Landing Good Jobs After 50
Successful Five O'Clock Clubbers Share Their Stories
-by David Madison, Ph.D.

"Beauty and youth are no match
for age and stealth."
T-shirt slogan in the 1990s

Much has been made of the youth-oriented culture of our time, and not a few mass circulation magazines have bemoaned the "plight" of the older worker. The Five O'Clock Club has welcomed many "over-50" job seekers, and we have suspected that the situation is not as grim as it's made out to be. Some found being over 50 more of a handicap than others, but our graduates include older workers with great attitude who positioned themselves to be winners and came out on top. Here are a few examples.

Ed Mills

Remaining Competitive in the Workplace

"On interviews, I always carried with me some evidence of being physically active," Ed remarked. Sometimes it was his tennis equipment—he plays in the state championships for seniors. On the interview for his current job, when the conversation came to "outside interests," he pulled from his briefcase a picture of himself hiking at 14,000 feet on California's Mt. Whitney.

 Ed acknowledges, however, that, no matter how much he has been able to make the point that he is a high energy person, age discrimination was probably a factor in his job searches.

 "Some opportunities went away, and I didn't quite know why." But he also is confident that being over 50 actually worked in his favor in landing the position with 13/WNET, because of the amount and breadth of experience he had to offer: "15 years ago I would not have been as attractive a candidate."

 The key, Ed admits, was correct positioning, one of the fundamentals of Five O'Clock Club methodology, especially since he was attempting to move from the not-for-profit world. With the help of his counselor and small group, Ed built a rĖsumĖ that drew attention to his accomplishments and to his strengths on the technical side of direct marketing. With a high-impact, well-positioned rĖsumĖ, the age factor didn't get as much attention as it might have. And he attended sessions at the Club to maintain momentum.

 Ed was happy to land at 13/WNET, which, although a non-for-profit, "is a big station and it's a business in competition with for-profit companies. My position uses the full range of my abilities; it's challenging and it's hard work and it's good."

 In the months preceding his new position with 13/WNET, Ed was busy with several consulting assignments that helped him hone his computer skills—a vital factor in remaining competitive with younger workers.

 Ed's formula for keeping up-to-date also includes being active in professional associations, where he is often invited to be a guest speaker and last year he served as Treasurer for his 40th-year college class reunion.

     If retirement is taken to mean slowing down or cutting back, that doesn't seem to be part of Ed's agenda. "They tell me at â13' that I have to stay in this job at least 10 years. I suppose that looking 15 years out, I might not work full-time. I might do some consulting, I might travel and play some national level competition in tennis."

 Ed attended the Main Branch of the Club in Manhattan.

Barbara Plasker

Got Her Doctorate at Age 56

 "I went back to graduate school at age 48, and got my doctorate in adult education at 56." If Barbara was intimidated by the thought of age discrimination, she didn't let it stop her. She strategized how to get into a new field, and devoted a lot of thought to the issue of positioning. "The challenge for me is to find the right fit, and get potential employers to see what I can do, to see my potential. I don't see age as a factor—I may be in denial, but I tend not to look at it in that way, although that does creep into my fears as I go through the process." Barbara found the Five O'Clock Club assessment exercises especially helpful in defining her goals and positioning herself to get into training and development.

 Even before finding The Five O'Clock Club, Barbara knew that getting experience that she lacked would help her to move ahead. While in a counseling role at a university, she volunteered for staff development and faculty training projects. "These efforts were outside the purview of my job, but gave me experience towards my long-range goal."

 Barbara feels that it also helps to position herself as a person with energy—age discrimination, after all, may be largely a fear about people over 50 keeping up. When applying for a job that would require her to learn educational software and work with a different population, "I told the president of the company that I had the energy and ambition of a 27-year old." She positioned her herself so well in fact—and with such enthusiasm—that she was offered $12,000 more than the job was advertised for. "The Five O'Clock Club methodology helped me negotiate the job first and then the salary."

 Barbara says that she can't recall a time when she actually felt that age discrimination has held her back, but she notes that it can be hard to read—is it there or not? She recalls one interview in which she might have been at a disadvantage simply because of the youth of the interviewer, who was a recent MBA grad. "He was a delightful young man, but I don't think he knew what he was doing. He asked me lots of questions, but I don't know that he heard the answers."

