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One of the many things that I think the "over 50" crowd has going for it is that at that age you are experienced, and you are less likely to be a job-jumper. Employees in their 20s don't really know what the want to be when they grow up, so they take a job and they "test drive"it for a while. If it doesn't suit them they are out the door. By 50 you know what you want to do, and you aren't climbing the ladder anymore. You are looking for a place to work until its time to quit working.
If many managers would give it a little more thought they would realize that often the applicants in their 50s are the ones that will probably stick around longer.
All true but ... that also requires forethought and a long term view ...
Hi, I've had people tell me it's real hard to find work after 50 is this true? What would be the reason if this is true?
I'm not 50 yet but, I'm getting there pretty quick in my late '40s. The only reason I haven't had trouble finding work is because I changed careers.
Employers want younger workers who will work for less money with minimum to no benefits. They want to cut labor costs at all costs.
The only way to defeat this, IMO, is to go into a profession where there's a labor shortage and there are significant barriers of entry into the labor pool. This way ... they can't easily hire a young kid off the street to take your job.
Even then, employers will still try to hire younger, cheaper workers but, if there's a labor shortage and they have no other choice then, it's much more difficult for them to hire younger workers to replace you.
Networking is the way to find jobs. And even then, beyond 50 it can still be problemmatical.
If I could give any advice to workers, it would be to always, always network, and when you move on to a new job, stay in touch with those you got to know, even if it's just an email 2x year. And not just people who are above you. People below you may very well be a hiring manager when you are looking for work.
When it comes time for you to find another job, those networks can be invaluable.
I have never seen the job market so bad as it is now. In some ways, I think the Internet has made this problem worse. It used to be that you only had the option of applying for local jobs or knowing of a job in another area because of a contact that you had. Now, I am convinved that people just fire off resumes when they see something interesting, whether it be local or in Tim Buc Too. All it does is glut the company with lots of resumes to filter through. As far as the older worker, my husband is 55 and has been out of work for 5 months. He has had 6 interviews and was qualified and more than qualified for all of them. But in two cases, I would say it was clearly an age situation. One interviewer flat out asked if he planned to retire in a couple of years and the other indicated that they were impressed with his qualifications but they chose someone who better fit the needs of their company. Translated that means they hired someone with less experience so they could pay them less money. What they don't realize is that after five months of unemployment (if you are counting that means it ends in four weeks and then we have nothing!), he would be willing to take anything at any wage. But Burger King is not going to hire someone who has a Masters degree! It's a catch 22 situation.
I hope the human resources person can give some suggestions as to where people over 50 can work. I am only 51, I need to work and common sense tells you that other 51 year olds need to work, also. Where are people supposed to work until they are 67 1/2 and 70?
Well, antiques, you'd have to tell us what you're qualified to do before any suggestions can go out...if you're a pharmacist there's one set of employment opportunities, and if you're a train engineer there's another. I don't think there's a blanket answer on where to work. May not be the favorite place in the world, but Walmart and Kroger are EXCELLENT about hiring "older" workers - being 51 myself, I have trouble grasping that we're considered "old"!
Well, antiques, you'd have to tell us what you're qualified to do before any suggestions can go out...if you're a pharmacist there's one set of employment opportunities, and if you're a train engineer there's another. I don't think there's a blanket answer on where to work. May not be the favorite place in the world, but Walmart and Kroger are EXCELLENT about hiring "older" workers - being 51 myself, I have trouble grasping that we're considered "old"!
Me too! Someone at work is older than I am and is making half of what I make...I attribute it to less education/experience in the job. Someone half my age is making half of what I make...I attribute it to the same thing as the older worker. I never fear about not being hired because I'm older...I just keep reinventing myself. In the end, I think that one's ability to be hired is a combination of what you bring to the table (in my case right now, pure potential gained from prior work experience in a different but closely related field), the job market in the area where you are, and your appetite for the salary and work conditions offered to you. If you make yourself believe that age has something to do with your ability to be hired, you've already lost part of the battle, IMO.
Dolly, I'm replying to the last sentence in your post, which is the same situation that I am in -- "Burger King won't hire someone with a master's degree". No, they won't. Neither will Walmart. Somewhere in the previous posts I read that corporate America expected you to retire at 51. Again, this age cannot collect Social Security until they are 67 1/2. Those just a few years behind can't collect until they are seventy. This is quite a few years to live without working. I have never had any problem obtaining work until I returned to the Atlanta area (which is another issue in itself) and I do look a bit younger than 50. I also agree that the Internet factor is a problem. You have no way to follow up. Substituting emails for the days of calling the human resource office hasn't worked for me.
51 years old... 25+ years in the world of work... what are your skills? Surely you have spent all this time building a career in a field which values your extensive experience..... right?
Hi, I have a friend that is 57 years old and has a excellent work history working on the assembly line. She has worked four years on the assembly line in Michigan and then has moved to Tennessee where she is having a very hard time finding work here. This town has big factorys but she cann't seam to get any jobs here. One company here told her they are mainly hiring college students because this town is a college town. Older people make a big mistake moving from good working states to small towns looking for work.
John
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