Over 50 and looking for a job? These tips may help

Unemployment is not easy for anyone, regardless of age. But unemployed men and women over 50 may find it especially difficult to find work.

Whether it’s a byproduct of age-related discrimination or any of a host of additional variables, jobless older workers often struggle to find work. In a 2016 analysis of government figures, the Schwartz Center for Economic Policy Analysis at the New School estimated that the jobless rate for workers 55 and older in August 2016, six years after the Great Recession, was nearly 9 percent. At the time, the national jobless rate hovered around 5 percent.

Unemployed men and women over 50 who are struggling to find work can consider the following strategies as they look to rejoin the workforce.

Revisit your resume.

If you are over 50 and are looking for a job, you have no doubt updated your resume to reflect your most recent professional experience. However, you may also need to trim some of the “fat” so that your resume highlights only the past 10 to 15 years of your work history.

Today’s hiring managers may only be concerned with recent experience that illustrates skill sets that are relevant to today’s jobs. You may consider your work experience from two or more decades ago to be valuable, but if that experience does not meet the specific needs of the job you are now seeking, then you should remove it from your resume. This will allow hiring managers to quickly access the more relevant information in your work history.

Embrace 21st-century job-hunting techniques.

Finding a job in the second decade of the 21st century is unlike job hunting in decades prior — and completely different from the way men and women over 50 looked for jobs upon beginning their professional lives in the 1970s or ’80s.

In today’s job market, networking can mean the difference between unemployment and landing a job. Go to job fairs attended by hiring managers, and join professional organizations that host events where professionals in your field can gather.

Spin your age into a positive.

If you are over 50, you should accept the likelihood that your new managers and/or hiring managers will be younger than you.

When interviewing for a job, make an effort to showcase your enthusiasm about working with and learning from younger colleagues, while also noting your desire to commit long-term to a company. Some hiring managers may surprise older applicants, viewing them as potentially more reliable than younger workers simply looking to gain some experience in a particular industry before moving on to the next opportunity.

Make use of any down time.

Another strategy unemployed men and women over 50 can try as they look for work is to make better use of their existing downtime.

Enrolling in online courses can give prospective employers the impression that applicants over 50 are both tech-savvy and willing to learn new things. Each of those things can help men and women over 50 overcome any unjustified, tech-related stigmas that hiring managers may attach to older job candidates.

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