Finding a Job After 50

Reinvent Yourself for the 21st Century

Jeanette Woodward

• Publisher: Career Press
• Year: 2007
• ISBN:
  9781601638601
• Topic: Persönliche Entwicklung
• Subtopic: Karriere

When you're 50 or 60 years old, the job market is a combat zone, no matter what your skills or experience. Battle-scarred veterans report that they're passed over time and again for jobs which they are eminently qualified for. Successful applicants, often with fewer skills and almost always with far less experience, do seem to have one significant thing in common–they are younger, sometimes painfully younger. There was a time, not that long ago, when you automatically retired at 60 or 65, presuming you actually lived that long. Today, many seniors are still going strong at 60, 70, even 80 and don't intend to retire. Or they've tried the beach hut or snow cottage and found them…BORING. Increasingly, many such seniors are choosing new careers, ones that fit their particular strengths.

Finding a Job After 50 is a "guerilla guide" that gives you the powerful tools you need to substitute real satisfaction for the rat race. Getting the job you want may be a battle, so you have to approach it as such, equipping yourself with the right weapons to succeed in today's job market. Your arsenal better be well stocked before you enter the fray. You are probably healthier, better educated, and more experienced that any previous generation at the same age. You may be the best man or woman for the job. But you're going to have to prove it. To do so, you must know what (and who) you're up against and how to beat it (them)! This book will show you how.

Chapter 1

Discovering What You Really
Want Out of Life

Because we’ve begun by comparing the job hunt to guerilla warfare, let’s continue with the same analogy. Before you leap into the fray, it is necessary to reconnoiter, or as the dictionary defines it, look around and make a preliminary inspection of the territory. In this case, the unknown and sometimes-hostile territory to be explored is the job market. Perhaps it would be a good idea to begin by asking yourself why you are interested in exploring the job market in the first place.

It is likely that, if you are in your 50s or 60s, you’ve been in your present job for a long time. One of our characteristics as older employees is that we stay put and do not hop from job to job. We have settled into our positions and statistics indicate that we are apt to remain with the same employer until retirement. Recent corporate downsizing has interfered with this pattern, and a number of people have found themselves in the job market when they had no desire to be there. However, it’s still quite likely that you’re doing more or less the same job that you have been doing for a good many years.

Are You Stuck in a Rut?

Sometimes, we remain in a job we dislike because we might lose our retirement pensions. Fortunately, recent legislation and retirement investment accounts are making it possible for people to take their nest eggs with them. If you’re reluctant to change jobs for this reason, be sure you look carefully into your options. You may be worrying unnecessarily. Talk with both your workplace HR rep and with a certified financial planner. Between the two of them, you should be able to get a clear enough picture of your financial situation to make an informed decision.

Even if pension loss is not the issue, you may still be reluctant to change jobs. You may allow years to pass while you complain bitterly. Yet somehow, you never get around to doing anything to make yourself happier or more productive. Some people let their miseries and frustrations go on too long; then they finally boil over. They wake up one morning and decide they’ve had it. They can’t go on any longer and so they resign or retire without really considering how the decision will impact the rest of their lives.

Take a Reading

How do you really feel about your job? Sure, everyone complains, but do you really dislike going to work? Do you spend the weekend dreading Monday? Find a time to have a heart-to-heart talk with yourself when nothing out of the ordinary has happened at work, when you’re not feeling particularly distressed or angry. Use this opportunity to go over the pluses and minuses of remaining in your present job. Take out paper and pencil and write down each response so you can see both sides clearly. Here are some basic questions to get you started:

How do you get along with your boss?

Of course, we are all critical of the boss as a matter of principle. We can all be Dilberts, taking pleasure in catching the boss in foolish mistakes. However, some of us have more serious problems. Maybe your boss makes you feel inadequate. He or she does not tolerate mistakes, and so you live in fear that your failures will be discovered. Does your boss respect you or merely tolerate you? Ask yourself whether your relationship is just mildly irritating or interfering with your happiness and sense of well-being.

How do you get along with your coworkers?

Interpersonal friction and rivalry are a natural part of the work experience, but sometimes it gets out of hand. When you think about the people you work with, the pleasure you get from their company should outweigh the negative side. Sure, there’s always competition. There will be times when you resent their successes or feel angry that a decision was made behind your back. But if you don’t feel happy to see at least some of your coworkers on Monday morning, then these hostilities have gone too far. Your work environment may be so highly competitive that you can never relax and enjoy one another. Sometimes, you can simply refuse to play that game and deliberately set about reestablishing relationships. Sometimes, however, that just isn’t possible.

Is there a good balance between your personal life and your work life?

