I’d love to apply, but I don’t have a piece of paper from a college saying I am smart [:(]
I enjoy writing, like trains, and like taking photos. I just don’t know how you go about finding the topics Trains wants to cover. Sure would be an interesting job… and I sure NEED a job right now! [sigh]
Sir Madog’s experience is pretty typical, I think in Germany, judging from the experiences several friends in the mechanical engineering field there who are over 50 have had. And it’s tough here too for many professionals, engineers, etc. over 50. They can find jobs, but usually for an entry-level position in another field with fewer skills and experience. In other words, a greeter at a Walmart!
Yeah, a greeter at a Wal-Marts job isn’t much if you’re an engineer, but at least it’s something. Gets back to my theory of not being idle and finding a job being easier if you have a job, whatever it is.
According to an article in Readers Digest, If you are unemployed for more than six months, you should be looking for an entry level job in your field again anyway. HR departments will assume that if others have not hired you within six months, there must be a reason for this and they will reject your resume out of hand.
My nephew was laid off from his construction job (as a buyer and specifier of material) at the end of a particular job. He was hired by another company in the same city in the same week. If not that, then, Hello Walmart!.
BTW: Walmart jobs START at $17.00 / hour out here. So much for minimum wage, eh?
ROAR
… which is most likely why I can’t land a job. It is bad enough I can’t find a job listing to even apply for, but no one seems remotely interested in me. It isn’t my fault the economy tanked and time has passed since I have worked. But I have to suffer because of it…
Also, I disagree that employers want older people. My experience is that the older you are the LESS likely you will be hired. Employers want people who have yet to be “molded”. Fresh, inexperienced college grads get the jobs because they are CHEAP and don’t have any on the job experience yet. It doesn’t matter that so many have no work ethic…
AND don’t believe the media’s unemployment numbers. As soon as you stop getting unemployment checks, you drop off their radar.
(sorry, but I need to vent… this is a very touchy topic)
Older or younger…it really depends on the employer. I’m an employer and I prefer older workers…not 90 years old of course…but 40 to 65. For the most part they come with experience and realistic career expectations. It is nice when you can hire someone and point him or her in the right direction, and they know what to do next… I’m not down on younger workers, but quite often they know it all and have all the answers…a bad situation for any business and a potential fatal blow to a small one. One of the most important things experience teaches you is what you don’t know and having a healthy respect for one’s own limitations.
It depends on what your applying for. Sir Madog could probably get a job in Information Technology if he had that background same with Medical or Legal. Some occupational fields age is irrelevant, others it’s not. Mechanical Engineering I would gather like IT you need to stay fairly current on. Serveral large German firms were over here in the United States recruiting for IT. Seems to me if they are spending money to recruit Americans in the United States, clearly there has to be a shortage in Germany. However, I don’t know the German labor market.
My last two employers, IBM and then Verizon…age was not a factor in the hiring decision. In fact the guy I was hired with at Verizon was 55. I just switched jobs last year at 49, again no problem. A few things I do not do with a job search though:
Look at newspaper or Internet listings all day.
Send out mass resumes with a vague target.
Wait for someone to call me with an updated status.
Leave a job prospect without gathering or attempting to gather intel why I was not hired (easy to do and sometimes as easy as just asking).
Steps 1-4 help a lot. Additionally it helps if during a job search thats not ALL you do, rather you spend some part of your time learning new skills via Computer Based Training or attending a Community College. If you are up there in age a employer wants to be assured your not going to get the job and just coast with it…
I apologize for my last post… I just needed to vent. But this really isn’t the place to do it, I guess. CMStPnP - if I had the money, I’d LOVE to take some type of course. But how does someone out of school so long get any assistance? You can’t get a job without an education, but you can’t get an education without money, and you can’t get money without a job… a vicious cycle… [*-)]