Anyone over 55 and gotten a new job?

[Izzy]

I am 61. 4 1/2 years ago I lost my job. It took me a year a half to get another job and it was at a lower salary than what I was making. It was a rude awakening going to interviews and see how apparent discrimination is. In two specific cases, the hiring manager literally ended the interview before it started when she saw me and realized I was older. Though I look young for my age and come across more youthful, the interviews were cut short and I was dismissed. In one case after 4 phone interviews, one with the person I would be reporting to I felt fairly confident about my face to face interview. It was an all day interview where I would be meeting with 5 different people. After the first person greeted me it was very clear they were not going to give me an opportunity to present myself fairly. I was put on a schedule but was kept waiting on 3 of the 5 interviews. The interview with the manager, I was dismissed. She stood up and said "you can go now." And to top it off they never contacted me telling me I didn't get the job. It was a very frustrating time that left me feeling that my years of experience and education meant nothing because I was older. I too would like to look for another job but I am not sure I want to put myself through that again. On another note my brother who is 4 years older wanted to get out of Chicago and Midwest weather and he got a job in Palm Springs. He packed up his life in Chicago and moved there with hopes of a new beginning. His job lasted 3 months. He hated it. He loved the area but hated the job. We encouraged him to come back to Chicago but he said no. His early career was in social work and counseling. Someone suggested he go back to that. 3 1/2 months later he was hired in the professional area he left 25 years ago. He has been promoted twice and given a supervisory position. He absolutely loves it.

I just think some fields are open to hiring older people and some fields aren't. I think my brother nailed it by going back to a field that appreciates and values experience and is not necessarily looking for that young vibrant millennial. I would recommend researching jobs in different areas which you could qualify for. Expand your horizons. Consider doing something different. I also agree that you can always be looking, interviewing and seeing what is out there. I would not recommend quitting your current job unless you are financially secure and it is something you are ok with.

[lorajc]

I lost my job at 56 and kept interviewing........I have a technical school degree in Medical Secretary and live in a depressed area. I definitely feel I was age discriminated. I don't look my age either. After seeing, on a few occasions, the choices they did make.....They were very young.

[Anny]

I went back to study and several part time jobs at age 54. A career change from the work and business I had been involved in but definitely following my interests. I work in academia and have had job offers too in my previous fields. I definitely think it depends on the area and field in which you work, and I found studying or a refresher course to be a good way to open doors

[kat_b]

My company will likely shut down in the next 10 years (retirement and restructuring). I'm in IT (full stack developer) and have set up a routine of taking online classes, a bit every day, so I'm confident in my skill set not being stale. I'd suggest that to anyone 50+ (I'm there, too). I've also started attending tech conferences to network. I am lucky in that people think I'm 10-15 years younger (baby face and years of using sunscreen finally pays off) when they meet me, so face-to-face interaction helps. And there are IT companies that really want to hire women to balance their team, so I often get asked if I like my current situation...

Originally Posted by Jennifer R

I find it disappointing that women have to worry about whether or not their hair is gray in the corporate world. Do men have the same worries? Doesn't seem that way to me.

It is true women face more of it, but I have to share that my SO (66) says that he faces ageism in his field. He's a doc at a walk-in clinic and finds patients want someone who looks like they have experience but isn't stale, so he's debating some superficial changes. Yes, he has to do continuing education to keep his certs, but they want to subconsciously feel he's reading about current trends/meds/modalities. Of course some think he should be familiar with every study they have looked up online, which, for a GP isn't possible, but that's another story.

[bzar]

i'm in project management. the last 2 people who came on board in the past 2 years are in their 2nd career and older than me. both are men in their 60s. i've been with the company for 26 years.

my original profession was CPA, but i've only worked in accounting in a previous job 1x and worked in audit for a brief stint when i initially joined my current company. i worked in planning and engineering for the majority of my career here. going the project management route 3 years ago opened up new possibilities for me - i went ahead and obtained my PMP certification once i came on board - everyone else in the department had theirs, so i followed suit.

i meet a lot of people at PMI (project mgt institute) events who got their project management cert (PMP) while they were between jobs. i'm seeing a growing number of companies and government agencies creating a project management division. many hire people from diverse backgrounds since project management, once you become knowledgeable about it, is transferable to many situations.