Anyone Out There Over 50 Find It Hard Getting A Job? (job application, applications)

[bobsell]

Originally Posted by zentropa

I have to wonder, if you have been in a field for 30+ years, why are you not managing, mentoring and leading as a director or VP?

Because directors and VP's are not retiring and opening up those roles to new people. And they're not mentoring people either.

[bobsell]

I'll post my personal experience.

When I was out of work, I used to attend two different job seekers clubs - they discussed job openings, job search strategies, etc. The meetings easily had about 30-50 people.

I was the youngest one there, and I was in my 40's at the time.

Seems that silver is not valued in the job market.

[JimG2]

At 55 I can't even get an interview

[STLgaltoo]

Originally Posted by tj2013

About 2 years ago while on unemployment I had to report to the local unemployment office here in NY.

The number of people 50 plus that were also there was staggering. Nearly everyone had some type of horrible story that happened to them that all basically centered around being considered "old" and being replaced by younger employees.

Age discrimination seems very real and its seems like older people get forced off the job routinely. One of the applicants was told that 40 years old was considered too old by his employer.

I wish these so called age discrimination laws were vigorously enforced.

Ah...that mentality will catch up to THOSE PEOPLE too. Would love to be there to see it. Paybacks...

[loves2read]

Originally Posted by 2nccoast

I am sorry for the situation you're in. If you need a survival job and do not mind physically touching others (some people do), become a CNA. Or apply for a Pharmacy Tech position. The barriers to entry for both are very low, and there is a fairly high demand. And neither of those jobs requires a degree. If you like the medical field, then try to work and study your way into nursing or Physical Therapy Assistant. I had no problems finding a job at 56, as a physical therapist.

Physical therapy in my local area--DFW TX--has become very tiered--
Need MS to get decent job
Now PT assistant is different matter I imagine

And as one ages, the physical demands of some physical therapy work can be injurious to you as the person working with the patient

If you can get the money you might consider ultrasound technician---
That job can be done w/o lot of physical effort/moving on your part and is likely to have growth opportunity

Some other things to consider--
I have read several articles about the changing dynamics of seniors needing help to downsize
People to help them physically empty their homes, have garage sales or take to charity sites all the personal items they can't take to smaller living space
There is also growing need for general home help for seniors--people to do grocery shopping, drive to appointments (many seniors doen't do Uber), help with pets
Those types of jobs don't require lot of computer fluency--just common sense, compassion, and ability to move w/o much difficulty...maybe lift 50 lbs

I'd on't know about your general location and how that ties into any of my suggestions
Have home in two states--DFW TX area and south of Sarasota FL--
The number of seniors working jobs in fast food/retail in Sarasota area is huge--
People retire here and need supplemental income
Seniors get hired based on factors that might seem self-explanatory
You are more likely to see seniors checking at WalMart or Publix, the big grocery chain...
There were seniors doing floor work at the local Macy's before it closed in an older mall
The newer Macy's location has fewer seniors and more younger retail floor help--younger demographic actually shops that mall...
Costco has fewer seniors working there than Publix--same with Best Buy--few seniors on floor

There are very few younger people/teens working jobs that normally went to them when I was in college 50 yrs ago
There has been a gradual decline in that type of work placement for many reasons
In TX we see more middle-age vs seniors in those jobs and many working two jobs


Age discrimination has been alive and well for decades
It got much worse in 08 when companies were using the stock market dump as excuse to layoff thousands who were close to retirement age because they could get away with it and not be charged w/age discrimination

[suziq38]

Age is a problem. Even though we are intelligent, our bodies look different, we are more set in our ways, and we are slower. I speak for myself. I was a pharmaceutical sales rep for 13 or so years. The retirement plan is very low, as half of that time, I worked part-time. When my company downsized and eventually closed, I was out of a job. I decided to become a substitute teacher. I was in my late 40's. Eventually, an adult school wanted to hire me on a part-time basis, no medical insurance. The pay was high, and I needed to get a credential on top of my college degree in order to work at the school. The credential degree cost about $3K, which was not bad. Now the same degree cost is about $10K. I have been asked to get a master's degree to go into administration, but I don't want to pay upwards of $10K for it at the age of 62. Some people retire at 62! I will keep working until my body tells me to quit. Luckily for me my husband retired on a government pension. I wish I was smarter when I was younger and got a government job. The pensions are much higher than the private sector.
My good friend just retired from her teaching job. Her pay was $103,000.00 her last year without benefits. With benefits the total pay was about $122K. She was a kindergarten teacher! Granted she worked her butt off for over 35 years, but WOW! Age didn't matter much for her as she belongs to a union. The union protects her if her boss wanted to fire her just because of her age. She also made sure to look as best as she could....dyed her hair, exercised everyday at 5:30AM, watched her diet, acted youthful, etc. She was 61 but looked as if she were 51.
Good for her!

[easy62]

I started working right out of high school never went to college had decent paying blue collar jobs. I didn’t job skip all that much i got out of high school in 1974 worked manual labor jobs till 1979 when i started in my job i retired from in 2009 after working there for 30 yrs i retired it was a big wholesaler of sportswear that we sold to screen printers or embroidery companies was decent money I worked in the warehouse driving material handling machines and I always had a job even when the economy took a dump. So I believed that the people who job skip trying to make the big bucks it will come a haunt you later on because people who were making the big money were the first to be laid off and the ones mostly effected by this were the older employees. So having a college degree isn’t all that it’s cracked up to be especially in a field that is over saturated with others in the same boat as your in. So me having my blue collar job and doing work that others didn’t want to do kept me employed even in economic downturns.

[Nanny Goat]

In Health Care or I doubt I'd be able to find work. It's frightening for many over 50.

[AnnSmithJones]

Originally Posted by branh0913

This is why I want to be semi-retired or have enough of a nestegg at 50 to the point where if they really had to let me go, I wouldn't care. This is why I take the bus instead of purchasing a BMW or Mercedes. Sure I could get a BMW or Mercedes since I live in a fairly inexpensive city (Philly) and make over 6 figures. But I choose to live well below my means. That is why I don't buy a house in the suburbs, because I don't want to deal with the debt. Because at 50 I don't even want to have to stress about a job. I can have at least 6 figures in my bank account, and not worry about how to make ends meet because I can comfortably live off of my savings for years on end. I refuse, and I mean refuse to be 50 and having to worry about the grind day in and day out, competing with younger, more ambitious, and far more cutthroat people. Piece of mind is the name of the game for me. I know it's not easy when you have kids, that is why I won't be having kids in the forseeable future.

Good for you. How is this helpful to this conversation?

[3littlebirdies]

Originally Posted by AnnSmithJones

Good for you. How is this helpful to this conversation?

That sure was a wealth of useless information dropped on us. lol