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So I've been on a bit of a sabbatical. For two years - my doesn't time fly. Had some important stuff to do... major works on the old house (RSJ major), cities in Europe that still needed visiting, some language skills that needed some serious brushing up on (okay ...my Greek is still ...er ... not good(!), but my French has improved greatly, my German is back up where it should be and a local Italian restaurant owner dines out on the story of what I shouted at a driver in Rome). Importantly I can order some decent wine in Portuguese. And Google Translate on the phone. Job done. Don't forget the CodeProject activity. Important stuff. Oh, and gardening.
But something has been missing... real work I guess. Didn't think I would miss it but I do. Strictly speaking I'm a "contractor" (as opposed to a "permie-burger" for anyone that remembers those days), but the gloss has worn off that game. I want to be around when the s**t hits the fan, I want that responsibility again. This is going to sound like an advert, but I want to be stretched and challenged daily again.
So today I did it. I applied for a job. A permie-burger job.
Now I'm cr*****g myself. I've realised that the last time *I* actually *asked* someone to employ me was over 17 years ago. And to be honest I drove the last few interviews more like the business meetings they really were.
Guess the upshot is that I'm not that confident of getting the role (don't get me wrong, I'm very confident of being able to *do* it), but I just never really appreciated what a PITA the whole recruitment process is ... for both sides. I'm exhausted and all I've done is update my CV and write a 500 word essay!
Guess I'll find out how much of a PITA it really is in a couple of weeks. Or not 
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Do you do COBOL?
I hear that is getting popular again (with desperate banks and other large institutions that still use it and are finding their old programmers they laid off because they were too old have now died and cannot therefore be contracted back to fix things, oops)!
- I would love to change the world, but they won’t give me the source code.
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Unfortunately no, because you are right about the large institutions panicking!
However, for my sins, I can still hold my own in VB6 (there, I said it), which is still in use across similar institutions. VBA is still really popular too. So in theory there are loads of contract opportunities out there for us dinosaurs 
Just as well I do have some "modern" skills too, eh?
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Haven't been in the game for 2 years!
Means employers will consider you have lost touch:
'the IT world is changing so fast your skills are out of date/irrelevant/superseded ... why? ... have you been studying? do you know what Windows 10 is? know how to program a phone?"
The killer: "willing to work under a boss [way] younger than yourself?" - even if you yell "yes" they only hear "no."
Welcome back grandpa! (Don't feel bad, in IT that's anyone over 23.)
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Quote: 'the IT world is changing so fast your skills are out of date/irrelevant/superseded
In Financial Services and other large corporation style areas the exact opposite is true!
Quote: ve you been studying
Actually yes
Quote: you know what Windows 10 is?
Er, I've only been on sabbatical for 2 years! And as they say on the radio after inadvertent product placement ... "Other platforms are available"
Quote: know how to program a phone
Why would I want to?
Quote: willing to work under a boss [way] younger than yourself?"
Wouldn't be the first time and won't necessarily be the case this time
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Agree with the answers, point is interviewers ask these questions and hear the exact opposite to whatever you say, mostly they wonder how somebody odenough to grow proper facial hair will fit into a department that smells more of zit cream than coffee.
It's not impossible, it's just an extra challenge that comes along with being properly grown up.
Sin tack
the any key okay
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You're applying for the wrong jobs! Certainly in a different industry to the one I'm interested in.
Enterprise class / corporate business interviews rarely go down that route - I've done my fair share of interviewing but I've also seen plenty of new staff join teams I've worked on or alongside. Experience counts.
Same appears to be true of the more technical industries - by technical I mean "real science" not IT
I have to say, if someone interviewing me was as distracted as you seem to have experienced then I would get up and walk out. I have zero interest in having people like that benefit from my knowledge and experience (and yes, I have walked out on interviews in the past, albeit politely ... "Thank you for your time but I think we need to draw a line under this interview now")
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I was once in an extended interview with a well known helicopter company (that will remain unnamed) when I realised that they were picking my brains more than testing my knowledge. The nearly all-day interview turned out to be more of a consulting session, "How did you get around this problem at your current job?" style of thing. I was too polite to walk out early and I wanted to get my travel expenses as they were paying for this, so I started with the "I'm sorry that is company confidential..." or, better still, "I'm sorry, that is classified information...", and that finally made them give up. They did offer me a position but weren't paying any more than the paltry amount I was already earning and they went down the tubes shortly after that so I didn't feel I'd missed out on anything.
- I would love to change the world, but they won’t give me the source code.
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There is a bigger world out there than the one you are describing which actually seems like a dead end. Your qualifications are crucial. I would think about that.
