Dear Donna,

thanks for the reflections on your sister's illness. that was very helpful.

Dear Kay,

the work thing is complicated. i've lived/worked in the US and have lots of friends there still, dealing with bad economy etc... lots of things are just way different here.

i don't honestly believe a pro could do much better with my resume. i've been told it's very good. the hard facts that are hurting me (my age, recent resume holes, high tech fast paced industry, current market) would be a problem anywhere but are particularly so in this country (DOB required, chronological format required). can't call back most of the time because company contacts are not specified on most ads. at best there is an email and not always.

there is not a lot of work in "other" fields. software dev probably represents 30-50% of the job market on monster (biggest and best job search engine for this area) - ranging from highly qualified professions to unskilled labor. mom and pop shops literally have mom and pop working in there, and sister and cousin and friend of sister-in-law's half-niece.

given i want to change fields anyway, i will consider going to an agency once i feel a bit better, and asking for temp part time. they mostly want young (eg, max 25) people and/or experienced in role... age discrimination is explicit and rampant despite being illegal. women and minorites are also discriminated against, more quietly. i've tried a temp agency before without success, but as i had different employment objectives at the time, it is an avenue worth revisiting. thanks for bringing that up.

i really don't want to interview right now, for exactly the reasons you listed... self-confidence etc. i'm probably in better shape right now than typical depression, so i'll take my chances... given i have this weird kind of energy, i can be ok with people, even bright and shiny. i'd rather not interview, but i'll risk it rather than call off the recruiter/consultants and in so doing trash my only 2 contacts.

oh yeah... today was my 6th day at 100mg Zoloft.

~ waves ~