is 55 too old, seriously?

[my2020newdecade]

I have a life plan for the new decade, this includes getting a job of some description.

I've been out of work for so long now that my self esteem re employability is shot to bits (SAHP) - fairly unsupportive DH which doesn't help and this may well be part of my new driving factor.

I've been applying for jobs but haven't even go as far as an interview which is making me feel like my timing is off and I'm too late now?

do you not think some of you are being a bit naive?

Naive in what way?

No, don’t just pull faces, surprise, it does honestly depend on what the OP is applying for.

I’m not being an arsehole and I’m not saying it’s OK, but 55 is considered quite old in terms of a working age and without recent relevant experience OP may well struggle a bit. Blithely felling her otherwise is a bit daft.

Or, what maddie said.

Maybe try some temping/agency work to start with as this is usually much easier to get depending on how bouyant the economy is where you live

Hmm ... Maybe a third of the posts here are more positive than I would be about the OP’s likely success. I certainly don’t take a blithe attitude to the question.

But I’m glad I don’t need to ask your permission to use emojis with abandon!

Carry on with the emojis don’t forget the most important of the lot though

No, I’m not trying to sound an arse but this can happen on mn, whether it’s unemployed 55 year olds, 45 year olds wanting children or whatever really ... someone always says that retirement age is 69 and they know someone who didn’t work at all until they were 50 then trained to be a doctor and were a surgeon at 67. OK, I made that up but you know what I mean.

I think 55 is very old indeed in career terms and that OP will struggle. However, that doesn’t mean she will never work but she does need to be realistic.

I also think younger women considering leaving work to be a SAHM would be wise t remember this.

My 58 years old dh who had his own computer company couldn’t get a job in his field . Got to the last two or three in an interview.
No proof but wondered if age was against him.

My almost 50 year old , very presentable dil hasn’t managed to secure a job..not even in macdonalds.

I had a work gap (from decent professional career) and found getting back into work very hard. But I certainly didnt find volunteering of any help at all.

I did get some mentoring and found focusing on my strengths really useful (Having had a big loss of confidence). Am now 3 years into my change of career - same stress, far less pay.

I do think it depends on entirely what field you are looking in and what experience is needed. I am 54 and work in marketing, frankly I am feeling quite old and would like to do something else, I think marketing is a young man’s game. What professions are good ones to go into at over 50?

It's naive to think you could just apply for a job and walk into it with no recent experience. Can you afford to retrain first? If you train in a profession that some people come to later and that has a current shortage (eg teacher, HCP) then you should be able to get a job at the end of your training.

I think starting teaching at 55 would be a massive strain surely! Or am I being naive?

You'll have acquired loads of skills through being a SAHP e. g. planning, operating to budgets etc.

Seriously, please do not use these as examples in an interview or application. Being a SAHP is not an example of "operating to a budget" in commercial terms and using it as an example for a job will only make you look out of touch and unprepared.

OP, we can give you much better help if we know a bit more about your background/qualifications/work history.

I started working in a supermarket at age 56 after a break of 5 years when I was caring for family members. I hadn't done retail work before but 2 years on I'm now one of the team.

My secretary is in her late 60s and shes awesome. I recruited her when she was already in her 60s. I would hire her again in a heartbeat. Don't give up the right job is out there.

I think it depends how fussy you are about what you’re prepared to do.
I worked as an accountant for 30+ years but at 54/55 yo, when I applied for office jobs (local council/college/library/prison service), I couldn’t even get an interview despite my qualifications.
However, I got the first retail job I applied for and have been working there happily for 5 years (despite it being physically challenging).

I had a work gap (from decent professional career) and found getting back into work very hard. But I certainly didnt find volunteering of any help at all.

This is what I would suspect too, unless the volunteering was in a relevant field. I guess this is why people become self-employed.

Have a word with a temping agency. They can tell you what they look for when matching vacancies to temp staff.
Then you know what to do. It could be a short computer course at the local library or volunteering for your cv to make it look good but they will know. As will the job centre or careers advice people presumably but I don’t know the ins and outs of that, perhaps others can advise.
Good luck.

I don't think the purpose of job centres these days is to help people find jobs. They're more about telling you to find work than adding any value to your jobhunting efforts.

It depends on what kind of job you are after. I know some offices really discriminate against older people and seem proud of being a "young" company.
I work in the NHS and have no problems at all getting great job, I got my latest at 57 in competition with lots of young people.
I went to uni to train for my current job at 45 and haven't been out of work since.
What level of work have you been applying for?

Thanks for your thoughts everyone.

I just would like an admin job really and hadn't considered a temping agency so will give them a try.

It is harder with age and no work history although it shouldn’t just being realistic. Have you thought of joining an agency and perhaps doing some temping. Good luck.

I'm struggling to find a full-time job at 60, after working 43 years in admin. and taking redundancy last year. However, I don't live in a city. I have done temp work, but there isn't a lot available here. I am convinced my age is against me, but I'm not giving up. Go for it OP, and good luck.

Never put your age on your CV (ditto sex, or how many kids you have. I have seen that lots of times)
Employers aren't allowed to discriminate against age
O levels and GCSE are equivalents. Just list them as GCSEs (I seriously doubt any employer will want to look at them anyway)
NEVER start your covering letter by saying 'Although I haven't had a job for 30 years....' or similar.
ONLY write positive things about yourself (anything else is for them to work out themselves)
Think about what transferable skills you have that you can take to the workplace - organising the family schedules = time management etc. (Don't go overboard with this, but do acknowledge the skills you have)
Register with an employment agency. You might be able to start with temp work to give you experience
I think it's a great thing to do, and you will be able to build your confidence for full time work
Good luck

I just would like an admin job really

There are plenty off admin based volunteer roles if yywant to start off there while looking for paid employment