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Original poster

Redundant at 53 - what the heck now?

78 replies

Toastandmarmite999 · 03/01/2024 17:15

Hi,

I was made redundant just before Christmas.

I'd retrained in this job 3 years ago and it's taken these 3 years for it to become clear to both me and my employer that I just wasn't cut out for my new chosen career.

So I'm returning to what I know - admin/secretarial/office managerial - and I'm currently applying for so many jobs - it's exhausting.

I'm a lone parent - I have enough savings to keep us going until March, but I'm finding that I'm not even getting asked for interviews despite having a strong CV.

This has never happened before and I can only assume that it's because of my age. The last time I was in the job market was over 10 years ago (I was hired at my previous role through an internship whilst studying).

Are others my age here finding the same - do you have similar experiences? I've registered with 14 recruitment agencies, but nothing yet.

Admittedly it's early days and there's been Christmas and New Year to get through - but I'm already panicking and applying for jobs that will leave us out of pocket, or a commute which will mean leaving my DD before she leaves for school and not being there for when she gets back (I was WFH before which was ideal).

Please send me some rays of hope you silver beauts - any tips, any success stories. Thanks x

OP posts:
eastsheener · 04/01/2024 17:50

I'm over 50 and it took me about 5 months to get another job (one that I actually wanted). I didn't include any dates on university and only included positions from 2007 onwards. Both my interviews were via zoom so I don't think my employer actually knew how old I was 😂

Mistletoewench · 04/01/2024 17:52

Awayday16 · 04/01/2024 13:23

Temping is a great way to get your foot in the door!

There are lots to choose from, I'd google "best rated recruitment agencies in " town name" and see which ones score highest.

You can still job hunt but it would ease the financial pressure.

My 60 year old sister was in this situation last year. She registered with a recruitment agency and was temping within 2 weeks (admin). She worked non-stop on a couple of assignments for about 4-5 months until her final contract offered her a permanent admin role.

Like you, she thought her age would be problematic but her agency told her they couldn't give two hoots about her age, they just wanted reliable staff who would turn up on time and do the job!

Good luck xxx

This was the same for me, temped in two long term contracts and got offered both jobs. I’m 53. I really just went for admin jobs and was flexible x

Doggymummar · 05/01/2024 08:08

You only need 10 years history on your CV and ideally it should fit in one A4 SHEET I've never managed one sheet myself, but all my jobs are from LinkedIn for the last decade so it doesn't matter.

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