In these scary economic times, older workers are putting off their retirement and hanging on to a paycheck. Some retirees struggling to make ends meet are scanning help-wanted ads for the first time to find a new job or career.
Source:AP YOUTUBE 03/31/2009
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“Baby Boomers versus Generation X”
ReplyDelete“Who has the Advantage in Landing a New Job?”
I am a “Baby Boomer” in my middle fifties going through the experience of landing a new job in a very challenging job market. Sometimes I find myself frustrated with the feeling that employers are deciding to hire younger and less experience versus older and more experience.
I often meet other “Baby Boomers” out of work that share a similar story to mine. We started our careers in the sixties, seventies and eighties building long and rewarding careers full of value added contributions which enabled us to earn merit increases that allowed our salary to increase over time. We had a strong desire to stay and be loyal to our companies because that is what we grew up believing was important. We spent many years learning the skills and tools needed to succeed in our industry and then we passionately shared and mentored those learning’s and skills on to our teams in hopes we could add value and contribute to the growth of our companies. We actually had hopes that we could someday retire with the same company because they represented so much more that a job to us. Unfortunately, many of our jobs ended due to those dreaded words called reorganization & downsizing. These are words that mean a company can contribute to its bottom line by dissolving jobs.
Just like myself many “Baby Boomers” who had been out of the job searching market for decades are now competing with the “Generation X” consisting of seasoned veterans in the art of landing a new job. We could debate all day about the benefits for a company to hire older rather than younger but my belief is that many companies will hire younger over older candidates with the same core skill compencies because they have a false perception that “Baby Boomers” candidates are over qualified, over priced and do not understand “Baby Boomers” job priorities have changed and we just want an opportunity to contribute and be part of a team that will add value and grow their business.
I am 64 and just obtained a new position after a 6.5 month job search. I will take a #20,000 cut in initial salary, but I have been "consulting" for the last three years with heavy medical premiums, which will now go away. In 2 years I'll be back to what I made as a consultant. I also negotiated an agreement for a Master in Tax program after the first year, so if I decide to do tax work after I really retire at age 70 or 74, I will have the skills. Hang in there, prepare to be flexable, and be persistent.
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