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I did have someone with less experience and education get a job over me. The hiring manager who interviewed me basically told me I was overqualified. It is true that I would have left as soon as a better paying job came along. The likelihood of the person with just a high school diploma getting a better offer was a lot lower. That leaves people like me stuck without many options.
With all due respect, you actually have quite a few options. One of them is to take a look at your attitude. If you go into a job interview with the thought that you're going to be out of there the first chance you get, you are going to telegraph your lack of enthusiasm to the interviewer whether you realize it or not. If you're not that excited about them, they're not going to be that excited about you, either.
The other thing you can do is to broaden the scope of your job search. Your education and experience have given you skills which most likely can be transfered to a field other than your original one. For example, I graduated from college with a degree in biology at a time when everyone wanted to be an environmentalist and there were a zillion hungry young graduates with biology degrees applying for every job out there.
I got pretty discouraged and when my Mom said maybe I should become a librarian, I thought she was either nuts and/or completely out of touch with reality. But I went ahead and looked into it, just to get her off my back. Turns out my Mom was right. Academic libraries were desperate for people with science backgrounds because they needed subject specialists to help build their collections in the areas of chemistry, physics, biology, etc; and act as library liason with the members of the science faculty.
I got a job as a lowly shelver at the public library along with a scholarship to the University of Denver's School of Library Science and worked my way through grad school. My Master's degree along with my BA in Biology put me in a position to become a faculty member at college/university libraries all over the country.
Your generation is not the first to experience hard times. If you can learn to be flexible and roll with the punches, you'll be a step ahead in the game.
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We're too overqualified for fast food and retail and we're not experienced enough to compete with the older workers who are desperate enough to take entry-level, professional jobs.
You can't have it both ways. At the start of your post you said you couldn't get hired for jobs for which you are "overqualified," yet you go on to claim that overqualified, older workers do get hired. I have served on faculty search committees, and believe me, when we came across a resume from someone with 30 plus year's experience who was applying for an entry level opening as a lowly instructor, we threw that resume into the circular file. We had plenty of applications for our faculty openings since a position on our college staff was considered a plum job for various reasons. But if we were looking for someone to fill an entry level opening, then we were looking for someone at the beginning of their career, not the end.
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We have bills to pay too. Do you think we're "lucky?" Do you think someone in his or her mid to late twenties with several years of experience and a college degree is "lucky" to have a job as a grocery store stocker?
Yes, I do think they're lucky, given the current economy. Your bills must not be that bad if you can turn up your nose at employment which you feel is beneath you. Other generations have suffered through recessions where college educated people had to take low paying jobs, too. My ex-husband and I graduated from college in the middle of a recession. He got a job in a stone quarry outside of Boulder, and I got a job cleaning houses. We lived on a shoestring, but we made it through to the other side. I became an Associate Professor and my husband became an accomplished writer and speaker, earning $70,000 plus a year.
You do what it takes and you do your best. Honest work at ANY job is still honrable.
Last edited by Colorado Rambler; 01-05-2013 at 11:53 AM..
I've lost out on a lot of what were supposed to be entry-level jobs because I had to compete with older and more qualified applicants. It's not like I have no experience. I have almost always held full-time employment since I graduated from high school and I have a few years of supervisory experience. However, that is nothing compared to a 40 year old who has been working twice as long as me.
If your job hunting skills are failing you, then learn something new. Stop applying for entry level jobs. Take some job hunting classes or move.
It's a deliberate attempt to create controversy when they say "older workers" are being hired more over "younger workers" A more accurate description would be "experienced workers" are being hire more over "inexperienced workers". But that wouldn’t get as much attention, would it?
Agree. With so many candidates looking for work, they can afford to be choosey and those that are unemployed, well, many but not all, are willing to take less money than they were getting because of the economy so they are a bargain for the employers.
With all due respect, you actually have quite a few options. One of them is to take a look at your attitude. If you go into a job interview with the thought that you're going to be out of there the first chance you get, you are going to telegraph your lack of enthusiasm to the interviewer whether you realize it or not. If you're not that excited about them, they're not going to be that excited about you, either.
The other thing you can do is to broaden the scope of your job search. Your education and experience have given you skills which most likely can be transfered to a field other than your original one. For example, I graduated from college with a degree in biology at a time when everyone wanted to be an environmentalist and there were a zillion hungry young graduates with biology degrees applying for every job out there.
