A community of 30,000 US Transcriptionist serving Medical Transcription Industry

Too old to get hired? - old

Posted: Jul 26, 2013

Should I stop saying I have 31 years of experience as a transcriptionist? I try not to date myself by putting dates on my resume, like when I graduated. I am 61 and will be 62 next June. I have not worked since March, but I made so little money that I get way less than 200 dollars a week from unemployment! I have applied everywhere, outside the house and inside. I have attended resume counseling at the career center, nobody is interested in helping me pay for any schooling, they change the subject. Its like they figure I can survive until next year and qualify for social security. I will eventually find something, I'm sure by next year, but now is when I need money. Any suggestions? Should I say I have 21 years of experience instead of 31? It's not really a lie, it actually is true, right?

old - Old Pro

[ In Reply To ..]
I am not an advocate of lying, but in this case, I think you would be justified in saying you have 21 years of experience. After all, you do! My birthday is in a month--I am pushing 70, so I can relate to being older. Hang in there. You will find something!

Personally, i would not - say anything about

[ In Reply To ..]
how many "years of experience" you have. I think they see that and they think that you will be expecting more pay than they are willing to give. They may also think that you are "set in your ways," and will not adapt well to their way of doing things. I say nothing on my resume about how many years of experience I have. I just list the places I have worked, and between such and such a date. That seems to attract them more than specifically saying how many years I have under my belt. I give the name of the company I worked/work for, date started to "present" or whatever year I quit. and a list of job duties. nothing else. if they want more info, they ask at the interview, but you have to get to the interview first. That is just a suggestion. good luck.

I do this as well and do not list ALL - alana

[ In Reply To ..]
my jobs. I go back to mid 1990s and if they want more info, I provide it on the interview. Also, in between MT jobs I worked in retail and nonprofit but do not list them all the time. For NON MT jobs I'm applying for, I list MT and spin it as an admin position and include the nonprofit work. On some resumes, I include the volunteer work I did (which gave me an entry into nonprofit work). It's also a good time gap-filler.

Years of experience - Anonymous

[ In Reply To ..]
When applying for jobs, I have found that employers only like you to go back 5 years. Depending on how many jobs you have had, that may only be one. For heaven's sake, don't lie! Falsifying information on a resume is cause for termination if they ever learn the truth. I'm 59 and figure I'm in my last job. When it ends, I'll probably just take my 401K and early SS if necessary. I don't think it is so much about being set in one's ways as it is about investing in your training only to have you leave in a year or two. I did eventually find a non-MT job in HIM after being laid off, but one thing I think was a hindrance for me was that MT was pretty much all I had done. Someone finally did give me a chance though, and I have been able to prove myself. Do you want to go back to school at 61, be done in 1-2 years and be hitting the job market competing with people half your age and younger? Good luck, hopefully it will all work out for you.

But don't these employers know that most of us - will never be able to retire, or have delayed it?

[ In Reply To ..]
That's what I don't get. For goodness sakes, it's on the news almost nightly. There was a story on something similar on Frontline just last night. People who, through no fault of their own, lost just about everything in the stock market crash of 2008, and although their 401Ks or IRAs have come back a little, some almost back to where they were way back in 2001, after the 9/11 market crash, they still aren't where they should've been, had those calamities not happened. And so they've either delayed retirement to somewhere between age 70-80, or they realize any retirement at all is an impossibility. And it's not just us MTs, it's across the nation, in all walks of life. The only ones not affected by this are the super-rich. So I just don't get it when some middle-management supervisor or HR person who's reading my resume or interviewing me, doesn't get that.

If they don't get it on their own, then they should be legislated into "getting it", and age-discrimination in this country should be met head-on, or else all of us Boomers who now don't have a pot to pee-pee in, or our own window to throw it out of, are going to drag this country down to levels that are unprecedented in U.S. history.

PS: Re: the Frontline story - it's a must-see, as - one of the things they had done - S/M

[ In Reply To ..]
research on was what our 401K "management fees" were doing to what we actually get when we start drawing on it. In many cases, although 2%-3% fees didn't sound like much, when they crunched the numbers, it turns out many 401K account holders would only see about one-third of what their portfolios said they had; the other two-thirds had been eaten up in fees. I'm willing to bet that this may be the next big investigation of Wall Street - what happened to everyone's money that they supposedly have on paper?

