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Getting the Job You Want After 50 For Dummies
Author:
Published:
August 31, 2015
Overview
Your guide to navigating today's workplace and snagging that perfect job
Whether you're searching for a new job by choice or necessity, consider this book your life raft. You'll find all the resources you need to job-hunt—from building an online presence and revitalizing your résumé to negotiating a salary and landing that job!
- The power of people — harness the power of the people you know — friends and family, former colleagues, social media contacts, and more — to network your way to your next job
Finding a job when you’re over 50 is a lot like finding a job when you’re under 50. You need to tailor your resume and cover letter to the organization and the position, network to gather information and spot any inside tracks to the jobs you want, look and feel your best during job interviews and other meet-and-greets, and hone your negotiating skills so you get more of what you want.
About The Author
Kerry Hannon (kerryhannon.com) is a nationally recognized authority on career transitions and retirement, a frequent TV and radio commentator, and author of numerous books, including Love Your Job (Wiley/AARP), What's Next? (Berkley Trade/AARP), and Great Jobs for Everyone 50+ (Wiley/AARP). Hannon is AARP's Jobs Expert and a regular contributor to The New York Times, Forbes, and Money magazine.
Articles From The Book
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Copyright © 2015 AARP. All rights reserved.
Even people over 50 wonder what they want to do when they grow up. You’re probably qualified to do a wide variety of jobs, but you want to do something you love, something that makes you look forward to waking up each morning. Perhaps you even want to do something that makes the world a better place or helps other people get through the day.
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Copyright © 2015 AARP. All rights reserved.
You will need to develop your personal brand if you are seeking a job after 50.Your personal brand establishes you as a relevant, credible expert in the field and enables prospective employers and recruits to get to know a little bit about you and feel a personal connection long before they ever meet you.
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Copyright © 2015 AARP. All rights reserved.
A great interview is essential to landing that job you are seeking. You may want to consider asking a few questions to keep the interview headed for a successful end. Here are ten questions to consider asking and to spark your own imagination to come up with additional questions.
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Copyright © 2015 AARP. All rights reserved.
Making a career change after 50 can seem daunting. A police officer turned music agent. A Navy captain who became a circus manager. A botanist who traded plants for making chocolate. Those are a few of the major career changes among boomers and retirees. What do they have in common?
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Copyright © 2015 AARP. All rights reserved.
When you’re job hunting after 50, the first step is to be certain that your résumé clearly trumpets the qualities that most employers view as non-negotiable these days. Of course, each position has its unique requirements, but these six universal qualities are the ones you must showcase.
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Copyright © 2015 AARP. All rights reserved.
Much of what makes a great job interview is intuitive. It’s chemistry between you and your interviewer(s). While you’re keenly focused on putting your best foot forward and asking smart and sometimes tough questions, it’s oh-so-easy to say something that could knock you out of the running.
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Copyright © 2015 AARP. All rights reserved.
Any new skill you can add to your arsenal will only help you get that job you want after 50. Learning by doing is one of the oldest and best ways to acquire a new skill. Trouble is, you’re usually required to have the skill to get the job where you can learn the skill by doing it.
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Copyright © 2015 AARP. All rights reserved.
If you want to get a job after 50, you need to know what job skills you bring to the table. Job seekers often don’t know what they know or what skills they already have until they sit down and write a list. Make your own list, which will come in handy when revamping your résumé, filling out job applications, and preparing for interviews.
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Copyright © 2015 AARP. All rights reserved.
One of the great American dreams is to work at home, having a flexible schedule and working as much or as little as desired or needed to make ends meet. Unless you require a lot of social contact primarily obtained through work, you’ll probably like working at home as much or even more than you had imagined.
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Copyright © 2015 AARP. All rights reserved.
Getting the job you want after 50 may seem like a daunting task, but there are some tried and true ways to approach your job hunt. When reemployed workers were asked about the most effective steps they took in finding their current jobs, the overwhelming majority attributed their success to networking, according to the AARP’s “The Long Road Back: Struggling to Find Work after Unemployment.
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Copyright © 2015 AARP. All rights reserved.
Finding your dream job after 50 would be terrific. “Pursue your passion” sounds like great advice until you pause to think about it and realize that you have no idea what your passion is or how to get started. Here are some suggestions to ease you into those first steps:
Find a place to start.
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Copyright © 2015 AARP. All rights reserved.
When money gets tight, your options are limited. If you’re hoping to make a career change after 50, you don’t want financial worries. You can earn more money, spend less, or do both. You may need to make some painful choices, such as downsizing or even moving to a more affordable city or town.
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When you’re looking for a job after 50, you need all the breaks you can get, and depending on your situation, you may qualify for federal and state income tax deductions to help offset your job-hunting costs. Be obsessive about saving receipts.
Job-hunting deductions apply only to searching for a job in your current field.
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Finding a job when you’re over 50 is a lot like finding a job when you’re under 50. You need to tailor your resume and cover letter to the organization and the position, network to gather information and spot any inside tracks to the jobs you want, look and feel your best during job interviews and other meet-and-greets, and hone your negotiating skills so you get more of what you want.
