Content starts here
CLOSE ×

Search

Age Discrimination in Job Search and the Workplace

Reply
Retired Community Manager

Age Discrimination in Job Search and the Workplace

Work-Jobs-Banner-02 (1).png

 

Have you experienced age discrimination? Laurie McCann is a Senior Attorney with AARP Foundation Litigation where her principal responsibilities include litigation and amicus curiae (impartial advisor) participation for AARP on a broad range of age discrimination and other employment issues.

 

Ask AARP Expert Laurie your questions about age discrimination, and share your experience.

43,467 Views
297
Report
Reply
Conversationalist

Don't hold your breath...

 

By law, your employer must supply some of that information to the Dept of Labor for their statistics. 

 

I don't provide that information for anything except for the job application unless I am forced to.  Then I lie without skipping a beat.  I always am truthful on the application but I have discovered the right hand rarely tells the left what it is doing.  I have never gotten dinged by telling the truth on applications or on security forms.  I have never been dinged for lying.  I have had several discussions about that at interviews.  I claim I solve problems.  My task was to get an interview and I did.  I didn't opt to be tossed out over a silly age discrimination carried out by your HR.  I think I am the best you can find.  That works pretty well.  I also have references to back that up.

 

I doubt they will be able to punish you for lying to the recruter since they are not supposed to ask those questions in the first place.  They will be caught in a catch 22.  Normally you can't prove age discrimination because it is your word agaist theirs but if they complain they help your case.  I wouldn't think twice about fighting them and I bet I will win.  Any company that stupid needs to learn a lesson and some old coot gets money and punishes the guilty.

 

A good bit of the age stuff is just to weed out old fools and that works well.  I know 3 men who were successfully prevented into getting back into the work force because they figured they knew better than the company who they should hire.  Most old folks have bad additudes like you.  You want the world to conform to your wishes not the other way around.  If you are not smart enough to play the game, why should they hire an old fool?  They don't!

 

Coders age out younger than engineers so age discrimination is intense for us. 

0 Kudos
3,830 Views
3
Report
Reply
Regular Contributor

Again with the condescending statements. ,some old coot?
3,121 Views
2
Report
Reply
Conversationalist

@BettyB374802 ,

I have been helping persons find jobs since 2010. I do so because my job hunt 2008 – 2010 was worse than a nightmare. People who actually found jobs in this era are emotionally scarred. At the end of my job hunt I was hunting 200+ hours a week and would get at least 10 rejections daily. That takes an emotional toll, but I almost lost my house. I almost retired in my 50s.

 

What I have learned is the older you are the more you ignore advice and your own failures. I think this is stupid or crazy, what do you think? What would you call someone that includes on his resume that he joined the Navy in 1966? All experts advise not to ‘age yourself out’ in your resume. This guy ignored expert advice. He died jobless after job hunting for 7 years. Most years he didn’t even get 1 interview. Who would want a top rung manager who advertises on his resume he is at least 68?

 

He isn’t the only senior I have tried to help with no success. Few care what experts in the job hunt arena advise. What do you call that? Most of them don’t get jobs, ever. This is why business hates seniors! Most don’t listen to advice because they know better. Do you think you know it all?  Do you ignore expert advice?  Do you call them condiscending and think you know better than that fool?  This old fool is still working.  Tell me how stupid, ignorant and condescending I am when you land your job.  I will be eager to learn from your experiance.

 

I am pushing 70 so I am one of those old coots but I have a foot of how to job hunt books most written in 5 years or less.  Every month I research how to find a job on the internet.  I subscribe to over a dozen how to find a job periodicles. I have 85 pages of interview notes, 34 pages of how to write resumes. If I think I am going to job hunt I review ALL my notes and references to get as sharp as I can be. I have helped a few persons locally to find jobs but they took my advice. I landed 6 jobs after 60. How many jobs have you landed?

0 Kudos
3,630 Views
0
Report
Reply
Conversationalist

@BettyB374802, yes I can be viewed as a mean old condescending man! 