One insider said (as I've believed all along) that Wall Street should be "torn down and rebuilt."

Completely agree! More and more parents are moving in with their adult children... - SadAtStateOfThings

[ In Reply To ..]
We're heading back to the days when seniors moved in with their adult children to live out their final days. It's depressing that people work their entire lives to basically end up penniless and dependent on their children, who I'm sure don't really have the funds to support aging parents.

They do not know, it is not their problem - Anonymous

[ In Reply To ..]
They are not mind readers. I also took a huge hit in '08 but I definitely do not plan to work until I'm 80 to make up the difference and I doubt that you want to work until you are 80 either. Don't expect an employer to "get it." They are not hiring based on an employee's desire to work to the grave, they are hiring based on the best candidate for the job. I'm not planning to delay retirement. I'll work for as long as I have a job, but I am not going to be pounding the pavement at 70 (or even 65). I might be poor, but my mental health and physical health are also important to me.

My problem is longevity. Even if I only listed my - current employer, I have been there - S/M

[ In Reply To ..]
7 years, and far too many transcription jobs only want 2-5 years' experience, and not a minute more. If I list the second-oldest job, that's even worse. I was there for close to 30 years. And of course, there were many jobs before that one, too.

When I apply out of the MT field, the problem is the last 35 years of experience is in ONLY medical transcription. I have experience before that as a receptionist, switchboard operator, secretary, etc., but if I list those, then we're talking about the Jurassic era....

The Jurassic era! LOL!!! - TooFunny

[ In Reply To ..]
Funny but also not funny because you're between a rock and a hard place...

I have 25 years of experience but - I do this

[ In Reply To ..]
I just put "15-plus years of experience." It's entirely true, 25 years technically is 15-plus years but it's vague enough where I figure it won't put me out of the running if the receiving party is trying to decipher my age.

experience - great ideas!

[ In Reply To ..]
You know, it never occurred to me until these posts that I might be shooting myself in the foot by emphasizing how many (and there are many) years I've been doing this work. I like the post that suggests saying 15+ years and not going all the way back to the early '80s on the list of MT jobs. I'm going to change my resume right now to reflect this.

Just got hired today!!! Actually had 3 interviews with different companies! - NoSpringChicken

[ In Reply To ..]
Hi, not sure how much of what I've been doing will help you (as all situations are different, etc.), but I thought I'd share in case something I did might be helpful.

I lobbed off half of my experience by stating, "over 12 years of experience." Simply did not list all of it. Emphasized my office skills (research ability, data entry, attention to detail, etc.), downplayed transcription as it was not opening any doors. I worked on making my Objective really eye catching because that is where you want to grab attention--you only have something like six seconds to do that and make the cut. I also made sure I did a cover letter that was addressed to the hiring person (if I could possibly do that). I also used keywords throughout both resume and cover letter, basing them off of the job ad. If they were looking for "strong computer skills," I used "computer savvy" and so on.

I listed other things I do outside of MT, such as volunteer work. I tried to show as much diversity as possible and emphasized that I am adept at multitasking.

Before I interviewed, I colored my hair so no gray showed, had a new blazer, and fresh makeup. I studied some YouTube videos on how to apply makeup to older skin to look fresher and younger. I think it helped!

Then I practiced interview questions over and over again until I felt somewhat confident. I studied each company's website and incorporated bits of it into my responses to show I was interested and took the time to learn about what they do.

Believe me, it took all of my courage and lots of pep talks to actually interview. In fact, the first two interviews I had earlier this month, I actually called and canceled because I just lost my nerve. That made me feel worse, so I finally faced down my fears and finally interviewed. With all the preparation I've been doing, it went much, much better than I'd expected.

For months, though, I had a huge dry spell and very little interest from prospective employers, so I just kept working on the resume and cover letter (with each job that I applied for) and then practiced over and over interviewing. Found lots of great videos on YouTube that helped tremendously.

Anyway, hope this helps! I'm just a bit younger than you, but not by much. I ended up with three interviews, and they all wanted me! I'm still a bit shell shocked, but I'm also over the moon, and still a piece of me is sad to be leaving my comfort zone, or should I say what was my comfort zone as it no longer is reliable.

