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Job Hunt Challenges for the Over 50
Crowd
If you have just recently lost a job or maybe are not happy
with the job you are currently holding, you are going to be on
the hunt for a new job. Hunting for new job is never easy,
whether it is your first or your tenth job. You know that it
takes a good amount of preparation till you might hold another
permanent job. But for the older crowd, especially the crowd
over fifty, the challenge of finding a new job is even
greater.
Explore some of the facts why it is more challenging to find a
job after 50. Starting out by the age factor, many companies
want young and dynamic employees that are open to new and
challenging tasks. Many employers believe that a person over 50
is set in his or her ways and therefore not able to tackle the
same great tasks that might open up as a young, fresh out of
college open minded person. A person over 50 is closer to
retirement and might not want to take any risks as a young
career fresh from school employee. Risks are sometimes what a
company needs to get forward, new ideas, new thinking.
Another reason is the salary competition. If you are over 50
and looking for another job, you most likely have a lot of
experience in you sector. Experience usually is measured in
money and the salary for an experienced person is generally
higher than a starter salary. While experience is desired, some
companies can just not afford to hire somebody for 10-20
thousand dollars more than they can get the fresh from college
employee. If you lost your job, you might accept one of the
lower salaries, but while you are in the application process,
the human resource person reading your résumé does not have
that information about you.
Some of the bigger companies get scared by the fact that you
are really close to retirement and if there are certain
retirement plans and structure in place at a company, they
might not want to hire you. You could retire within 10-15 years
or less and then the company is stuck with paying you
retirement payments. Hiring a younger person instead guarantees
them no retirement payments or plans for retirement in general
for the next 20-30 years. From the employer’s side, these are
great savings for their pocket.
Another reason often seen from employers as a reason not to
hire a person over 50 is that the person they are hiring might
be more prone to sickness and take more sick days than a young
person. Why would they think that? Statistics have shown them
that the tendency for time off due to sickness is greater for
people crossing the age threshold of 50 years versus younger
people. Be honest, being over 50 means for most people more
aches and pains all over the body. You are more tired and get
exhausted quicker.
So if you do get a chance to go to an interview when looking
for a new job, you need to make the best out of it. Besides all
the factors mentioned above, a person that is over 50 and is
looking for a job can be a great addition to any company and
you need to make sure that you let your interviewer know that.
An interview is a great challenge and can be mastered quite
well if keeping these thoughts that employers have in mind.
Emphasize the fact that you do bring experience and
connections. Let them know that if they hire you, they get a
person that at least is settled in life. You have had all your
children, or did not want any, but at least you will not be
missing because of pregnancy, birth of a child, and sickness of
a young child or similar events.
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