 

Ever heard the axium, "You can't teach an old dog new tricks"?  Too bad that is usually the case from what I have seen.  Old persons tend to do what they want not what they are told so industry HATES us!  Maybe you think I waste my time here because I like to make persons feel small.  That is not the case.  2009-2010 was an unbelievable nighmare for me.  Anyone job hunting in that time and found a job are emotionally scarred. The ones who gave up are way less screwed up.   Working 200 hrs a week so you can get 10 rejections a day is hard on you.

 

Since then I have helped others find jobs probably dozens since that is one of my hobbies. I find most old people that can be even 15 years younger than I, to be mind bogglingly stubborn in a very bad way.  I don't know what is wrong with them but they ignore expert advice and ignore their own experiance. Who would want to hire someone like that?  I wouldn't. 

 

The first thing a serious old job hunter has to do is get off their high horse then find out in great detail what they are supposed to do then do it.  You might need 200-300 hrs researching how to write a resume.  50 hours on key word stratigies.  Lastly 200-300 hrs learning job interview techniques. That would include a fake interview with experts who can help you do better.

 

Old fools make it very hard for serious seniors with the right stuff to land a job. I resent them a great deal since they prevent many tallented seniors from being taken seriously.  We need to put in 4 times the effort just to get our foot in the door.

0 Kudos
3,443 Views
0
Report
Reply
Contributor

I would love to learn more about your unique perspective.  I am an out of work Sr. Business Systems Analyst who has been joined at the hip to your occupation as a developer.  I've worked with literally hundreds of them at this point, of all types, on a plethora of technical platforms, and projects enormous and small.  I've been a front line technical BSA tasked with hacking my way thru fragmented spagetti code, ETL processes, and baggage left behind by project teams long gone, and thru the splitting and merging of companies.  You know the drill I'm sure.  No one cares how messy things look deep in the heart of the ship, your job is to keep that ship sailing, and stop complaining about the mess accumulated over time due to the resolving door of contractors.  Solving difficult problems in data result in feeling great about it for...5 minutes, and then on to the next leak in the boat.  If you prove to be good at this, guess what?  You get STUCK there, while others who are getting the new projects get the glory, and especially if they are FTE's and you are stuck in professional services as I got stuck after the crash of 2008/09.  Only to be hired back to same company with a caveat...you must hire thru an Indian company (Syntel where you have a snowball's chance in hell of EVER being either free to be hired by parent company, OR..advancing in your career because, well, you are both a woman AND a 3% minority non-Indian one).  What sane person would not stop and think: "How did this happen"?  I had an unfortunate analogy for all of this:  1) FTE = A real wife, with all the benefits and privileges  2) Professional Services = Concubine, a permanent fixture, but with crap benefits, no vacation time and plenty of reason for apathy 3)  Short term contractor = call girl.    Show up and do the job that no one else wants to because they know its fraught with danger and likely career suicide, so we better get a CONTRACTOR.  But heaven help the contractor (call girl) that comes in and shows up the wife (FTE) by showing too much competency as THAT girl wants to be the NEW wife.  The call girl gets bullied right out of that place!  (Hope I made you laugh) lol  

0 Kudos
2,362 Views
1
Report
Reply
Conversationalist

@KimC575863,  yes I do know the drill.  It isn't so much that they don't care that the code is messy but that cleaning it up may produce an uninteneded error.  I feel if that happens the coder needs to be fired.  If you opt to do something on your own and something screws up you need to go.  There is no room for cocky incompetent showboats in coding. 

 

After 2009 I took anything I was offered.  I was treated like the scum of the earth but I had a job!  One I took a 40k cut in pay from what I was making in 2009.  It was a year contract while most were 6 months.  I continued to job hunt.  There wasn't even an opening during that year.  As it was, my unemployment was running out when I secured my next job.  Out here no head hunter will touch you if you have been out of work for 11 months.

