[Cyclefrance]

One thing I meant to add - not sure if it applies in the States but here it is rife. All too often the employer will feel threatened by someone who looks to be older and more experienced, so unless your a perfect 'match' in the employer's eyes (and by employer I mean the very person you will be working for), then you will be on the rejection list before you can say 'go'.

The advantage of the temporary-cover route is that you just don't pose such a threat. You are only there for a limited time, you are not trying to find a permament role, so the threat issue never arises. That's human nature I suppose, and I wouldn't have believed this to be true if I hadn't been the evidence.