I got pretty discouraged and when my Mom said maybe I should become a librarian, I thought she was either nuts and/or completely out of touch with reality. But I went ahead and looked into it, just to get her off my back. Turns out my Mom was right. Academic libraries were desperate for people with science backgrounds because they needed subject specialists to help build their collections in the areas of chemistry, physics, biology, etc; and act as library liason with the members of the science faculty.
I got a job as a lowly shelver at the public library along with a scholarship to the University of Denver's School of Library Science and worked my way through grad school. My Master's degree along with my BA in Biology put me in a position to become a faculty member at college/university libraries all over the country.
Your generation is not the first to experience hard times. If you can learn to be flexible and roll with the punches, you'll be a step ahead in the game.
You can't have it both ways. At the start of your post you said you couldn't get hired for jobs for which you are "overqualified," yet you go on to claim that overqualified, older workers do get hired. I have served on faculty search committees, and believe me, when we came across a resume from someone with 30 plus year's experience who was applying for an entry level opening as a lowly instructor, we threw that resume into the circular file. We had plenty of applications for our faculty openings since a position on our college staff was considered a plum job for various reasons. But if we were looking for someone to fill an entry level opening, then we were looking for someone at the beginning of their career, not the end.
Yes, I do think they're lucky, given the current economy. Your bills must not be that bad if you can turn up your nose at employment which you feel is beneath you. Other generations have suffered through recessions where college educated people had to take low paying jobs, too. My ex-husband and I graduated from college in the middle of a recession. He got a job in a stone quarry outside of Boulder, and I got a job cleaning houses. We lived on a shoestring, but we made it through to the other side. I became an Associate Professor and my husband became an accomplished writer and speaker, earning $70,000 plus a year.
You do what it takes and you do your best. Honest work at ANY job is still honrable.
And yet, YOU can't have it both ways, either. Especially since you think it's appropriate to casually toss a 50-something's application for an entry-level position in the basket. Perhaps that person needed the job, and was willing to work for a lower salary. That applicant apparently didn't think that the entry-level position was beneath him, since he actually applied for the job.
You post is just chock-full of contempt for those who are trying, regardless of their age/circumstances.
With all due respect, you actually have quite a few options. One of them is to take a look at your attitude. If you go into a job interview with the thought that you're going to be out of there the first chance you get, you are going to telegraph your lack of enthusiasm to the interviewer whether you realize it or not. If you're not that excited about them, they're not going to be that excited about you, either.
The other thing you can do is to broaden the scope of your job search. Your education and experience have given you skills which most likely can be transfered to a field other than your original one. For example, I graduated from college with a degree in biology at a time when everyone wanted to be an environmentalist and there were a zillion hungry young graduates with biology degrees applying for every job out there.
I got pretty discouraged and when my Mom said maybe I should become a librarian, I thought she was either nuts and/or completely out of touch with reality. But I went ahead and looked into it, just to get her off my back. Turns out my Mom was right. Academic libraries were desperate for people with science backgrounds because they needed subject specialists to help build their collections in the areas of chemistry, physics, biology, etc; and act as library liason with the members of the science faculty.
I got a job as a lowly shelver at the public library along with a scholarship to the University of Denver's School of Library Science and worked my way through grad school. My Master's degree along with my BA in Biology put me in a position to become a faculty member at college/university libraries all over the country.
Your generation is not the first to experience hard times. If you can learn to be flexible and roll with the punches, you'll be a step ahead in the game.
You can't have it both ways. At the start of your post you said you couldn't get hired for jobs for which you are "overqualified," yet you go on to claim that overqualified, older workers do get hired. I have served on faculty search committees, and believe me, when we came across a resume from someone with 30 plus year's experience who was applying for an entry level opening as a lowly instructor, we threw that resume into the circular file. We had plenty of applications for our faculty openings since a position on our college staff was considered a plum job for various reasons. But if we were looking for someone to fill an entry level opening, then we were looking for someone at the beginning of their career, not the end.
Yes, I do think they're lucky, given the current economy. Your bills must not be that bad if you can turn up your nose at employment which you feel is beneath you. Other generations have suffered through recessions where college educated people had to take low paying jobs, too. My ex-husband and I graduated from college in the middle of a recession. He got a job in a stone quarry outside of Boulder, and I got a job cleaning houses. We lived on a shoestring, but we made it through to the other side. I became an Associate Professor and my husband became an accomplished writer and speaker, earning $70,000 plus a year.
You do what it takes and you do your best. Honest work at ANY job is still honrable.
Um, I have almost always maintained full-time employment because of my willingness to take anything. I AM employed. I don't know why people are making all of these incorrect inferences. And, yes, I can have it both ways. I believe that jobs that don't require a college degree are more likely to label someone overqualified. If the younger people are lucky to being getting jobs at Starbucks, then it would only be fair to say that the older people are lucky to be getting jobs that pay entry-level salaries.
