Hi Barb,

Thanks for writing to us and I'm sorry to hear that you've been having a hard time with your job search. I've sent your question off to our coaches who will be in touch soon. If you haven't already done so, I would also recommend that you submit your resume to our free Resume Review Service here: http://www.cancerandcareers.org/resume_reviews/new 

Best,

Sarah, Associate Manager of Programs, Cancer and Careers

Barb,

It would be helpful to understand a
bit more about your history.

Were you short tenures due to your
illness? Or absence?  Did you terminate
employment?  Or did they terminate you?
Were you on sick leave, FMLA or short term disability at the time?

Not sure I understand the most
recent termination about “staff not following you” .

Where they addressing your
management skills?

You indicate you need to work for
financial reasons.  Are you clear about
how much money you need to earn to make ends meet?   Could that be accomplished with part time
work, or consulting work?

Why do you want to change career
and start something new at this point of your career?  With a nursing and consulting background, you
could easily used those skills in a  myriad
of roles, some even working from home. 
Consider health insurance environment, HMO, Home Health care role, Patient
Safety monitoring, Quality and Safety Improvement, Utilization Review,  Disability Review programs, etc…

You could work per diem, part time
or perhaps as a direct employee. You could also work as an independent consultant
(start your own small business) or join another organization as a consultant.

If you are unable to do hands-on nursing
, or stand for a long periods of time, or have other restrictions, you might
you qualify for Social Security Disability? As a consultant at age 62, I qualified
for SSD, retro-active to my original date of diagnosis.  My disability payment was higher than what I
would normall draw from early SS at age 62. When I reached normal retirement at
age 65, my payment remained the same but now we call it just Social Security.

Barb, you have a lot of options but
they may not be on the normal path you are currently following.

At age 64, I agree, that it is
difficult to find a new job, in a new career path, with employers who don’t
know you.  If you seek to the regular
employment path, be sure you have an outstanding bio or resume, and network
your way into the job through your personal network and introductions.  I would not try to compete with the hundreds
of others for the one job. 

 Here are some ideas for you:

 Do some research.  See what types of positions exist where your
knowledge and skills would be an asset. 
Look at the qualifications required. 
Make a list of the companies you should pursue.  Check to see who you might know who works
there and could get you an introduction to the hiring manager , or perhaps just
have an information meeting over coffee with someone who is in a similar
position that you would like to pursue.

It goes back to what do you need to
earn?  Do you need health benefits?  What are you the most qualified to do right
now?  Where could you make the best
contribution?  Should you be working full
time or part time? Where could you find such a job in a non traditional
environment  - perhaps even in a non
profit or advocacy organization?

 I hope these ideas are helpful to
you. Good Luck in the next stage of your career.

Margot