Mid 50s - will I ever work again?

[Greenseacat]

I have had no luck finding a permanent job for almost a year and I am starting to lose hope I will ever find anything.

I seem to be getting regular interviews so I assume my CV/statement/application forms are of a good standard and the feedback is always very generic: usually that I was good at the interview but that they went for someone who is a better fit for the role, so nothing tangible I can even improve on.

This week has just been the worse: I was asked to have a chat with an employer I interviewed for last week (so got my hopes up) but it was only to be told that I was there second choice if their chosen candidate did not accept the job (which they did). Today I was ready for another interview, got a call that HR had made a mistake and sent the candidates the wrong location and could I travel to another town 45 minutes away. Just as I was about to start my journey another call to say that actually the interviews would be rescheduled because too many people could not make the new time/location...

And on and on it goes, one soul destroying experience after another and this is affecting my self-confidence.

All I have done in the past year are some freelance contracts which at least kept me in contact with the workplace but that is not enough to keep me going financially and I am now facing having to claim benefits if nothing comes good in the next couple of weeks.

I am 55 and I have a long term health condition, which means I can only work part-time. So I know this goes against me but there is nothing I can do to change that.

I have applied to job in my usual area of work (comms, marketing, website management, fundraising, project management, copywriting for charities and small businesses) but I am also applying for pretty much any part-time role going where I could transfer my skills but nothing seems to be working...

Anyone has been successful finding new employment in their mid-50s and has any advice?

I'm sure you have done already, but are you registered on the Civil Service jobs alert.? We hire a lot of "mid-lifers" and plenty party time. Good luck

Part time does limit a bit. Perhaps as pp says CS could be better.

Party time. That would be a lovely contact to have 😊

Yes. I have applied for a couple of jobs with them so far.

[waves]
I did find a fixed term contract at 55. That ends soon.
I am able and willing to work full time so not quite the same as OP.

Search up Work from Home Hub on Facebook. She posts some great jobs and has hints and tips for getting the job you want x

That site could do with the ability to filter!

Have you applied for jobs at private schools? They are all expanding their marketing teams post the VAT intro and may be more accommodating of part time (they get your expertise for less). Look at education jobs boards like TES etc.

Late 40s, like a PP my way back in was through temp work that got extended and then made perm. At several junctures they could have ended it but I clung on.

Prior to that I had a temp role that wasn't extended, and was shite anyway, plus 2 periods of unemployment of a few months and another temp role to keep me going.

It's no way to live if you need security but 3 years later I'm back in a stable situation.

Best of luck!

You are getting interviews so that’s really positive (a lot of people aren’t even getting a reply to their applications). Sounds like you’re a good candidate - just unlucky right now and the job market is really poor at the moment.

I recently started a totally new job in the civil service aged 58 so it’s still possible to have a career move.

After having a sucessful career I had a decade as a SAHM and at nearly 50 wanted to go back to work. I took a job as a Medical Receptionist at a GP Surgery part time. Honestly I love it. These jobs lend themselves perfectly with older women. Most of my colleages are 50's and 60's. The youngest is late 40's. All have had previous careers in a multitude of different industries. It is so interesting and rewarding.

I'm 57 and applied and was successful with a customer services role at local council. I am FT but they also offered PT. I am loving it so far. It did mean quite a big pay cut, but there are other advantages. Most of my team are also older, which has caused me a bit of panic over holidays as I'm used to seeing the non-school holidays weeks being quite free - no more!

May I ask what you moved from and to and what the salary is like?

Have sent you a PM.

Have you tried the specialist charity sector recruitment agencies? Have a chat with them, there are a few. Be open to temporary and interim work. The charity job sites have lots of fundraising roles.

I moved from marketing to fundraising and find there are lots of roles and many departments are begging for applicants - I know at least one big name organisation with 3+ vacancies in its fundraising teams. Not as well paid obviously but some sectors (education, especially HE, medical research) are much better paid than others.

Yes OP. I also work in comms, tech marketing etc. I was made redundant along with most of my colleagues after furlough during covid (2020), aged 57. It took me 7 months to find a new suitable role which was tough. Hard to maintain self belief.

Then my employer was sold and my role was redundant again in 2024, I was 61. That time it only took 7 weeks to sign a new contract.

The second time, I changed the profile of companies I targetted, from those wanting perky 30yo hi-tech marketing managers, and with an overwhelmingly "young" culture, to those that were less fasionable, but longer standing brands where the message was of quality, impeccable customer service and a long standing reputation. Where strategy & experience were valued more than the latest buzzwords. I took a lower salary but with a 7 min rural commute so financially not much of a hit, and a far better work/life balance.

The market is very tough at the moment, it isn't you. Economic confidence is low, Rachel Reeves raised the cost of employing anyone, so vacancies have dropped. You may need to be flexible on pay, but you will get there. Network like mad, look at other markets, look locally. Good luck.

I hear you OP. I'm mid fifties and haven't worked for over 25 years. The plan was to go back part time when DS was in school but I was diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis in my 30s which became quite severe quite quickly. The disease (and other health issues) plus the medication I take for it leave me absolutely flattened more often than not. Finding work - something part time and flexible with employers who are understanding, although I do accept it's a big ask - has been impossible. I've applied for literally thousands of jobs over the years but I have no references, am disabled, have not worked for so long, no recent experience... I'm having to accept that nobody will give me a chance. All I need is a few hours a week so I can contribute to the household.

I can't even get a volunteering role because they all need references and I know literally nobody who can give me one reference, let alone two.

I feel washed up and useless, it's utter crap.

Thank you everyone for the additional comments. I really appreciate all the advice and support I have received!

It is good to hear positive stories and also that others are in the same situation as I am.

I think I need to take it day by day and remind myself that I am doing everything I can to find a job. I had another 1st interview yesterday and waiting to hear if I will be put through the second round.

To answer some people queries:

• I have started applying to jobs through agencies that specialise in the 3rd sector and I have a chat booked with one of them this afternoon about a fundraising job
• I will look at admin jobs in education as well, that sounds like a good idea.

I really don't mind a lower paying job. I will take almost anything I can physically do.

This may sound like hippie woo woo but during my unemployed period I really got into manifestation, visualizing my goal etc and actually got my perfect job a couple of months later. Yes, temporary at first but I honestly don't think I had the experience to successfully compete on the perm market at that level and it went perm a year later.

Could be confirmatory bias, maybe it just focused me but something worked!

Glad it worked for you!

I have been listening to daily guided meditations on YouTube and I find that helps calm down my anxiety.