 

 

I was only paid for hours worked so your company was paid holiday pay but you didn't so they were a punishment.  This job I started out making 20k less than 2009 but I get holidays and personal leave.  Now my skills are in high demand because most of us don't use that language anymore.  This is my last job.  It was bad enough to find a job at 66.  I totally aced all my interviews.  For 1 my new manager was at the interview.  She told me I blew away all the competition.  There was only one person who was a way distant second.  He got the job but when they realized they might no get him they started negotiations with me.  They knew I was the most skilled but wanted a younger person.  If they checked references before I might have gotten that job.   That same day I slam dunked a second interview.  It was a pannel of 4 who bombarded me with constant questions for 2 hours.  They were all so easy I wasn't tiered or stressed I figured I slam dunked that one as well.  Those 2 jobs would have had the commutes to hell.  Both had 4 hr RT commutes. I have this one for less but it is only a 2 hr RT commute. That is well worth 10-20k.

 

0 Kudos
3,345 Views
0
Report
Reply
Conversationalist

@JulieK260428, that is a job requirement.  You must meet or exceed those years.  That is not age discrimination.  That is a typical job posting.  I have been hired with triple the manditory experiace. I have been on both sides.  You are asked for a minimum experiance to qualify for the opening. There is enough age discrimination without manufactoring more.

0 Kudos
2,944 Views
0
Report
Reply
Contributor

I‘m not saying age discrimination isn’t out there, but have to comment that  people who feel they were discriminated against because of age might want to ask themselves if being turned down or let go could be attributed to some behavior they aren’t thinking about and could change, such as:

1. Very important! You have to proofread your work—you can’t rely entirely on spellcheck . . . (Judging by some of the comments here, people are not doing either one.) Maybe you need a brush up on English usage or keyboarding. If you are not getting responses from your resume, keep in mind HR recruiters don’t look twice at resumes or applications that are full of bad spelling or poor usage.

2. When you go for an interview are you dressing “old”? Maybe you need to rethink your appearance. Do you need to borrow a sharp suit or outfit or go to a resale shop if you can’t afford something new and current, and look at every day on the job as the day you could be called into a meeting with your manager or the CEO. Don’t let your appearance slide, ever!

3. Are you walking in for an interview or to your job standing or walking straight, neatly groomed, clean and confident?  Or are you schlumping in with run-over heels, spotted or unbrushed coat or jacket, wrinkled and lumpy-looking?

4. How is your demeanor and attitude on the job? Are you complaining about your arthritis, bad back or sore feet? Are you in a grumpy mood?  Do you act and appear to be old and tired? 

5. Are you still interested and interesting? Are you ready to take on new projects? Do you show an eagerness to learn? How willingly do you embrace change?

 

 

2,685 Views
8
Report
Reply
Conversationalist

@m193321f, those are great suggestions.  I find WAY too many seniors are rigid in their additudes.  I have tried to help seniors get jobs over the last decade and too many will not change to get a job.  They know best!  Well if I am a boss I figure I know best and not some old fool.  We are discriminated for real things we do that are not helpful. Pretending that they are the problem and not us doesn't help you.  I think way too many of us are too old to make additude changes and do what we need to do to fit in to a younger crowd.  There is always room for someone with the right skills and additudes no matter their age.

0 Kudos
3,725 Views
1
Report
Reply
Contributor

Please allow me to explain why I find your comment to be ironic.  Once upon a time, I was a young 25 year old who fell on extremely hard times that made finishing my last year of college impossible, with 2 kids in tow, an enormous daycare bill, and making little better than minimum wage.  I took a temp job as a secretary at an aircraft modification center, where I landed in a group of temporary contract engineers that recognized my extreme plight, and who kindly took me under their wing, and actually TAUGHT me Autocad, isometric drawing, and skills I couldn't possibly have gained so quickly any other way, then helped me to get a temp job in another city as a mechanical Autocad drafter.  Not only did I learn and absorp every thing I possibly could, but I continued to learn data management techniques from an awesome software engineer who just so happened to be my supervisor and manager.  To your point about "older folks being unwilling to do new things or being set in their ways" I benefited from the fact that many old school engineers who were about to retire soon were not interested in learning Autocad, but preferred to stick with drafting board & pencil.  So this was a nique that served me well...I did it FOR them, and I remained in that position for 6 more years, became the CAD manager, then went on to follow the technology wave to implementing product data management systems, and then product lifecycle management systems, to heading projects where I designed software modules within product lifecycle systems for a large apparel & footwear manufacturer, and jetting back and forth across the ocean to China gathering requirements and pushing out software to manage development processes.  Then landing at the largest truck manufacturer in the US, and moving into BI Analytics, data warehousing, more software development, truck inventory management system design/development, and then...iOS (Internet of Things) and mobile app development.  

