Do You Feel Obsolete? 5 Job Market Realities For Over 40 Workers.
With Presidential Politics ready to catapult the Nation head on into the hotly contested debate on how to best lead us out of a jobless future, it is time to quickly review the current market conditions for an Over 40 job seeker.
There are 5 principle job market realities for an Over 40 Unemployed Skilled Worker :
- Many older workers are now part of a large group of long-term unemployed (average 55+ weeks), under employed or those that just have given up looking for a job (AKA Discouraged Workers). That adds up to an astounding population of almost 25 Million job seekers.
- There is a serious mismatch of current skills to current job openings.
- Many of the jobs available require Over 40 workers to start at salaries of 25-50% of what was previously earned with few benefits, such as Health Care.
- Many available positions that are created are temporary or as a independent contractor. Resulting in a temporary respite from the anxiety of job hunting.
- 4.5 unemployed people are competing for each newly created job.
The rumor is that the President with include a retraining Internship program for Older Skilled Workers that have suffered with being unemployed for a long period of time. We hope this is true. Do you know that "Over 60% of internships lead to Jobs". You are never too old to start a new career. Do you think companies should offer more training programs targeted to skilled older workers? If so, would you participate if it was without pay? (Editor's Note)
I am interning at 49 and I feel like a total schmuck. The rest of the interns are all in their early 20's. Hate my life and I wanna die. Nothing will ever get better.
ReplyDeleteWow, why so negative? I'm a graduate student, all the other students are younger than any of my children. But I am learning and improving myself in the process, so I am dodging schmuckdom. Well, at least I feel as if I am.
ReplyDeleteI haven't found an internship yet but at 60 I think it is a great idea. I think we have the opportunity to mentor these younger interns just by our initiative, dedication to doing whatever it takes and our integrity.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteThere is no skills mismatch. This is what CEOs are conning the government into believing. Please tell me what these jobs are that require you to retrain as a rocket scientist? Give me specifics of any job that is not 90% answering phones, database management and customer relations. If you have a very good grasp of Windows/Office software you are more than qualified. So someone tell me what these jobs are. I would only work for free if I were GUARANTEED A JOB AT THE END. And the employer would have to detail all the reasons why I am not qualified if they decide not to give me a job. I was laid off because my boss was an idiot and spent lavishly and unecessarily on a boondoggle. Nobody has ever called me incompetent before (in fact you only have to tell me once how to do something because I already know 99% of the procedure). Therefore, if I do not get a job offer after 6 weeks "probabion" then they better prepare to get sued.
ReplyDeleteWow, I realize times are tough, but the negative comments are not helpful. Yes, an internship can be successful for an over-40 job seeker. I have seen two members of a networking organization land permanent jobs that way. But one of the best ways to find your next best job is through networking. There are usually several such networking organizations in any major city in the United States. Active Job Seekers of America, is a place to start. They have many groups. And there are many others.
ReplyDeleteThese organizations offer assistance with your resume, usually at no cost, and interview skills, again, without cost. They are a great resource, a way to stay connected, to help one another, to find your next employment opportunity. Find one that works for you!
Contrary to anonymous (6:04am) above there is a skills mismatch. Even the job you describe is hard for an employer to fill. You described an entry level position (answer phones and operate Microsoft Office) but you mentioned database management in the same sentence. We do CRM implementation for small businesses and my clients are failing to find either experienced or trainable database admins for the 40K they can afford to start someone at. That is the level of pay that is low enough that they can assign someone fulltime to focus on database maintenance of master customer tables and merging disparate data sources. This is painstaking work that must be done right. People who can build reports are even in shorter supply.
ReplyDeleteI agree with everything said in the video, but also might add another strategy and that's the information interview. Even if you don't qualify for any of the positions that are posted for a company, but you would like to "qualify" yourself for a position, ask someone from the HR Department if they could sit down with you for a few minutes to discuss what the company is looking for and what skills they seek most in their applicants. With this information, you can cert up or if you're in school or planning to go back to school, direct your focus on exactly what the company is looking for. Or, you may find out after speaking with them that don't want to work for that company at all, and you can scratch them off your list.
