CAREERS NOW 06-27-10

Informational Interviews: Waste of Time?

DEAR JOYCE: I've been unemployed for five months. A friend suggests I use informational interviews to find a job. Do you recommend this approach? - C.K.

Informational interviewing is time consuming. The hours you invest in networking can be better spent lining up job interviews.

Familiar as a strategy for new graduates and career changers, informational interviewing is a method of getting the facts about an occupation or career field. Who would know better about what it takes to do a job well - or what a job's benefits and drawbacks are - than someone who's already working in it?

As an interviewer, you inquire about a typical day, job duties, skills and personality traits needed, the pros and cons of the work, and general career advice about how to succeed in the occupation. Before interviewing, hop on the Web to research your topic, thus paying respect to the person who generously is giving you a slice of time from his or her workday.

Asking for confirmation of what you've researched is one thing; asking for a job under the pretext of asking for information is bad form.

On the other hand, if you're standing on the right corner when the sun breaks out and a job offer comes your way, seize the moment.

DEAR JOYCE: I'm 57 and unemployed. The problem must be my age, or the fact that I'm a melanoma survivor, or both. I get close to a job and am well matched for it - but then, surprise, someone younger is chosen. - N.L.L.

Your situation is not really surprising - the unemployment rate for over-55s is at the highest level since 1948. Discover details of the disturbing situation in a recent article titled "Too Young Not to Work but Too Old to Work" on The Washington Independent Web site (washingtonindependent.com).

Because our society has tied health insurance to employment, older people cost employers more to enroll than do younger ones. The situation has become a third rail for hiring workers of the boomer generation. And now comes the bad news that health care costs will rise again in 2011.

Your best bet is to find ways to remind interviewers about age offsets that tend to even out generational cost differences, such as a 2000 study by AARP ("American Business and Older Employees") revealing that older workers take fewer sick days per year than do other groups because they have fewer acute illnesses. Moreover, boomers take fewer risks in accident-prone situations and statistically have lower accident rates than other age groups.

Scout more job leads, tips and topics on RetirementJobs.com and AARP.org.

DEAR JOYCE: My son just graduated from college and is working on finding a job. He wants to save money by moving home, but I'm not sure that's a good thing. What do parents with boomerang kids tell you about the experience? - I.R.

Very little. It's not a hot topic for this column, but apparently it's heating up in the midst of an economic freeze, high rents and a skinny job market. One survey reports that 80 percent of new college graduates moved home in 2009, up from 67 percent in 2006. As one dad jokingly told Paul Powers, Ph.D. (drpaulpowers.com), a well-known career counselor: "You can child-proof your house but they always find a way back in."

Dr. Powers, who knows a ton about this topic, recommends that you read a book titled "Mom, Can I Move Back in With You?: A Survival Guide for Parents of Twentysomethings," by Linda Perlman Gordon and Susan Morris Shaffer (Tarcher/Penguin, 2004, paperback). Because it's not a new book, you can pick up a copy on Amazon.com for a bargain price.

DEAR JOYCE: I want to negotiate a higher offer for a job but am afraid it will take me out of consideration. Should I even try? - P.V.

Yes, you could price yourself out of the market if you're unrealistic. Have you checked the market rate? (Try salary.com.) But I've never heard of salary negotiations resulting in a lower offer, and, in fact, some people never accept the first bid without discussion.

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