the ages of 30-40 than there are between 60-80. But hiring of these age brackets are more than 20 times more likely to occur for the 30-40 bunch.
I start my resume and my cover letters with a simple statement: "I am a seasoned, experienced project management professional offering more than 17 years of project and program management experience." I probably shoot myself in the foot right off the bat.
But, if the HR rep or hiring manager takes a minute to read my resume, they will see I have been a project manager in the nuclear power venue, environmental remediation world, and now the computer software development and hardware (infrastructure) environment.
I guess I am lucky in one way. After a long dry spell of no work, I am finally going back to work for Bank of America. And do you know how this happened?
I applied for the position, was interviewed 3 times, and was accepted BECAUSE I had the exoerience the hiring manager was looking for.
I leave this blog with just a couple of thoughts. One - do you prefer to drink a nicely aged red wine or Beaujolais Nouveau or eat a nicely aged cheddar over farm cheese; two - ever try to start a fire with green wood? Old wood burns cleanly and provides a nice heat; three - "We receive three educations, one from our parents, one from our schoolmasters, and one from the world. The third contradicts all that the first two teach us." ~Charles Louis de Secondat, Baron de Montesquieu.
All said, where would you put your money?
Next blog - starting the new job - did they make the right decision? Did I?
Tuesday, January 18, 2011
The Hidden Agenda - Age Discrimination without Being Visible
So, here's the skinny on age discrimination, from my point of view. Federal Law, Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967 (ADEA) actually, prohibits employers from not hiring an individual based on their age IF they are over the age of 40. That is Title 29, U.S. Code Chapter 14. Here, look it up yourself, if you won't take my word for it. http://finduslaw.com/age_discrimination_in_employment_act_of_1967_adea_29_u_s_code_chapter_14. Of course, the real good sh.. oops, good stuff about age discrimination is found in subchapter II of chapter 5 of title 5, which establishes the "Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), aka - Bullsh** University! This panel of notables exist to make sure we old folks can not gripe when we don't get a job. Kind of like an insurance company's claims processors, you know, those guys with the "REJECTED" rubber stamp?
In non-legalese, this ADEA "Act" prohibits an employer, seeking a new employee, from asking that potential new employee his/her age. This prevents said employer from "discriminating" when they find out, that said "potential employee" is an "old-fart" - of course, this term only applies to men; ladies of course would have to be "old-something elses".
So, do employers follow this Act? Of course, to the letter. No longer will you see an employer ask a potential candidate for employment what date they were born on. Not allowed of course by ADEA and certainly frowned heavily upon by the EEOC.
So, I am Mr. Employer, and I certainly do not want an old-fart working for my company. I have 20 or more employees, so I am obligated to follow the rules and roles of the ADEA. I go to my corporate legal beagles, and I say, "Hey guys! How do I figure out how old the applicants are without asking their age?" And they say, "Well, boss, why not ask them, 1. when did they go to High School, and/or 2. when did they graduate from college?
Hot Damn! I have my answer and I am not violating ANY ADEA rules, nor will this ever get to the EEOC. No blood, no foul.
Right!
Bullshit!
They ask, I tell. "So, Ron, when did you graduate from Delta State?" "Well sir, I graduated from good ole' DSC in 1969." Only takes a quick calculation to determine, I am somewhere between 62 (yeah, right - boy genius!), and Methusela.
So, somewhere between, "You are absolutely so right for this position!" and "Gee, I am so sorry, but they picked the other candidate." I feel my rights being ripped to pieces.
But, can I sue? Can I complain to the ACLU? Can I write my congressman?
Nope! I have, as some candidate for political office once said, one option. Just lean back and enjoy it. IT'S INEVITABLE!
Next post - Baby Boomers v. Babies - where would you put YOUR money?
In non-legalese, this ADEA "Act" prohibits an employer, seeking a new employee, from asking that potential new employee his/her age. This prevents said employer from "discriminating" when they find out, that said "potential employee" is an "old-fart" - of course, this term only applies to men; ladies of course would have to be "old-something elses".
So, do employers follow this Act? Of course, to the letter. No longer will you see an employer ask a potential candidate for employment what date they were born on. Not allowed of course by ADEA and certainly frowned heavily upon by the EEOC.