ReplyDelete"failing to find either experienced or trainable database admins for the 40K "
ReplyDeleteReally, where is that job? I will learn in my sleep with two hands tied behind my back. Does it require a high level of programming skills or is it just a detail oriented job for someone who knows an above average amount about computers. I am 50 years old, so I can never get anyone to believe that I know more than the "average" 20 year old about computers...but there you go.
Since it started, internship has been used by employers to dodge paying salaries and has deprived Americans of paying jobs. Instead, they now "pay" in the way of college credits and/or holding out the promise of a salary.
ReplyDeletePeople have to work for free now in order to hope to get a paying job down the road? Really? There ought to be a law against this.
having lived in germany i realize exactly what this road leads too. germany requires that a certain percentage of all jobs be internships. the internships are paid low, if any wages, and have 1-2 year contracts. at the end of the intern period the company must either hire them or let them go.
ReplyDeleteit seems to make so much sense on the surface. provide experience to people and a chance to get a permanent contract. the reality of what happens is completely different.
the reality is that the companies use the internship idea as a way to keep a rotating group of people working at low wages. none of them are ever hired. they are replaced by another group coming in. the experience does not help them get a job - except another internship somewhere else. basically it creates a tiered system of where you either have a "real job" and get paid or you work for slave wages.
Never work for free. It's the capitalist way.
ReplyDeleteYes there are laws that are intended to protect the free work environment. But it a internship/apprenticeship is structured properly why not work for free. Would you pay a technical school to teach you video production or HVAC machanics. Then why not just work for little or free to get a FREE education. Let two adults agree on the terms and purpose. Why not?
ReplyDeleteFunny. I have seen some of the internship and when I started reading the requirements and skills you needed, why bother. I can already do that! This is a very limited option for most people and I think most companies turn you down when they realize your age. No laws against that.
ReplyDeleteMaybe its time to stop LOOKING to become an employee and to become an entrepreneur.
ReplyDeleteTo be honest I only liked ONE job in my career. The rest I tolerated to get that monthly paycheque.
Now I am looking at becoming master of my own boat. Maybe an employer -certainly never again an employee.
Tell it like it is! Volunteering is another possibility in hopes of landing a job but a lawyer friend of mine told me that the labor laws are going to prevent volunteering cause companies are abusing and over working individuals who should be paid. This justifies what anonymous January 10, 2012 5:38am stated. The ARRA act was a good idea to train IT or clinical individuals in HIT in hopes of getting a foot in the door but unfortunately President Obama should have created incentives for Health Care organizations to created internships.
ReplyDeleteInterning sounds cool, but, unless you pay people SOMEthing, don't you kind of end up with the old East Germany situation where, 'we pretend to work, they pretend to pay us'? I think an internship should net you at least federal minimum, and maybe 35 hours a week, or equivalent wages if there aren't that many hours involved? Until they accept that "UNPAID INTERN" card at the gas station and the rent office, there's still some hard realities of daily life in America to contend with. I don't think the insurance company is real keen on extending that kind of credit, either.
ReplyDeleteMaybe not for free, but certainly for a stipend that could at least pay a mortgage/lease/gas to get there. The rest of the finances should be on your own. YearUp is an excellent internship that does it right (course it's for 18-24 year olds w/o a degree but hear me out). Their model is to train in a classroom for 6 months on technical and soft skills for which they receive a stipend to give them a little to live on while they're in class. Then successful candidates are sent to do a 6 month internship at a business for which they get paid while doing it. More often than not, most of the interns are hired by their company or by somebody else, in the field in which they were trained for. Their goal is for their graduates to leave their program making at least $15/hour. I didn't even make that at my first job out of college! Seems like it is a good model for the over 40-50 set. As we get older, we have even more bills to pay than a young'un.
ReplyDeletePeople, this is a race to the bottom. Do not partake. Most states have laws about internships. In Illinois, you have to offer college credits or at least minimum wage. Working for free is illegal in Illinois. Make sure to contact your state's Labor Standards Board. Those that submit applications for jobs have most of the skills companies are looking for; it is just that the companies don't want to spend time or money nurturing or training employees. Something needs to be done. Make sure to vote for people that will represent worker interests.
ReplyDeleteIt is hard to land a job now, even if your qualified. However, at the beginning of the day and any the end of the day, give God the glory for life, and the strength to fight another day.
ReplyDelete