Just keep tweaking the words and emphasize what you know they're looking for and downplay your age, and somehow in all of it, if you get an interview, be genuine and warm.

Below is one person I learned from on YouTube (she has several videos), but there are many others I watched, too:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nwbPu4PnK34

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F7kz6LPMxvQ

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g1owOIBluaI

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t-n6UO8--wA

Okay, so good luck to you! If I can do it, you can too!

Congratulations, No Spring Chicken! - woo-hoo!

[ In Reply To ..]
I am SO happy for you! And thank you for these great videos. Have you decided which job to take if all 3 are offered?

Thank you! Already accepted the one I most wanted. :) - NoSpringChicken

[ In Reply To ..]
You're welcome about the video links. They really helped me. I've had a long period with no luck and felt more and more beat down and less confident as time went on. These helped me think through things and not panic.

So glad you got the job - Old fossil

[ In Reply To ..]
But, I'm sorry, I am who I am and I love my naturally silver hair which everyone says is beautiful and I am not going to color my hair for one job interview and then deal with the grow out or continue to color it to satisfy an employer. I would also never put that I was "savvy" at anything but would list specific accomplishments. I got a different job too and I'm so glad I was able to remain true to myself and didn't have to lie about my work experience or play games. Anyway, you did your homework and it paid off, enjoy your new position.

too old to get hired, maybe not - Vintage MT

[ In Reply To ..]
A word of encouragement, I too am 61. As I am recovering from cancer, I have a port that must be flushed every month (after 2 years cancer free it can be removed, and I have 1 year go to.) Anyway,last time I was in the infusion center, there was a new face at the reception desk, a brand new hire (and full time!) who is 60 years old, a former MT whose experience was all too typical of what we all are experiencing these days. So I would suggest trying your local hospitals, they might be quite interested.

People keep telling me to stop worrying about - sm - MTBankAccount

[ In Reply To ..]
my age - that I have skills, intelligence and experience, and someone will hire me. So far, however, my luck hasn't run that way. For the past several years I've been trying to "escape" the large MTSO work-at-home trap, and get something on-site. Those jobs are sadly few and far between. Still, over the past few years, several very good on-site hospital MT or unit secretary opportunities had come up, and for all but one, I was qualified to do the job, and do the job well. In one case I may have been written off because of a long commute, but the rest should have shown more interest than they did. I'm in my 60s, but don't look it, dress it, or act it, and my health is excellent. Even without asking my age, they still seemed to find out. At first I didn't consider my age to be a factor, until all the lame excuses started coming in for why someone else was hired. The winner was one that, even though I had 25+ years' experience in the very specialty they were hiring for, told me I "didn't have enough experience." Geez! (I wonder just how large their pool of 30+ year experience applicants supposedly was?)

I guess lots of them think since I'm nearly retirement age, that the day I turn 65, I'm going to drop everything and retire. I guess they don't get around much, or they'd know that few people my age will ever be able to retire. Also, even if the insurance companies they get their employee coverage from are pressuring them to hire younger workers, you'd think that an over-65 worker who is now on Medicare, and not in the regular insurance system at all, would be a sought-after asset to the company, and not the passed-over opposite.

I've also applied for lots of jobs out of MT, and they, of course, all want "5+ years' experience" working in that particular field.

At this point I sure wish I knew what the answer is, but it's starting to look more and more like the "answer" is taking early retirement and SS, raiding my savings, and hopefully having some kind of an in-home, cash-only sideline that can be hidden from greedy old Uncle Sam (aka - "Uncle SCAM")!

Words of encouragement... - Bindi

[ In Reply To ..]
At age 59, I applied at my County HR, took a test for entry level clerical work, got on the hiring list, and started interviewing. Within a couple months, I had two job offers and took one of them. I think I look my age (maybe 3-5 years younger on a good day).

I would encourage anyone to go online and check out your government facilities (city, county, state, federal). They always have jobs listed and when the tests for those jobs will take place. They pay well (even for entry level), complete benefit packages, 401K, etc.)

Just my 2 cents, but I think there's a possibility that these government agencies might be less likely to discriminate when it comes to age that their private counterparts.

