Advice for a career changer?

["Hart, Geoff" <Geoff-H -at- MTL -dot- FERIC -dot- CA>]

Renee Hopkins is seeking advice: <<I'm a former journalist who's now a Web
editor. My own career change has gone pretty well -- it's my spouse who
needs advice.>>

If he's having trouble getting his foot in the door, part of it may be the
old "you can't teach an old dog new tricks" bias, with the HR director
working on the rationale that he's simply too old to learn these tools on
the job. That would suck, but it's a real possibility. Another thought,
based on the fact that you mentioned your spouse is 50 years old, and has
considerable experience. At that age, you can often use that experience to
support yourself up as a consultant: "With age comes wisdom!" Play the trump
card, get a few choice gigs, and if they go real well, ask the client if
they'd consider taking him on full-time. Beats the hell out of interviewing!

<<He's now trying to get a fulltime job as a tech writer, but he has never
had the opportunity to learn FrameMaker or Robo-Help, and every job for
which he interviews requires knowledge of those software packages, even if
the specific ad doesn't say so.>>

Both products are available free of charge in demo versions (on CD) from
their respective companies. I'd recommend picking up the demos and playing
with them until he knows the basics. Then show up at the interview and blow
your own horn--loud--without making any extravagant claims: "I've used both
tools to create simple systems, but I'm not an expert. Don't forget, they're
just tools, and you're hiring me for my writing skills. I've learned XY
tools over the course of my career, and though I'm already _productive_ with
both tools, I'll get better with them real fast once I'm using them
full-time."

--Geoff Hart, FERIC, Pointe-Claire, Quebec
geoff-h -at- mtl -dot- feric -dot- ca

"When ideas fail, words come in very handy."--Goethe

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