Peter Wasser
"The whole problem with the world is that fools and fanatics are always so certain of themselves, and wiser people so full of doubts." - Bertrand Russell
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maybe, see age-peers with experience, qualifications and even newly minted certificates struggling in the job market in more than a few industries.
sounds like you're doing alright though.
me, self employed when the mood takes me: qualifications only open the door, theres whole other level to go through after that - not hard if you find the right person (and that's never HR, never any external employment consultant, nor even 'top tier' head hunters - those are all equally totally useless.)
Sin tack
the any key okay
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Taking time out to do those things you mentioned is something I'm sure you'll never regret.
I worked on a contract basis for years. Actually I was an independent solution provider providing specialist hardware and custom software. It was easier to say I was a contractor. My last position before retiring was for 7 years in a company making sophisticated ultrasonic equipment. I was actually paid contract rates but went in to work every day. I really got to enjoy this routine and the people and felt I should have done it earlier. Grafting for work (I only used agencies a couple of times) really isn't fun.
If I were you I'd stick to the plan and get a permanent posting. It has it's benefits although recruitment processes and human resources bs can be trying.
Good luck.
Peter Wasser
"The whole problem with the world is that fools and fanatics are always so certain of themselves, and wiser people so full of doubts." - Bertrand Russell
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I was a contractor years ago (like you, it's an easier word than trying to explain everything I did), went permie when the market dipped and stayed in the "rut" for several years. I'm not complaining - the pension pot looks good and the redundancy pay was worth it, and to be honest I really enjoyed the work.
Went contracting again after the redundancy - exploiting skills that had gone out of date at least a decade before (and I'm not even referring to VB6! ). Thing was the client company sought me out ... literally "please come and do this project for us" - it often is a case of not so much "who you know ..." but "who knows you ... and what you can do for them".
I have no doubt I can do the work with my eyes closed but it's true that recruitment processes are a PITA. Luckily I'm not going through an agency so I don't have to wade through a made-up process to justify their commission!
*Fixing smile on face in readiness*
Thanks for the luck
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Installed update 15.1 a little while ago and now VS is buggered and there does not appear to be a repair option. Hopefully, I am incorrect and I can repair and get back to work. 
Restarted one more time and it appears to works fine. Sorry to have bothered you. 
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R. Giskard Reventlov wrote:
Okidoki.
I wanna be a eunuchs developer! Pass me a bread knife!
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Just curious... .what does "buggered" mean?
If it's not broken, fix it until it is.
Everything makes sense in someone's mind.
Ya can't fix stupid.
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Literally or colloquially?
The former pertains to a sex act, the latter just means does not work, inoperative, has become useless, completely f***ed. 
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Just curious... .what does "f***ed" mean?
(Literally and colloquially)
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It is Latin for the word 'elephant!' (Slang, so not found in any dictionaries.)
Sudden Sun Death Syndrome (SSDS) is a very real concern which we should be raising awareness of. 156 billion suns die every year before they're just 1 billion years old.
While the military are doing their part, it simply isn't enough to make the amount of nukes needed to save those poor stars. - TWI2T3D (Reddit)
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f**k-up, Slang.
to bungle or botch; ruin.
to act stupidly or carelessly; cause trouble; mess up.
Dictionary.com
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R. Giskard Reventlov wrote: The former pertains to a sex act, the latter just means does not work, inoperative, has become useless, completely f***ed. |
Both of those sound like a sex act to me.
Just sayin.
I'm retired. There's a nap for that...
- Harvey
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Apparently a skunk made it into the building this morning and there is an odd smell in the air. The air con has been on high for a while to help clear it out. It's not awful but I'm not in the office at ground zero - that was on the other side of the building. Phew!
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Perhaps you should shower/bathe more often. Or brush your teeth. 
#SupportHeForShe
Government can give you nothing but what it takes from somebody else. A government big enough to give you everything you want is big enough to take everything you've got, including your freedom.-Ezra Taft Benson
You must accept 1 of 2 basic premises: Either we are alone in the universe or we are not alone. Either way, the implications are staggering!-Wernher von Braun
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He said ground zero but maybe he meant down under. 
... such stuff as dreams are made on
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Well, maybe he has a gas problem...
#SupportHeForShe
Government can give you nothing but what it takes from somebody else. A government big enough to give you everything you want is big enough to take everything you've got, including your freedom.-Ezra Taft Benson
You must accept 1 of 2 basic premises: Either we are alone in the universe or we are not alone. Either way, the implications are staggering!-Wernher von Braun
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I bathe once a week whether I need to or not...
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