Lots of good advice from the above posters!

Good luck!

just wanted to add... - Bindi

[ In Reply To ..]
For those of you not aware of how government agencies work, the real plus side is that once you take the test, you're put on a list for approximately a year. Your position on the list reflects how well you did on the test. The departments within an agency normally are required to pick the top 3 on the list to interview.

The nice thing is that once you're called for an interview the people interviewing you already know that you're qualified. This takes a lot of the pressure off for us, I think.

Not a lie - shipwrecked

[ In Reply To ..]
Well, if you have 31 years of experience, you obviously also have 21 years of experience, 15 years of experience, and 5 years of experience. None of them is a lie.

Similar Messages:

Sep 06, 2010

I have a question for all MedQuist MTs . . . I called them and was told that I qualified and passed MedQuist's test. That was about a week ago. I was told that I am still being "considered" and "reviewed." One recruiter told me that it would just be a matter of time before they could get through all of the paperwork. Another recruiter simply told me my file was still being "reviewed." What does this mean? Does MedQuist always offer jobs to those that pass their testing? Or is it possible t ...

Sep 27, 2011

I am told that I just got hired by Nuance. Am interested in what people have to say about the company. I have read that the first part of this month, they were running out of work. If so, do they really need me? Also, am interested in insurance costs? Some straight answers would be most appreciated. Thanks, Charlie ...

Nov 14, 2011

Accentus. They loaded some absolutely AWFUL software that has ruined my PC. THEY will be getting a bill from me ...

May 30, 2012

Does anyone ever get hired from these companies who are continually posting help wanted ads?!?!? I have applied to at least 15 companies posting ads for help only to sit here waiting for at least 5 weeks, so far, for an answer to any for which I applied! I have been a medical transcriptionist for over 20 years as well as a QA worker for over 5 years. My resume is on par with what I consider to be some of the best, yet I never receive an answer to my applications. I realiz ...

Apr 27, 2014

We should be grandfathered in at that rate. Any new hire could be hired at this 99.7% bull hockey. My vent for the day... ...

Apr 30, 2014

Why would a company tell you that they are sending you the contract, account specs, etc and then the next thing, you get an email stating that they are still reviewing resumes? In my own stupidity I turned down a job thinking I had this one and now this. ...

Sep 16, 2014

You are helping the devil train the gatekeepers of Hades! Especially if you are an acquisition employee, you must understand your purpose is to train the front-end voice wreck for the clinic or hospital that sold your soul. They off-shore EVERYTHING left over as soon as possible, so being out of work is a condition you should expect as long as you continue to work for the very people the hospital just sold you to. ...

Apr 24, 2015

All the ads on the job seeker's board have hundreds and even thousands of responses. Does anyone ever really get hired? One of the ads wants someone to start "within the next hour," and that was a few days ago and it now has hundreds of responses. Why is that ad still even posted? Only rarely does a company take its ad down or post a message when positions are filled. Do the other companies just not care? Can it be that all those hundreds and thousands of ...

Jan 13, 2010

I have a GED but no college. I can type fast and accurately and I am a quick learner. If I take the CareerStep course, what are the chances that I would get hired by an online company? ...

Jan 31, 2010

I'm not sure if this is a good move for me, especially after reading an article on them that was linked from this board. Recruiter says they have loads of work, but they seem really regimented. Anyone work for them and want to share? Thanks. ...

Jun 26, 2010

Hi Everyone - I was just hired by Transcend. They sounded great when I talked to them, but I've worked for enough companies to know they arent always what they say they are. Does anyone out there have anything to say about them - the good, bad and the ugly??? TX. ...

Aug 31, 2010

Hello, I am new to the forum and recently hired as an at-home MT. It has been a year since I completed college MT courses at a tech center. The employer, saw my resume online. I have a p/t job that I've had for 2 years in addition to the MT job. Both jobs, are flex in hours, although the MT employer would like full-time. It pays 8 cents for every 60 characters. I would really love to drop the p/t job because it miserable in many ways. Can someone break the pay down in other terms? W ...