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Originally Posted by move4ward
If your job hunting skills are failing you, then learn something new. Stop applying for entry level jobs. Take some job hunting classes or move.
Um, I have a job. It took me 9 months to get a better job after graduation which is within the norm during this recession, but I have effortlessly maintained full-time employment throughout the whole economic downturn.
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Originally Posted by MassVt
And yet, YOU can't have it both ways, either. Especially since you think it's appropriate to casually toss a 50-something's application for an entry-level position in the basket. Perhaps that person needed the job, and was willing to work for a lower salary. That applicant apparently didn't think that the entry-level position was beneath him, since he actually applied for the job.
You post is just chock-full of contempt for those who are trying, regardless of their age/circumstances.
Agree. It's either employers are turning away the overqualified or they're not. If there are differences between industries, then say so. How can a person give someone the advice to take anything and then turn around and say they turn away the overqualified? That makes no sense.
where I work they LOVE the young ones but have to keep a mix so us older ones can set an example of the expected work ethic. The young ones have the energy, will take on the extra committee work, will work for less-but often never fully commit to the institution. The older workers are fully committed but are exhausted from being overworked.
That is a load of <insert your favorite scatological term>. You are stereotyping an entire generation.
Yes, some under 30 people are flakes. Others are entitled. And many of them are driven career oriented hard working people. Same as your generation and mine.
I agree wholeheartedly with this post. And I find it interesting considering this poster claims to be someone in this age group. Either he's lying about his age, or he has a great distaste for people his age.
I can find just as many spoiled, entitled 50-year-olds as I can people under 30. Such stereotyping creates class/generational warfare. As a 27-year-old who went from growing up in a blue collar family in Metro Detroit, to going to a low quality public school district and then on to one of the state's (not to mention country's) best universities, and then on to starting my own career in a completely different part of the country without any help, it deeply offends me when my entire generation is classified as a bunch of entitled cry babies.
As I look at people my age, I could have it much worse. I could be a HS or college drop out with nothing to show for my life. I see this far too often in the town I grew up in.
Wow, how things have changed. When I first started college in 2003, I remember reading about the huge influx of baby boomers set to retire over the next couple decades. It was going to be such that there would actually be a shortage of workers. Fast forward to 2008. I graduated from college into one of the worst job markets in the last 50 years or so. All the labor shortages they had talked about and written about five years prior were no longer valid. On the contrary, there were far too many workers and companies continued slimming down. To top it off, many of the older workers who should have retired by now lost most, if not all, of their savings during this recession. They have held off retiring, thus holding on to a lot of the jobs that younger workers should now be moving into. It's a sad state of affairs, but this is the reality our generation is facing.
I am that generation. I don't see them lining up for manual labor/ditch digging/break a sweat work
When you're paying back student loans, who can afford it? You're darn right I'm not looking for low paying jobs if I don't have to. Sure, I'll take what I need to to pay my bills. But I'm going to avoid taking that type of job because I can't afford to. And trust me, it's not because I think the work is below me. I come from a low income background, I know what it's like to work harder than others who have been coddled and had life handed to them. It's simply because I can't afford to take a job at that pay level.
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Originally Posted by andywire
The 55 YO simply has a better grasp on how the world functions, and how you don't always get what you want
Not always. There are plenty of 50+-year-olds who are blubbering idiots and who don't have a clue how the world works. It's just at that point in their lives they're so stubborn and absorbed in their own ignorance that they truly believe they have it all figured out. Same applies to any stubborn ignoramus at any age for that matter. It's those folks who can admit that they don't know s**t that have it figured out.
Um, I have a job. It took me 9 months to get a better job after graduation which is within the norm during this recession, but I have effortlessly maintained full-time employment throughout the whole economic downturn.
Congratulations.
From 2007, I was laid off twice during the recession(a company got sold, another company filed bankruptcy), and quit another job. It took less than a month to find a new job, each time. It was actually easier to find a job now, than during the boom. We had a mass layoff and hundreds of employees turned in their resignation, before they even hit the unemployment line.
The difference were job hunting skills classes. Class averaged a 40% salary increase. Class was awesome. We learned from each other. It's fun seeing what works and trying new things.
During the boom times, I never bothered with free classess. If it's free, it must not be worth much. I and never made more than $12/hr. I would go for months with no job, while living with family. It was supposed to be good during the 2000's.
Last edited by move4ward; 01-05-2013 at 04:07 PM..
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