Job Searches
Articles
Copyright © 2015 AARP. All rights reserved.
Getting your dream job after 50 may make you think that retirement is out of the question. If you’re starting a business, working on contract, moving to a nonprofit, or joining a small firm without an employee retirement plan, open your own. Your three key options are solo 401(k), SEP-IRA, and a Simple IRA.
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Copyright © 2015 AARP. All rights reserved.
Although getting a call from a recruiter after age 50 is flattering, arrangements can get complicated. A good recruiter gives you the inside track on great jobs — ones that may never have hit your radar. If you get the gig, the recruiter earns a fee, paid by the employer, for playing matchmaker.
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Copyright © 2015 AARP. All rights reserved.
You might be dissuaded from pursuing your dream job after 50 if health insurance isn’t provided by your employer. Don’t let that stop you. If you’re not eligible for an employer-sponsored health insurance plan, shop for insurance on the new healthcare exchanges via Healthcare.
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Copyright © 2015 AARP. All rights reserved.
Make your job hunt easier by employing as many resources as you can. Many job sites, including CareerBuilder, craigslist, Indeed, Jobaware, Monster, LinkUp, SimplyHired, and SnagaJob, have corresponding smartphone apps. Networking apps and websites for Facebook, LinkedIn, Monster’s BeKnown, and Twitter are also very useful for networking and checking out job listings.
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Copyright © 2015 AARP. All rights reserved.
One way to conduct your job search after 50 is to focus on the hottest job markets — industries that have reported rising numbers of vacancies or have projected an increasing need for employees. Here, you find five sizzling sectors to consider.
Healthcare
The aging population and longer life expectancies are spurring a wide range of healthcare-related jobs.
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Copyright © 2015 AARP. All rights reserved.
Recognizing your soft skills can be useful in a job search after 50. In many ways, these softer skills, which include your outlook and attitude, are gauges of how well you’ll fit in. Employers want to be sure that you’ll work easily and efficiently with your coworkers, your supervisor, and perhaps the organization’s customers or clients.
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Copyright © 2015 AARP. All rights reserved.
If you want to be the happiest you can be in your job, you will need good negotiating skills and strategies at your disposal. Although the parties engaged in negotiation often assume adversarial relationships, the best approach for both parties is to work together to meet one another’s needs.
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Copyright © 2015 AARP. All rights reserved.
To get the job you want after 50, you need to be fully prepared for the interview. When asked about salary in an interview, the best response is to say that although the position is not precisely the same as your last job, you would need to understand your duties and responsibilities in order to establish a fair salary for the job.
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Copyright © 2015 AARP. All rights reserved.
Job hunting can be rough, especially after the age of 50. Virtual mentoring may be just what you need to set you on your way to getting that job you want. If you can’t seem to find someone in your professional and social circles who’s willing and able to mentor you in person, consider hiring a virtual mentor, who can offer guidance from a remote location.
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Copyright © 2015 AARP. All rights reserved.
Employers worry that workers over 50 are behind the times in technology, so if you’re not tech savvy, your number-one priority is to get plugged in and up-to-speed on the latest office and consumer technologies. At the very least, learn to communicate through email, to cruise the Internet, and to use Microsoft Office applications, particularly Word, Excel, and PowerPoint.
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Job hunting after 50 is tough enough without having to deal with introversion issues. If you happen to be too shy or have trouble meeting new people, you may want to try immersion therapy — join a networking group.
Available groups vary depending on where you live, but you usually have several to choose from, including Business Networking International, MasterMind Groups, LeTip, Women in Business Networking, your local Chamber of Commerce or Convention and Visitor’s Bureau, local merchant associations, Rotary, Kiwanis, and Optimists.
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Copyright © 2015 AARP. All rights reserved.
To get the job you want after 50, you will need to be fully prepared for the interview. The big question interviewers have and often never ask is “Why should we hire you instead of the other candidates we’re considering?”
If you’re doing it right, throughout the interview, you’ll be answering that question indirectly by what you say, how you say it, how you look, how you move, and the questions you ask.
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Copyright © 2015 AARP. All rights reserved.
To get the job you want after 50, you need to build and maintain a solid online presence. According to a CareerBuilder survey, more than two in five hiring managers who currently research candidates via social media said they have found information that caused them to pass over an applicant.
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Copyright © 2015 AARP. All rights reserved.
When you reach your 50’s, you may decide it’s time to relaunch a career that was placed on hold earlier in life. Many women (and increasingly men) decide to step out of the workforce to stay home and raise their kids or care for a relative. A decade hence, when they want to return to the workforce, they often discover that doors aren’t swinging open.
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Copyright © 2015 AARP. All rights reserved.
Seeking a job after 50, you need to know what you are facing. When in an interview, you want to show the best possible you that you can. Here are some interviewing tips and tricks along with some cautionary words to steer you clear of potential pitfalls.
Be observant.
