Finding new employment if you are over 50?

[JoySzasz]

This will be our situation in a few months ...

We will be returning to the UK, after living in the US for 6/7 years.

My DH will be 53 ,and is prepared to do anything :)

My husband used to have a career many years ago,did very well but it will not be possible for him to return to that line of work.
Since then he has done many different types of work,ranging from front of house, teaching english to overseas students ,manual work ...a bit of everything really.He also speaks two languages.

We are lucky in the respect that he looks very young ,people telling him things like : "Oh,you wait till you turn 40..."

I know if he is seen in person ,he will have no problem securing an interview ...on a CV though?

My AIBU is what are his chances these days,is it really as tough as some media implies? AIBU to assume a great attitude and work ethic can still get you far even at 53?

The fact that he will do anything ,and that it will probably be a MW job should help right?

My family (back in the UK) are confident he will get something (not a career) at this stage ,but a decent job.

Any frank advice please.:)

a gentle bump ...

Don't put date of birth or age on CV, its not needed.

Think about the type of roles he wants to apply for and what transferable skills he has.

Yes unfortunately there are still some companies out there who are still ageist, but then you get companies who don't like women, working parents, people with disabilities etc. But I think now that with equality & anti-discriminatory laws this should become less so.

If he needs anymore help, then look here www.direct.gov.uk/nextstep

Thanks bear I had no idea it was possible to leave the date of birth off :)

I am also hoping that as it is becoming more difficult to retire (sorry, I know not great for everyone) it might help 'older' workers?

Thanks also for the link.

My pleasure & hope he finds something soon :)

Hi. My Dad got a number of quite senior jobs post-50 for various reasons (redundancy, end of fixed term contracts, etc). He always found something and was still working until he was nearly 70! I know for a fact he lied about the dates on his CV to make him look younger - and always used to mention in the interview that he had young children - so people couldn't place his age! Not necessarily advocating this approach but as Bear says you certainly don't need to put your age on your cv/application and lots of big companies will actually ask you to remove them so they can't be accused of age discrimination - which is now illegal in the UK.

Undoubtedly it will be harder finding something without a solid career path to point to but there are jobs to be had, especially if your DH is prepared to be flexible about location. I think more jobs to be had around London and the South East - although living costs are also higher.

Also, if he is a qualified TESOL teacher I would have thought he could find something along those lines - although others might know better.

Finally, use any and all contacts you have. A lot of jobs are not being advertised at the moment so speak to people, and if necessary take temporary work to get a foot in the door.

Good luck!

Hi, a lot of companies recruit online now and make it optional to put your DOB on there. I work for B&Q and it has a good reputation for employing people of any age. The oldest member in our team is 75 :)

Plenty of companies value the expertise of more mature employees. They also know that the employee is less likely to be looking for a stepping stone to another job, and are more likely to stay in the role.

In my organisation, applicants have to fill in an application form as we don't accept CVs - I think this is common. You do have to write your date of birth on the form.

However, we are not allowed to discriminate on the grounds of age, and to be honest, I couldn't give a monkeys how old someone is, I just want the best person for the job. I am involved in loads of recruitment, and genuinely never even look at the date of birth when shortlisting - I tend to focus on the work experience and personal statement. Sure, older people may not have quite so many years of work left in them, but younger people are often ambitious and will want to move on after a few years anyway - I doubt that anyone recruits these days expecting people to give lifelong service to the role!

I think where your DH could fall down is in terms of looking like he hasn't had much of a clear direction over the years - the jack of all trades, master of none syndrome. He needs to be able to make the most of the experience that he has, so that he can pull out examples which demonstrate that he has the skills and ability to meet the criteria for whatever job he is applying for.

There is a definite art to completing job applications, of which surprisingly few people seem aware. If he can learn to deconstruct the job description and person specification, and shape his own application to mirror this, I'd say he stands an excellent chance of getting an interview. After that, of course, it's over to him!

Wonderful Info, Thanks so much everyone ...

I will show him this thread later :)

:) good luck & hope he finds something!