So, I am Mr. Employer, and I certainly do not want an old-fart working for my company. I have 20 or more employees, so I am obligated to follow the rules and roles of the ADEA. I go to my corporate legal beagles, and I say, "Hey guys! How do I figure out how old the applicants are without asking their age?" And they say, "Well, boss, why not ask them, 1. when did they go to High School, and/or 2. when did they graduate from college?
Hot Damn! I have my answer and I am not violating ANY ADEA rules, nor will this ever get to the EEOC. No blood, no foul.
Right!
Bullshit!
They ask, I tell. "So, Ron, when did you graduate from Delta State?" "Well sir, I graduated from good ole' DSC in 1969." Only takes a quick calculation to determine, I am somewhere between 62 (yeah, right - boy genius!), and Methusela.
So, somewhere between, "You are absolutely so right for this position!" and "Gee, I am so sorry, but they picked the other candidate." I feel my rights being ripped to pieces.
But, can I sue? Can I complain to the ACLU? Can I write my congressman?
Nope! I have, as some candidate for political office once said, one option. Just lean back and enjoy it. IT'S INEVITABLE!
Next post - Baby Boomers v. Babies - where would you put YOUR money?
Thursday, January 13, 2011
It is very difficult to prove your worth, when you are over 60
I am frustrated. Terribly, terribly frustrated. I am past my prime, apparently, because I can't seem to get a company to hire me, once they find out I graduated from college in 1969. They, the ubiquitous "they", do the math, realize that I am over 60, and suddenly, all interest in hiring me stops. I don't hear from that company again.
What is it with corporate America that they can not realize they are letting amazing talent go to waste. Do they think I want to come back into the work force just so I can retire in 2 or 3 years? Do they think I will come back into the work force and have a heart attack at my desk next week? Do they think I will come back into the work force and need to be reeducated in technology? If so, and if that is what they think of us "baby-boomers," well, that is pathetic.
I am not looking to come back into the work force and planning a quick withdrawal again in retirement. Even coming back into the work force might impact any opportunity to retire soon and certainly might limit my opportunity to eventually get Social Security. Nor do I intend to come back into the work force and drop dead. And amazingly, I am pretty tech savvy. I have a smart phone and can use it - quite adequately. I have a laptop (two actually), a desktop, and my office is set-up, by me personally, to be totally wireless. I understand Storage Area Network technology; I have helped plan and coordinate data center moves that involved multiple servers, virtual networks, and mainframes; I can write program code in several languages including C, C++, C#, VB, and others, and I can read and interpret Cobol.
More, I am a Project Manager with 17 years of experience in such wonderfully diverse fields as nuclear power plant outages, environmental remediation, and information technology. I hold numerous certifications that I have worked hard to earn and keep.
But let a prospective employer find out that I am 64, and the words of the Beatles song come flooding back, "Will you still feed me, will you still need me, when I'm 64?" Obviously, the answer to this is yes.
NEXT BLOG: The Hidden World of Age Discrimination
What is it with corporate America that they can not realize they are letting amazing talent go to waste. Do they think I want to come back into the work force just so I can retire in 2 or 3 years? Do they think I will come back into the work force and have a heart attack at my desk next week? Do they think I will come back into the work force and need to be reeducated in technology? If so, and if that is what they think of us "baby-boomers," well, that is pathetic.
I am not looking to come back into the work force and planning a quick withdrawal again in retirement. Even coming back into the work force might impact any opportunity to retire soon and certainly might limit my opportunity to eventually get Social Security. Nor do I intend to come back into the work force and drop dead. And amazingly, I am pretty tech savvy. I have a smart phone and can use it - quite adequately. I have a laptop (two actually), a desktop, and my office is set-up, by me personally, to be totally wireless. I understand Storage Area Network technology; I have helped plan and coordinate data center moves that involved multiple servers, virtual networks, and mainframes; I can write program code in several languages including C, C++, C#, VB, and others, and I can read and interpret Cobol.
More, I am a Project Manager with 17 years of experience in such wonderfully diverse fields as nuclear power plant outages, environmental remediation, and information technology. I hold numerous certifications that I have worked hard to earn and keep.
But let a prospective employer find out that I am 64, and the words of the Beatles song come flooding back, "Will you still feed me, will you still need me, when I'm 64?" Obviously, the answer to this is yes.
NEXT BLOG: The Hidden World of Age Discrimination
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