Here is MY POINT. 

Most of my generation, who were in college during the 1980's WERE the generation that spawned the entire technology wave in the first place!  What I have just described to you, is a progressive path of constant adaptation, and learning, more learning, and more LEARNING.  What makes you think that those of us like myself in MY generation suddenly either stopped learning, or being willing to keep learning?  Its personally all that I have ever known, from beginning, to current time.  What makes me so upset, is feeling like suddenly, everything I've ever done, learned, known, and succeeded at, is suddenly disrespected BECAUSE I hit the age of 50+.  Why is that?  And how could that not possibly be experienced and viewed as anything other than blatant age discrimination?   Even worse than this... is that the very thing that I once benefited from so much (mentorship) and swore to pay forward whenever I possibly could (and have) to others, has all but vanished.  How could it possibly be true, that all of the combined wisdom & knowledge I've accumulated in my lifetime, could be viewed as inconsequential?  Tell me!

0 Kudos
2,338 Views
0
Report
Reply
Conversationalist

@m193321f, those are only the minimums of a winning interview.  You need to convince them you will improve their business.  I would try to uncover what they percive are thier process vulnerablities and try to address them. 

 

Once I have started to do this in interview shifts gears. Everyone is interested in what I have to say.  That is what you need to do when you 'are too old' for the job. 

0 Kudos
3,794 Views
0
Report
Reply
Regular Contributor

Good points, m193321f.  Question: How can I get good, reliable feedback to get answers to those questions?  It's not possible to be completely self-aware about all those questions. We need second opinions.

 

0 Kudos
2,747 Views
4
Report
Reply
Conversationalist

@JulieK260428,

Try to locate a job hunt network where you live.  I am sure unless you are in the middle of nowhere there are groups near you.  Remember the saying 2 heads are better than 1?  20-50 are way better than one. 

 

My last hire I was over 67 in an anti age industry. We start age discrimination of coders (comuter programmers) at 50 because most coders lose their ability to code in their 50s. If you impress them enough they will hire you dispite your age.  I assure you you have to be far superior to the next best to be concidered and even that is not always enough.

0 Kudos
2,961 Views
0
Report
Reply
Contributor

Not sure which questions you need the most help with, but I’ll make a stab with this:

 

Do you have teenage or older kids?  They can be very honest critics if you ask their opinions, and often when you don’t ask. Ask a neighbor, sister, or good friend you trust. Even a husband will give his honest opinion if you assure him it won’t hurt your feelings. Or, if you have a recent photo of yourself on FaceBook or can post one, take an honest, critical look as though you were meeting someone for the first time. What do you think? I have done that and was shocked at how fat and frumpy I looked.

It’s pretty obvious you have run down-looking shoes if you care enough to pay attention. I have an acquaintance who is a sweet talented person but her shoes are a disgrace and they make her walk “old”. A snazzy pair of shoes will make your whole outfit look more stylish, trust me! And if you can stand a bit of a heel, the heeled shoes will make you walk differently than if you are wearing flats because you have to pick up your feet and you can’t shuffle. Practice walking in them in front of a mirror if you need to. 

A coat or jacket that needs pressing, brushing or cleaning should be obvious to you if you’re paying attention. 

Go to a good ladies shop, try on something a little out of your comfort zone and ask a clerk for an opinion. You don’t necessarily have to buy anything, but you can get some new perspectives. Very important—unless you already have the toned figure of a goddess, get yourself some shapewear and a good bra—they wiill make you stand up straighter and you will look slimmer and younger instantly.

