I agree with everything you've said here and appreciate you taking the time to provide this response.
I'm going to take a step back and reevaluate how I'm currently looking at things. Although the biggest lesson I've learned today isn't what I originally set out to learn, it is a very important one to consider and I appreciate everybody's input. Luke also brought up a good point about while the way I've driven my career may have been very good for me, as an employer that's not necessarily what I should be seeking out. One of the things I pride myself on is being able to admit when I've made a mistake and then to step back and realize what it was and how I can learn from that. While I am steadfast about the age not being an issue piece, I realize that it is important for me to understand that a person not progressing in their career (at least in what can be seen on their resume) is not reason enough alone to discard their resume without further evaluation. On the recruiting front...I've already contacted a number of LUGs without much luck. However, the local college/tech schools is something I had not looked into. I will take a look at schools in the DC area to see what I'm able to locate since that would be sufficient for jr level position such as this. Thanks for everybody's well thought out input today. -Evan On Tue, Mar 6, 2012 at 3:46 PM, Deborah Wazir <[email protected]> wrote: > Just a couple thoughts about what these statements seem to imply (not > about age :) > > However, you can look at it and see that I was hungry for bigger and >> better things based upon the advancement. >> >> >> ... for every 1 person who wasn't able to advance past a jr. role, ... > > > Some people are not interested in climbing the ladder. Being hungry for > bigger and better things, can take different forms. Personally I'm driven > to learn to do new things and work on problems that people don't know how > to solve, and work with people who are a lot more talented and intelligent > than me. You really couldn't pay me enough to supervise people, although I > might coach them. "Advancing" to a management role, means less hands on > technical work - that can often be the exact opposite of what a talented > technical person wants. > > What I think I hear you saying is that if an experienced person is only > looking for a jr. position, then they don't want to do anything other than > what they've already done, and won't be able to adapt and work on new > things. Perhaps there's also the assumption that this candidate would also > be passive, wait to be told what to do, not take initiative or be a > self-starter, since they weren't "able" to advance past a jr. role. > > If somebody has been in IT for 10 years, even in a junior role, it's > unlikely they are still doing the stuff they started with. Technology > moves fast, to have longevity in IT you have to keep learning, often on > your own time. So as a manager, you have to learn to recognize drive and > passion, that expresses itself differently than your way. Not everybody > wants to be an IT manager, and that isn't an indication of a lack of drive. > > You might consider recruiting in the Detroit area. IT professionals were > hit pretty hard here, although it has improved some. There's a lot of > talent here, and quite a few people are willing to relocate. After > experiencing unemployment, they may be unlikely to just quit after a couple > years. > > I also agree with the suggestion someone made earlier to reach out to some > of your local professional groups - it would also put you in contact with > the kind of people who spend their own time to learn and improve themselves > professionally, and you might find a better match with what you are looking > for. > > - Debbie >
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