Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
I know quite a few older very accomplished people who are out of work. Many have MBA's and a history of success. Many were high level managers, business executives, and accomplished professionals. At one time they made over $100,000 a year and managed a large staff, now they are sitting at home doing nothing.
The first few months were relaxing for these people. They enjoyed their time off and felt comfortable collecting unemployment or living off severance or savings. They were confident that in time the phone would ring and they would soon have a great job offer. They used their good friends in the industry and connections. Trouble was these friends were either unemployed themselves or would not return their phone calls or emails.
As time passed they started getting desperate. They started applying at any job they could find. But were constantly told they were over qualified. People half as good and half their age were always hired instead.
They found out the hard way that almost all the jobs advertised wanted a more junior person usually someone between 22-40. Employers did not want senior highly skilled workers. They were seen as set in their ways, not up with the modern workplace technology, and too old and tired.
Yes, being an older, highly skilled and educated worker is a *****.
It is possible that part of the problem is that many companies laid off a larger percentage of their 22-40 year old workers and only a small fraction of the highly skilled 41+ workers. Companies might have kept a fair portion of their management staff and are just looking to round out their organization with lower level grunts.
My point is it is a lot harder to be unemployed if you have a history of success and are only qualified for the few jobs that are at your level. Considering most jobs are for unskilled workers, if you lose your job at Burger King you can easily get a new job at McDonald's. An ex executive does not have that option.
My point is it is a lot harder to be unemployed if you have a history of success and are only qualified for the few jobs that are at your level. Considering most jobs are for unskilled workers, if you lose your job at Burger King you can easily get a new job at McDonald's. An ex executive does not have that option.
I have worked in many different fields, doing many different jobs. I have to disagree with the above. It's hard at all levels. Sometimes you have to change your level. It can be a great career move, and open doors to areas that you may never have thought of before. Many people are going back to school/college to get the education or train for another field.
BTW: I would hope that all those 'unskilled' folks at BK or McD's know a lot about food safety and hygiene! That statement also goes for the chefs and waiters in those high end restaurants where 'skilled' folks eat!
It is not that they are overqualified, it is that they were possibly overpaid to begin with, maybe underqualified for the job they had, or, most likely, the fact that times are tough.
I mention salary, since cutting that is the fastest way to save a buck. Why pay 100k+ when you can have two employees for that. Or possibly between 2 and 10 considering some of the executive salaries people have in my line of work. Don't price yourself out of the market.
Don't get me wrong though. I am all for making money, but some of these salaries have been really bloated the last few years. I am not talking about these execs making millions, but the ones makes 100k+ a year. Some of them deserve it and some are dead weight.
Know what you are worth. If you can't get hired then you either want to much money, are underqualified, live in a bad location, or are not selling yourself correctly. Maybe a combination of all three.
Sorry, I just never liked the idea of someone being overqualified stopping them from getting a job. Usually you have to sell yorself to the current market conditions. You are not overqualified, but probably underqualfieid/overpriced/and a poor job hunter first.
We just hired two new people where I work, lowish level (around $13 an hour) and we had a TON of people with high level degrees apply... MBAs, graduate degrees, Engineers etc etc. and I was pretty surprised. Unfortunately, we're not going to spend the time and money training someone to do a job just to have them leave when the economy picks up or they're offered a 'better' job. So, we usually pick someone who is average. Educated, but not so much so that they'll leave the first chance they'll get.
That might be a problem too.... why would a company hire an overqualified person just to have to retrain when that person leaves?
If they were good at their jobs, the executives shouldn't have too much of a hard time finding another job. If they were the overpaid don't know what they are doing executives then yeah I can see how they have a hard time now when the fat is being cut off most payrolls.
I know quite a few older very accomplished people who are out of work. Many have MBA's and a history of success. Many were high level managers, business executives, and accomplished professionals. At one time they made over $100,000 a year and managed a large staff, now they are sitting at home doing nothing.
The first few months were relaxing for these people. They enjoyed their time off and felt comfortable collecting unemployment or living off severance or savings. They were confident that in time the phone would ring and they would soon have a great job offer. They used their good friends in the industry and connections. Trouble was these friends were either unemployed themselves or would not return their phone calls or emails.
As time passed they started getting desperate. They started applying at any job they could find. But were constantly told they were over qualified. People half as good and half their age were always hired instead.
They found out the hard way that almost all the jobs advertised wanted a more junior person usually someone between 22-40. Employers did not want senior highly skilled workers. They were seen as set in their ways, not up with the modern workplace technology, and too old and tired.
Yes, being an older, highly skilled and educated worker is a *****.
Welcome to the new economy.
These overpaid workers (skills and experience), are no longer needed by companies, because of tight budgets and lack of demand.
This is when you get re-educated into a new careerer thats in demand, or you sit at home (unemployed) thinking about the good old days.
In case anyone has not noticed, Brainy Intellectual Type is a troll that makes posts without evidence. Hello Dingler?
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