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Copyright © 2015 AARP. All rights reserved.
Job boards can be a great resource during a job hunt. Now that you’re included in the category of workers 50 and older, you can take advantage of the job boards that eliminate some of your competition:
AARP job board: You can search for jobs by job title, key words, or company name and by location.
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Copyright © 2015 AARP. All rights reserved.
It’s not always the easiest thing to get the job you want after 50. Working on contract gives you the flexibility to do what you love to do and in the time you want to do it. Social media offers a multitude of ways to put your name out there as an expert in your field.
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Copyright © 2015 AARP. All rights reserved.
Interviewing after 50 is scary, but being armed with the right knowledge is the best way to get a job offer. One way to ace an interview is to give the interviewers what they want, which may be difficult to determine based solely on the questions they ask. Even when you’re answering irrelevant questions, interviewers can pick up on the traits they like to see in a job candidate.
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Copyright © 2015 AARP. All rights reserved.
Ageism is alive and well regardless of whether employers want to admit it. Unless an employer blatantly calls attention to your age as being a problem, you’d likely have a hard time proving it, so the best alternative is to look past your age and be as vibrant and relevant as possible.
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Copyright © 2015 AARP. All rights reserved.
After you’ve served in the military, you’d think that employers would be tripping over themselves to hire you. After all, you served your country, you’re obviously a team player, you probably received specialized training, you traveled, you’ve gained valuable life experience, and you have a track record of “sticking with it.
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Nobody makes it to the age of 50 without developing some marketable skills. If you held a job, raised kids, bought a house, played computer games, surfed the web, balanced your bank accounts, read a few books, or did anything else that required getting off the couch and away from the television screen, you’ve acquired marketable skills.
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Once you get that job you are seeking after 50, you need to negotiate the terms. Negotiations are best when both parties work toward an arrangement that’s mutually beneficial. Don’t approach negotiations with a hiring manager as an adversarial relationship. Follow these suggestions instead:
Wait. Let the hiring manager offer you an amount, and then take a day or two to consider.
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Copyright © 2015 AARP. All rights reserved.
Networking can be one of your most powerful resources when seeking the job you want after 50. Networking sounds harder than it is. You already know the people in your network. All you need to do is reach out to them and let them know you’re looking for work. Here are some ways to do just that:
Brainstorm.
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If you want to get a job after 50, you need to do some real networking. Networking is one letter away from “not working.” Engage in a full-court press to let everyone in your personal and professional network know that you’re looking for a job. Here’s a checklist to make sure you’ve left no stone unturned:
Contact everyone you know via phone, email, social networks (Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter), U.
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Copyright © 2015 AARP. All rights reserved.
You may need additional education to get the job you want after 50. Although certain educational offerings are entirely free, many programs, especially those that offer a degree or certification, cost money. If you’re currently employed, you may be able to take advantage of employer-reimbursed education and training opportunities, or you may have enough money and time to work on your degree or certification one course at a time.
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Interviews come in all flavors. If you want to show that you are up with the times after the age of 50, make sure you are able to adapt to any interview format. To improve your performance on a telephone interview, follow these suggestions:
Use a landline phone, if possible.
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Job seekers of all ages find themselves burdened with financial obligations as a result of their educational pursuits. Make it a little easier for yourself. Employ some of the following strategies to keep your debt as light as possible.
Avoiding additional debt
Consider your future finances before taking on any significant student debt.
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If you are seeking a job after 50, you need to show you are adaptable, especially in the interview. Virtual interviews are rapidly becoming more commonplace, according to a survey by OfficeTeam, a temporary staffing services firm. Six in ten of the 500 human resource managers interviewed said their company often conducts employment interviews via video, up from 14 percent in 2011.
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Applications can be tricky and picky, particularly if you’re someone who is over 50 and you’re big selling points are your integrity and charisma and you’re required to submit the application online. Applications provide little, if any, opportunity to showcase such strengths.
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As a 50-plus job seeker, expect at least a few questions about your age, even if they don’t directly reference your age. While potential employers are concerned about your age and how it may affect your job performance, they probably won’t come right out and say it because they fear an age-discrimination lawsuit.
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You may want to look into virtual career fairs when seeking a job after 50. Digital career events are on the rise and are a win-win for job seekers and companies. While these events are an inexpensive way for employers to meet potential employees, you can share your résumé with companies that are hiring.
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If you’ve decided to change careers, fly solo as a freelancer, or start your own business after 50, you should seriously consider finding a mentor to guide you, someone who’s been there and done that. Almost universally, workers who have made a successful transition to new work after age 50 had at least one person they could turn to when the ground got shaky.
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The cover letter is part of the dynamic duo that gets you past the first cut when applying for a job after 50, so spend some time writing a cover letter that catches the hiring manager’s eye.
People who screen résumés get tired of reading the same old cover letter attached to hundreds of résumés that often looks something like this:
Dear Sir or Madame;
I am writing to submit my résumé for the position of Chief Cook and Bottle Washer at the Purple Valley Resort and Spa.