Go to Sephora or Ulta and have your make up done. Although you may not want the full magilla makeup for work, you can learn some new tricks. Or there are some great videos on u-Tube that demonstrate makeup and hairstyles for mature women designed to make you look younger. Treat yourself by going to a really good salon and ask a stylist for honest advice on hair styles. An up-to-date hairstyle will do wonders.

You may discover a new you!

0 Kudos
2,704 Views
2
Report
Reply
Contributor

Spectacular of you to post this.  So much of it is about confidence, no matter WHAT your age is!  If what we convey to others, is that WE don't think we are worth the effort to take the best care of ourselves as we can, then we are in effect, telling others that we don't think we are worth it.  Why should they hire us?  Worth repeating again...that this fact is true regardless of age.  Nothing is as attractive as confidence, and being comfortable in our own skin. 

I have found myself slipping into the 'what's the use?' mindset in recent times.  I think sometimes the realization that YES, we are definitely getting older, throws us into a 'deer in the headlights' state of mind, and that makes it a self-fulfilling prophecy.  Thank goodness, a very dear friend woke me up to the realization that WE are worth our best effort!  Love thyself.  

Think back, dears.  Teenagers and twenty somethings have warts, zits too. 😉 

Our glass half-full is:  No more PMS.  No more screaming kids and scrambling out of work meetings to pick sick children that expose us to germs and make us use up our sick time.  

Don't lose sight of the fact that we have earned our stripes!  And HEY...our generation actually knows HOW to work HARD.  We didn't grow up sequestering ourselves in our bedrooms playing endless video games.  We (wait for it.....) used our IMAGINATIONS. We didn't have our hands out to our parents complaining that we were bored...we knew how far that would go, right?   We are from the generations that had the BEST music, hands down.  We are from the generation that spawned the entire technology wave.  These are not small things.  😉

0 Kudos
2,399 Views
1
Report
Reply
Conversationalist

I say don't get so pleased with yourself that you over look the faults of seniors.  Although we can learn new tricks,  it is far harder for a senior.  Humans start loseing our flexabile learning in our mid teens.  By our 50s it is pretty bad.  How deeply we are effected is individual.  Some persons lose this type of learning slower than others.  I knew 3 seniors who were laid off 2008 - 2010.  All 4 of us were slow to take advice and new approches.  He had good reasons to do so but we were all wrong in my estimation.  In desperation I experimented with my resume even though I was convinced it was OK and it was.  Unfortunatly, OK means your resume winds up in the trash can.  You need to have a resume that is interesting enough that they want to interview you.

 

At least I went to several country and state funded classes.  The other's were convinced they were great experts in job hunting so they didn't need to go to a class.  The shame is the rules had all changed since the last time they looked but they didn't know that.  I couldn't get it through to any of those dinosaurs. It didn't matter that I found a job or 2 in this environment while none of them got more than a phone interview in a year.  Even though they were all managers, none knew the hiring practices even in their own organization.  It had become automated so you needed less persons involved.  The rules were completely different than when they had a handle of how to secure a job.  One died jobless after 5 years, one retired after 6 years and the third too young to retire slowly and painfully has moved up.  He still has several part time jobs.  1 is a waiter and one more minimum wage job.  He has a commission only job where he writes his own contract proposals. was the fisrt to tell me my resume was too terrible to ever attract an interview.  He got permission from a close friend.  I am sure he also told him to fix his resume.  His company  supplies all the materials while  he manages that contract if he wins.  These are small and short lived but he is moving up after a decade. Our friend is no longer there but he has a good enough track record to continue this process.

 

He is lucky that his wife works and his kids are done college so his bills are managable.

 

None of the fools ever  removed 'no nos' from resumes. While I call up if I don't get a responce because 19 out of 20 times I will at least get a phone interview, they would get 1 responce per year.  They were too old to see they were barking up the wrong tree.

