Back to work/ageism. Is it the last acceptable form of discrimination?

[CJDoxon]

Hello
I am in my late 50s and have had to take some time off due for family reasons. Not long just about 18 months or so. Im a relatively senior comms person and have been working all my life. Despite this I have found it incredibly difficult to find a new job. I cant seem to get interviews - even for more junior roles that I have been used to. Anecdotally I have met quite a few others in the same boat. Often these are women who have had to step away from work in order to care for others. But its not just a woman thing - one recruitment person told me off the record that he never bothers to share new roles with people over the age of 45 as he knows his (corporate) clients will reject them. In fact his comment was "you are either up or you are out". I dont want to be "out" but I have no intention of being CEO eithe. I just want to do a good job well. Is it just me? It seems such a waste of talent not to be able to step back into the world of work.

I am interested in whether others have suffered similarly and what you have done about it? In a world where we will all be expected to work until we are in our late 60s what can be done to ensure that there are still opportunities for those over 50? Is ageism the last acceptable form of discrimination? I dont want to take a job from a younger person but I do want to make some sort of economic contribution and feel part of not a drain on society.

Sorry - this sounds rather moany - just really interested in others thoughts

I would say taking time out rather than age is what's counting against the OP.
Sadly any gap of more than 6-12 months puts employers off.
Although a friend was out of work for 2 years due to redundancy then pandemic. She's 50 and I feared she would never be employed again but she's doing really well now a couple of years later in a permanent, senior role.

Hey that sounds terrible Op!
There is a lot of ageism in Comms for sure - I think because it can be v fast paced and some people wrongly believe older colleagues cant catch up or are set in their ways.
Just to reassure you though the market is exceptionally bad right now and v competitive - so it may not be solely an age thing.

Ugh, I hear you. I concluded this because my industry was dead in the water from COVID onwards and still hasn't picked up.

I wasn't getting interviews because I was having to apply sideways for roles that I wasn't specialised for, or downwards for roles I was overqualified for.

I'm now freelance, and whilst it's been a stressful road at times, I'm still working.

I'm finding some of the answers here very encouraging. I have found that women my age (peri-menopause and post menopause) are at risk of being edged out of our senior jobs. The number of senior roles is always few and far between, so fewer opportunities to get back in. Also at that level, people are looking for someone absolute copper bottomed with no question marks. Amd sadly, having been edged out does leave a question mark over your head.

So I think there are "stranded women" like me out there. But the only thing you can do is "put your big girls pants on", get out there and be confident. 💪 Persistence usually wins out over pessimism.