To think job market for those 55 and over is dire

[Bettyfordtoday]

At 55, and recently made redundant from a highly paid corporate role I am struggling to get another role or even an interview.

I'm wondering what others do at this age point, too young to retire but seemingly too old to interview ?

Have a mortgage etc to pay and don't want to get in debt , redundancy pay will last if I am careful to the end of the year at most

If you have teaching or any other experience or skill thats in demand you can always do private tutoting (as I do) so you are not at the mercy of employers.

I’m in my late 60s and still do some consulting and training on a freelance basis. Could that be an option in your area of expertise?

I'm 56 and job hunting, I used to get shortlisted for most jobs, not anymore.

I've taken my DOB off my CV, my SIL is in HR and she said you don't have to put it on. I'm hoping this makes a difference.

Good luck 🤞

Having your DoB on your CV hasn't been the done thing for a number of years.

So a CV with DoB may be flagging up a candidate who isn't up to date in their thinking.

Except it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to work out that someone with, say 35 yrs experience, is over 50

And it also doesn't take a rocket scientist to realize as the older candidate you don't need to put 35y experience! I have 25y experience but I only go back to 2014. I put 'insert professional body' qualified and my membership level, no date.

People shouldn’t be putting DOB on a CV and I’ve been saying that for about 25 years.

I didn't think Brits did tbh so am quite surprised. It usually showed on immigrants' CV (alongside MANY other things that shouldn't be mentioned in UK...)

Job market doesn't seem easy whether you are young or old these days, finding that a lot of more experienced people are struggling because even though companies shouldn't see age they, think that is why a lot of people do what I do as it earns money flexibly and gives you a royalty style income too

Except it doesn't take a rocket scientist to know that for most roles no one is interested in what you did 35 years ago or 20 years ago.

Anyone who puts an entire lifetime of job history on a CV for most jobs they're going for is just highlighting how out of touch they are with what is expected and wanted by most employers for most jobs in 2026.

Hence CV gets filed in the shredder.

It is not usual to include DOB in CVs and not on application forms. I’ve only included relevant professional experience from when I qualified as a midwife. I was already 31 then but could have been 21 if I’d started my training at 18. Interviews are usually online and with a gentle filter I look 40s not 50s. The people I’ve worked with still have no idea I’m 58 and have never asked!

What are/were List 99 offences?

Not just prison, it's a general safeguarding requirement in teaching. Any gaps in employment need to be explained fully.

My husband (50) and I (54) both got made redundant at the end of March.

I took a ‘lesser’ role with a firm that couldn’t understand why I was there (I did de-age my cv a little to get to intwrview, but they only had to look at my LinkedIn pic to know I wasn’t as young) . I explained I was trying to find a role for the next 10 years in a forward thinking company where my experience could make a difference and I could share it with younger employees. I was lucky they understood that viewpoint and hired me. The money is less, but I love the work. Everyone in the team is 15-30 years younger I’m nearly old enough to be mum to all of them, but they’re lovely.

My husband has taken a 50% pay cut and a ‘summer job’ for now, that’s his for as long as he wants it with a months notice.

I received a fairly generous redundancy which whilst not enough to retire, makes up the difference for both of us for a year or so.

We’ll reassess after the summer and decide if we’re happy at a lower pace and what we would need to change to finance it or whether we’ll both try and step back up and how we do that.

A close friend (56) is also trying to find an employed position as a chartered surveyor and no-one wants to know.

its tough out there, I wish you lots of luck with it.

@Letty186 do you mind me asking what line of work your hubby is doing a a summer job?

I’ve tried getting shop work and got nowhere.

I’m in same wait as your friend no one wants to know…😥

Ageist nonsense. But your prejudice does demonstrate what older workers are up against.

I was made redundant at the age of 63 at the start of the COVID pandemic. At first there weren’t any jobs to apply for, but after about 3 months there were and I found an equivalent job quite quickly. I was definitely ruled out on age for one job but with hindsight I wasn’t a good fit for an organisation that a teenager started in his garage. After 3 years in role I was headhunted by the company I’m with now. I’m currently implementing a new system and I’m part of the AI early adopters group. It’s one of the two 30 year olds in my team who is the slowest on the uptake and least proactive, definitely not the 58 year old. I was hiring recently for a junior role and it was notable that many of these inexperienced applicants had completely unrealistic salary expectations as well, and we are not a low paid industry.

to the OP there are no qualifications below degree and professional qualifications on my CV and I only include the relevant part of my career history as I did something else completely different until my mid 40s.

A few years ago the company my DH works for were hiring at the same time as a near by company in the same industry had made an entire department redundant. So they got lots of applicants from people around 55 with years of experience. The boss dismissed them all due to their age and hired someone younger with no experience who required lots of training. The boss is older than 55.

The last job I applied for asked for a covering letter and a form you had to fill out - it asked for qualifications right back to secondary school, and the DATES of those qualifications. There was nowhere to hide - not that I should have had to.

didn't hear anything back.

You are highly skilled woman the world is your oyster,.
I could go into a lot of detail,I was able to retire at a younger age but now your age and menopause i need that job satisfaction. I was watching a FB podcast with Trinny Woodhall and an Australian women who was highly skilled with AI. One of the examples of using AI,eg,Claudia or Gemini,was job hunting. Upload your CV,age etc skills and let AI rewrite your CV to make you look more attractive in the workplace in this current market,it will even search for jobs for you.However it will match your skills and may take you into a totally different market,or start your own company. Sorry if I'm teaching you to such eggs,but totally opened up new horizons for me. Good Luck.

He managed to get a position selling jet skis at a marina, think he might enjoy being outdoors playing with toys all summer 🤣

Have you ever thought the rest of the team who have grown up children or no children get fed up of picking up the slack from those who do have young children who clock watch, take time off when children are ill, etc and basically want their cake and eat it.

No one wants to employ over 50s yet everyone on here wants the state pension scrapped or at least have the pension age raised to 70+. 🤣 If you tell people no one will employ them or that it will mean young people will be even less likely to get jobs they just reply that it’s tough luck and they’ll pretty much just starve to death then because it’ll be their own fault they didn’t save enough private pension.

The job market is dire for ALL age groups. Young person's unemployment in particular has increased massively recently. The economy is a mess and with the Iran situation the worst is yet to come.

For many jobs, particularly those with safeguarding implications, you're required to put your entire working history. My most recent application wouldn't go to completed/submit until I'd included everything.