 

 

I knew 3 seniors

0 Kudos
3,168 Views
0
Report
Reply
Contributor

Currently back on the market after being riffed with age discrimination reasoning by current employer, but am finding that many of the telephone first contact interviews are skyped and they want to see what you look like and how old you are before any other transaction or discussion. 

0 Kudos
3,162 Views
0
Report
Reply
Contributor

 I applied for a job as a cad draftsman with a local company several years ago. It was an advertised position. I had a telephone interview and a face to face interview. I had years of experience, since 1978, so experience wasn't an issue. After about a week or two, I called the company to check on the status of my interview. I was told they were looking to put together a "younger and more dynamic team". Because I was told this over the phone and not in writing I didn't have proof of age discrimination so I didn't report it. 

0
Kudos
15775
Views
0 Kudos
3,110 Views
8
Report
Reply
AARP Expert

RossS320399,

Unfortunately, you are not alone.  AARP research shows that very few people who experience or witness age discrimination file a formal complaint. This is one of the reasons AARP continues to challenge decisions that increase the evidentiary hurdles age discrimination victims face.  Too many individuals already believe that it would be futile to complain and that must change.

3,159 Views
6
Report
Reply
Contributor

I have made formal complaints and am ignored by all.

0 Kudos
2,853 Views
0
Report
Reply
Regular Contributor

RossS320399 & Imccann58,

YES! We *must* TAKE INITIATIVE & REPORT age discrimination! Even if we think it's "useless" or "hopeless" or there's "no point" or "no evidence". Let OTHERS determine that!

I have little patience for hopelessness and those who throw in the towel before even fighting. The more we sit back, give up & take it, the more they will & do discriminate! Do NOT prove stereotypes about workers over 50 correct -- the stereotypes that assume we "don't have enough energy" or are "too set" in our ways or too "beaten down by life" to care anymore.

When you give up like this, you do nobody any favors.

Think it's too much work? Well, YES, it IS work. People don't keep or get their rights by sitting at home & wringing their hands. Become part of the solution. By doing nothing & giving up without trying (perhaps incorrectly assuming "there's no use") you help *maintain* the status quo -- the problem of age discrimination.

If you doubt that the efforts of just a few can change things, just look at the #MeToo movement.
3,181 Views
4
Report
Reply
Contributor

Rock on, sister!  Let's just remind the younger generation that we are the largest segment in the population.  Force us into retirement early...and who is going to pay into that social security system that will be bankrupt by the time the younger generation gets to be our age, or sooner?

That's quite a catch-22.  I'm for fighting back.  Not like I haven't been fighting for decades anyway...why stop now?

0 Kudos
2,486 Views
0
Report
Reply
Contributor

I have tried through work and then government agencies. THEY DONT CARE AND DONT DO ANYTHING!

0 Kudos
2,796 Views
2
Report
Reply
Regular Contributor

LauraR90132: Can you please be more specific? We can't begin to help if we don't know exactly what happened & who exactly ignored you & did nothing.

 

When a govt. agency "does nothing" in response to your complaint, it's time to contact the office of the elected official who represents you -- state rep., rep in US Congress, etc.  I've done that with very good results most of the time. Those govt offices work for you & it's your elected official's JOB to remind them of that. They can, and do, often cut thru red tape like it's butter.  It's called "constituent services" & at the federal & state level there's always someone in the elected official's office whose specific job it is to handle exactly these kinds of complaints. 

 

 

0 Kudos
2,702 Views
0
Report
Reply
Conversationalist

@LauraR90132, me too, that is when I changed tactics. Fortunatly for me I am now too old to care.  I was looking for a 6 month job and landed a 5 year one instead.  I am ready to retire. I never thought I would be a late retiree.  I don't mind working but I hate looking for one.

 

0 Kudos
2,850 Views
0
Report
Reply
Regular Contributor

Even when you think there's "no hope" it can be worth reporting. For example, if others have complained of the same thing, that could help EEOC build a case.
0 Kudos
3,087 Views
0
Report
Reply
Newbie

I am experiencing age discrimination right now.