Do you have the time and the energy to do at least some enjoyable things during the week, or do you come home from work feeling so exhausted that you can do nothing more than collapse in front of the television? Of course, everyone’s worn out after a long day at work, but does it feel as if your whole life is spent going to or recovering from work? Do you bring a pile of paperwork home with you? When your friend or spouse suggests dinner at a nice restaurant, does it seem to be too much of an effort? It’s true that all of us occasionally need to take off our shoes and curl up for a nice quiet evening, but if this is what you do night after night, you have a more serious problem. Ask yourself what you really want to change and what you want to hold onto. If flagging energy is your main problem, maybe you can cut back a bit. Remaining in the same field as an independent consultant might be a better option.

Does your work involve travel?

If so, has it become increasingly stressful? Has the fun gone out of it? Does a business trip now mean little more than jetlag, a lonely hotel, and a cramped airline seat? As we get older, we tend to appreciate our own bed, our own bathroom, and our own routines a lot more than we did when we were young. With less energy at our disposal, we may not take advantage of the cultural and recreational opportunities that business travel offers. Are there ways that you can reduce travel with more phone calls and e-mail messages, or would this be viewed as failing to do your job?

How important are power and prestige to you?

Do you derive a sense of importance from your work? Do you get a lot of satisfaction out of being a leader who is looked up to by others in your company? In other words, is your job essential to your self-esteem? If you answered yes to these questions, you are not a good candidate for retirement, and a more relaxing, less stressful job may not satisfy your needs.

On the other hand, it may be time to take yourself in hand and examine your power and status needs. One of the people you will meet in the next chapter is Mel, a “captain of industry,” who wheeled and dealed himself all the way to the top corporate echelon. Until he found his own way, Mel’s later years were filled with anger at colleagues who shoved him aside, rejection by his family who refused to be treated as underlings, and frustration when power and prestige did not bring happiness. These are fleeting riches and there’s always someone coming along behind you who will be delighted to take your place. Most people find that it is better to voluntarily surrender this corporate booty and seek a more satisfying lifestyle.

Does your job seem meaningless?

Do you feel as if your life hasn’t gone in the direction you intended? When you were young, you probably wanted to save the world or at least make it a better place. As you became involved in your career, you tended to lose sight of those idealistic goals but they remained in the background, buried somewhere in the depths of your conscience. As you grow older, you may find yourself asking, “Why am I doing this? What does my life mean?” Does it seem that you’ve accomplished too little of real importance? Does the money you’ve earned seem less important than the values you’ve compromised? Everyone arriving at middle age must make peace with youthful dreams, but if this sense of dissatisfaction is eating away at you, now may be the time to do something about it. If you really want to make the world a better place, then do it!

What would you do if you retired tomorrow?

Are rest and relaxation the first things that come to mind? Snoozing in your recliner will quickly lose its charm when you retire. Do you have hobbies and interests that you would pursue more actively in retirement, or do you merely have some vague ideas about leisure pursuits that interest you? If you don’t have a definite plan filled with activities you already enjoy, then you’re probably not ready for retirement. Once again, we human beings need to be actively involved in life. Retirement should represent a transition to a more enjoyable but still active lifestyle.

How do you feel about a part-time job?

Many of us decide that part-time work is a good compromise between an all-consuming full-time job and no job at all. It can be a great choice, providing the pleasures that come with it outweigh the hassle. Part-time work can bring structure to your life when you might otherwise be feeling adrift and purposeless. Because the transition from a life centering around a job to a life without that center can be difficult, a part-time job allows you to make adjustments gradually, enjoying the best of both worlds.

Whether or not you remain with your present employer or look elsewhere, part-time jobs are often poor-paying, and part-timers may have little status. Benefits such as health insurance may be available only for full-time staff. Look into employers who encourage job-sharing, as this option can provide many of the perks of a full-time job without all those hours. Find out about the various ways you can obtain health insurance through local clubs and other organizations. For example, find out if your local chamber of commerce offers a policy to its members, and check into professional groups that attract self-employed businesspeople. If you will qualify for Medicare in just a few years, it may be worthwhile paying a somewhat higher premium to “buy” your freedom.

If you’re a woman, do you feel as if you never got your turn at bat?

Do you feel that you’ve never had the chance to do the things you imagined when you were growing up? Somehow a home and children absorbed your life and the dream of becoming a doctor, lawyer, or corporate executive was relegated to a back closet. Husbands and wives of the same age often find themselves at different stages in their personal development. Men may have spent their adult lives climbing the ladder of success, only to find that it never provided the satisfaction they were looking for. Women, on the other hand, may feel deprived. Through the years, they harbored dreams of exciting careers but subordinated those ambitions to the needs of their families. Now their children are grown and there is little reason why they should not, to paraphrase the inspiring Joseph Campbell, follow their bliss.

Do you want a new job or a whole new career?

How much time and effort do you want to put into your plan? Have you had an exhausting career and are looking for a job that will b...