Aug 25, 2011

I was hired for my first transcription position and filled out the paperwork Aug 4th. They said after the platform was installed on my computer (done Aug. 19th) the training would begin. The trainer has not communicated w/me at all. When I emailed HR and asked if training would begin this week (Aug 21st) the response was "hope so, but I have been on vacation and am not sure". I emailed HR again yesterday (Aug. 24th) with no response. They had been ver ...

Nov 15, 2011

I spent last week typing test dictations for transcription jobs. After typing five tests today for one company and then 3 more for another company I am wondering why I haven't been called back on any of these jobs. I have heard of having too little experience, but is there such a thing has having too much experience that a company is afraid to hire you because they think you will demand to be paid too much. Even though I have 10+ years experience I am willing to take 7 cpl just so that I c ...

Jan 09, 2012

I've been getting the impression that the Q is paying someone to contest all the negative posts. In the last week or so, as soon as something negative is posted it is answered almost immediately. I do not think an MT could be working and still be immediately available to do this. I've also never met anyone personally who defends this place. ...

Apr 30, 2012

I didn't think MModal could get more top heavy. This just tells you that they're making quite a bit of profit from our losses. ...

Jun 22, 2012

Just wondering if a lot of people got hired for the recent Radiology position posted. Got a response right away. Don't know anything about the company. Thanks ...

Aug 27, 2012

I have been a MT for 30 yrs. I had to stop working 4 yrs ago due to health issues, then finally had 2 surgeries which pretty much took care of the problem. While I was out on disability I got a grant, went back to an AHDI approved University and took refresher courses in MT fulltime for a year. Now, I'm ready to get back to work. I submitted a resume to M-Modal last week and just read they are not considering me. Is there a way to find out why? I'm a good transcriptionist and I want to ...

Aug 31, 2012

I have two years experience but my experience is not recent. I did not graduate from a school or course, rather, I was trained by an MTE and by someone who had a general practice that they typed for. Eventually I was able to take over the general practice but had to give it up because my husband's health was critical. I would like very much to get back to MT work but the ads I'm seeing are not conducive to me thinking I'm going to get hired...... What y'all ...

Sep 28, 2012

After 8 years as an IC, I am FINALLY going to get some PTO and much-needed insurance! Yes, I AM super excited about working for Nuance!!! The recruiter that interviewed me was AMAZING!!! It is a big change for me, but I believe it is going to be a good one :) ...

Oct 04, 2012

I have accepted a position with Nuance and would like some helpful info. Will be working on BeyondTXT, which I have no experience with, and would appreciate any helpful hints regarding this platform. Also, I have no experience with expansion programs. Apparently I need to purchase one and unsure which is best. Thank you all in advance! ...

Jan 15, 2013

I am having an extremely hard time being hired. I am not a newbie. I have training from CareerStep and also have three years experience doing just about every type of transcription there is. My supervisors would all say that I am pleasant, prompt, and extremely accurate. I have worked in-house and also home based. I have a long medical employment history, I did billing and coding for years as well. I test and test and never seem to be able to get hired. I email and fax resume after resume to co ...

Mar 16, 2014

For those of you who have applied to and been "hired" by SmartDoc, please email me. Thank you. ...

Apr 22, 2014

I want to get an RHIT or RHIA. Would a bankruptcy on your credit report hurt your chances of getting hired at hospitals? ...

Jun 04, 2014

My facility just hired a CPC-A with no experience, sooo ... it does happen. ...

Jun 18, 2014

I applied for 17 jobs that I was rated fully qualified up to 100% qualified and I didn't even get an interview for any single one of them. I think it's because of my age. Has anybody over 55 gotten hired off USAjobs? ...

Jul 15, 2014

a company and told you would be doing straight typing, but then end up doing over 75% VR can you sue them for misrepresentation? ...

Sep 07, 2014

There are over 9000 resumes posted. Does anyone ever get hired from this resource? ...

Sep 24, 2014

...by the way, you use that way of writing the date to search as far back in history on this board as you can stomach. There is nothing new going on at Nuance, it is just more of the same! Please read and educate yourselves! ...

Dec 03, 2014

have never done it? I have 10 years experience in Acute Care, but no Radiology. Will they hire someone with my experience if I get the training? Can you only get hired if you have experience already? Just want a change. I don't think the place I'm working at now will train me. Also, is Radiology always full-time? Thanks in advance for any information. ...