0 Kudos
3,474 Views
0
Report
Reply
Contributor

Laurie,

 

What do you call it when you applied for nearly 40 jobs and they all tell you that you are overqualified.

 

I know it is age discrimination even though I look really good.

 

I do not know how I will make ends meet if I do not find work by next June 2019.  

 

My references are excellent, have a college degree, and even willing to negotiate my salary. 

0 Kudos
3,886 Views
1
Report
Reply
Conversationalist

@MaryannE932960

Reality check!

 

You really need to have a dumbed down version of your resume.  I never succeeded in fooling the manager that I was dumber than he was.  That is a great skill I don't have.  Those jobs are more plentiful but I never got one.

 

Over qualified, is code for this person will take my job if I hire her.  The manager may be stupid but not stupid enough to hire their replacement.

 

You may want to set your sights higher.  It may be easier to get hired in a job where you are a good fit and not over qualified.

 

I have never turned down a job because it paid too low or even tried to negotiate a salary.  In retrospect that was very wise. In one case, I may have retired myself.  The interview was in a small blip in the job market.  Had I not taken that job I would not have gotten another job for 6- 9 months.  That would have put me into the over a year out of work.  No one hires them. The next was where I work now.  I took a 15k cut in salary over the last one but if I didn't take it I would be retired.

 

Trying to negotiate a salary when you should just take the job means there is something wrong with you.  In this job market that means you are retired but just have not figured it out yet.

 

Every month you are out of work you become less desirable.  I know several persons screwed them selves big time by wasting thier precious time when they should be peeling rubber.  I know 2 very smart competent men.  One died after 4 years of unsucessful job hunting.  The other could have secured a job easily if he followed my advice.  Instead he followed the advice of his old cronies.  They were out of touch.  My advice was to get a job ASAP.  He should have secured something in 3 months.  It would have been a crap job but he could have upgraded.  He could have finished all his certifications while he had a salary.  Then look for a good job.  Instead it took him much longer to finish all his certifications than he would have imagined.  By then he was unhireable since he was out of work for a year.  10 years later he still doesn't have a real job.  He has several part time jobs and one has a carrer path while the others pay the bills.  He would have done much better following my advice.

 

Have you found any network events (job hunt network)?  Have you taken advantage of a local government enity that will help you find a job?  Have you read at least a dozen articles on how to write a resume.  You are not supposed to leave ANY clue to how old you are on your resume.  That may be why you have gotten 40 rejections.  From what you are telling us your resume sucks! You need to kick your job search into high gear!  Next you need to bone up on how to interview.  Again 10 articles is a bare minimum to get you in the running.

 

Most persons over 60 will NEVER find a job in the current job market.  If you do, you are one of a few who secures a job, you must have done many things very right.

 

Only negotiate if you really don't need the job.  If you are working for cheap you are more likely to stay employed because they are screwing you.  But you have a job!  Take what you can get and don't look the gift horse in the mouth.  That may end your carreer. 

 

If you really are being paid too little get a better job while you have a job.  If you are working you are expected to negotiate for a new position if you aren't, you are a fool and that might have been your last mistake in your carreer.  You will not get many chances for a job if you haven't figured that out yet.  I wuld get about 1 job offer in a year.  I have secured 6 jobs after 60 so I can speak from experiance.  That is a remarkable record if you don't know.  I know what worked for me and what did not.

0 Kudos
5,025 Views
0
Report
Reply
Contributor

I am so worried if I don't find a job by next June 2019, I will have to live in my car and rent out my home since I have five years left on my mortgage and can not obtain a job.  Very nervous.  

 

I am educated, and can not even get an Admin job and I look great.

 

It is unfair that being in that in between age bracket of 58 and 64, that you can not find any work due to age discrimination.

3,890 Views
0
Report
Reply
cancel
Showing results for 
Show  only  | Search instead for 
Did you mean: 
Users
Need to Know

NEW: AARP Games Tournament Tuesdays! This week, achieve a top score in Atari Centipede® and you could win $100! Learn More.

AARP Games Tournament Tuesdays

More From AARP