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Ask Slashdot: Getting Hired As a Self-Taught Old Guy?

Posted by Soulskill on from the young-stunt-double-for-the-interview dept.

StonyCreekBare writes "How can an autodidact get past the jobs screening process? I have a long track record of success, despite limited formal education. Despite many accomplishments, published papers, and more, I cannot seem to get past the canned hiring process and actually get before a hiring manager. Traditional hiring processes seem to revolve around the education and degrees one holds, not one's track record and accomplishments. Now as an older tech-worker I seem to encounter a double barrier by being gray-haired as well. All prospective employers seem to see is a gray-haired old guy with no formal degrees. The jobs always seem to go to the younger guys with impressive degrees, despite a total lack of accomplishment. How can an accomplished, if gray-haired, self-educated techie get a foot in the door?"

5 of 472 comments (clear)

  1. Start your own by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

    business :)

    1. Re:Start your own by Em+Adespoton · · Score: 5, Insightful

      3.) Network. You're likely to get your best paying gigs as contractor/consultant via people who know you. One of the things you tend to get along with the accomplishments and gray hairs is a long network of contacts, people you know, etc. Another benefit is that if you revisit people you worked with early in your career, you'll find that many of them are managers now, and have the power to make hiring decisions (including designing a job around your specific capabilities). It doesn't always work -- I once had a job custom designed for me, and then HR stepped in and killed it (due to interdepartmental politics), but these things often work out quite well. As an Old Guy (TM), never try the cold call, or submitting your resume as the first thing you do. Get in via contacts.

    2. Re:Start your own by cayenne8 · · Score: 5, Insightful
      Actually, if he is at this age and point in his life, he should by now, have developed a large network of connections in the IT world.

      Years of experience should have also given him years of names and people to contact when needing that next gig.

      Once you're out in the work world, the next jobs come from who you know...if you're doing it right.

      If nothing else, get with a contracting house...they DO value older experienced folks with heavy resume experience.

      --
      Light travels faster than sound. This is why some people appear bright until you hear them speak.........
  2. You have to contract / set up a firm by xtal · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Set up a firm, start networking. If you deliver projects on time and budget then you will soon have more business than you know what to do with. Ultimately this strategy will work out better for you in the long run, but is more challenging to get going.

    Generally speaking, if you have real talent, you are a sucker to work for someone else.

    --
    ..don't panic
    1. Re:You have to contract / set up a firm by MozeeToby · · Score: 5, Insightful

      In this situation it's going to be all about who you know. You say you have a long history of successes? Contact the people you worked with and worked for. Someone, somewhere, is hiring and at least some of those people will be in position to push your resume at least past the first layer of defense. Lack of a formal degree will see your resume to circular filing cabinet in record time, unless the HR drone has a reason to believe otherwise.