7 Tips for Finding a Job After 50

Hiring managers are often lazy and narrow minded. They want people who are just like them, who are teh same age, who went to the same schools, who have the same tastes etc. They usually use teh school the person went to as a filter so they don't have to do it. A person who went to Wharton or Tuck is considered a superior being to one who went to a state school for example. Its also easier to hire a younger person from a prestigious school. They come cheaper, are superior (so they think) and will stay longer than someone over 50. I actually had a hiring manager say directly to me "Why should we hire you when we can hire someone from yale?" If he was testing me I would say that a hiring interview is no place to play games with people. Thus if you are over 50 and went to a second tier school will find it brutal to find work in this economy.

Remember in any organization many people can say no. From teh receptionist to the guy in the mail room to the HR manager they can reject you by simply not moving your resume up the ladder. Only one person can say YES and that is the person you must find by hook or crook. Finding him and getting your information into his hands requires guile, research and nerve. Sometimes its just a matter of walking into the office and studying the office directory usually it takes a lot of work. When you find the guy, and it wont be in the HR department,

Web sites like Monster .com are largely useless but should be used under the idea of turning over every rock, but don't depend on them for anything. People who use them look for key phrases and very specific skills and experience.

Don't lie about anything that can be simply looked up. Don't give yourself a degree or award you don't have.

Don't try to age proof your resume. Vague dates are a red flag to any experienced hiring manager. A genuine hiring manager, who is not a lazy snob, will tell you about the job and what he needs and what his work problems are, and not ask about other nonsense like your age and where do you think you will be in 5 years.

Ross Mandell of CT 1:53PM April 06, 2010

I got laid off at age 51. I did all the usual things that people tell you when you're looking for a job. Job Boards for executives. Went to "networking" events and talked to other old unemployed people. Nothing worked, until I tried something really unique. I bought a course on what I would call extreme networking. Got it from Old Headhunter Secrets. A month later, I got a VP job at nearly the same salary I had before. You have to do a lot more research on a company you want to work for. Study the website, sure, but then talk to people at the company. Find out where (or with who) they are having problems, take those people out to lunch if you have to. Ask them to introduce you to other people in their department. Talk to them too. Every company has problems. Then don't send a resume, create a business presentation on how you can solve their problems. Pick up the phone and talk to the CEO or a SVP about how you can save them money or increase revenue (or both) and then ask for a meeting! The third time I did this, the CEO hired me on the spot!

Ken Andrews of MA 9:33AM December 29, 2009

Why bother? There are no jobs out there for 50+ yr-olds. Months of looking. Yes, and by the way the great company I used to work for laid me off 6 days before I would have been eligible for the company match on the 401k. They, like a lot of other companies, had a 3-year cliff vesting- one day short of 3 years and you don't get the match. That saved them a couple thousand dollars, and gave me a nice kick in the pants on the way out the door.

grr80 of CT 11:06PM September 16, 2009

40 million Americans * $1 million each = $40 trillion. Are you an Obama budget advisor or something?

dave of FL 1:33PM September 11, 2009