  Barbara is not necessarily focused on retirement. "I love what I do. I want to continue doing it. I'm the breadwinner in my family. I'd like to work without the pressure of having to do it. In 10 or 15 years, I'd like to feel like I'm making a contribution to the world by using my gifts and talents—and I'm looking forward to enjoying my children and grandchildren."

 Barbara attended the Manhattan Central branch.

Jack Feldesman

Uses E-mail List-Serves to Keep Up

 "Do you have children in college?" was the interview question that made Jack suspect that age might be an issue. He is sure, however, that salary was the larger concern in his case. "Of all the interviews I had, at least 90-95% were for positions that paid less than I had been earning." Jack knew that being in a job for over 20 years—and advancing steadily—had put him in this position.

 Jack ended up in a job very similar to the one he left, so adopting The Five O'Clock Club's "consultant mentality" during the interview process was appropriate. He knew the issues and problems he would be facing, and was able to position himself effectively. "The match couldn't have been closer."

 One of the concerns about a candidate who has been at a job for 20 years may be adaptability more than age. Is the person simply too set in his ways or even out of touch? Jack makes full use of Internet resources to make sure that he is not growing stale. "I'm a member of a number of professional societies, including the American Society of Association Executives. They have a computerized list serve in a number of functional areas of the non-profit world. I belong to their finance and administration list serve. You get on line and see e-mails from hundreds of other people with similar interests, with questions on how to do this or that. It's incredible the amount of knowledge and information you can pick up. Your e-mail inquiry goes out on the list serve to over 1000 people and you get responses in a matter of minutes. This is a great form of continuing education."

 Jack feels that getting the right kind of help in job search is important. Attending Club meetings gave him a boost: "This kept the juices flowing. You meet with people weekly, you're told what to do, what not to do. Job hunting can be very lonely. There were fresh ideas. I went though an outplacement service that, frankly, did not help. If they had done as much as the Five O'Clock Club did, I would have landed sooner." 

 At the mention of retirement, Jack speaks of keeping busy. "I'd like to be doing something interesting 10 or 15 years from now. I'm going to be working for a long time. I haven't had a career peak yet."

 Jack attended a Maryland branch of the Club.

Bill Kovacs

Took Over at a Very Senior Level

 Looking for a job over 50 "is absolutely more difficult," according to Bill Kovacs, Director and Vice President, Senior Counsel and Chief Compliance Officer for a major financial institution. "It's harder, but it's do-able." He is enthusiastic about The Five O'Clock Club. "The fundamental product is very solid—it's much better, far more useful than my outplacement package: It went beyond keeping track of how many letters you sent. At my outplacement service, the attitude was to ignore the over-50 issue. But my Club counselor, Jim Speigler said, âYes, it's true, if you're over 50, you've got a problem. Now let's get on with it.'"

 As an attorney who chooses words carefully, Bill is reluctant to use the word discrimination. The problem, he suggests, is prejudice, how people at age 40, 50 or 60 are perceived. "If you're over 50, people assume you're a health risk, have an ego, are set in your ways, and are probably not up to date."

 So he suggests that facing these issues head-on is crucial. "If you get a phone call from a recruiter and don't address these fears, you don't get a second phone call."

 Add competition to prejudice and the job search becomes especially difficult. "There are 50 qualified lawyers chasing after every good job." Being extremely proactive in the market, however, paid off. Bill admits that he had failed to cultivate an extensive network of contacts in his field, which probably made his job search more difficult. But he adopted networking intensively. Making full use of contact management software, "...every three months I'd go through my list of more than 400 contacts—I'd make the phone calls or send the letters." This eventually paid off.

 And his age worked in his favor. "A 63-year-old lawyer was retiring early. The company wanted a person with more than 20 years' experience. They wanted someone who could come in immediately and do this job with no training—just show up and take over at a very senior level."

 For Bill, keeping up at his level means intensive reading—and amassing information. He admits that reading SEC rule releases is not especially fun, but he brings home many hours worth of reading per week. "I read with discipline, taking notes. I have a personal reference library, currently 36 file drawers of hard copy." He recently acquired a scanner to help store, manage and access his growing library. To keep up in today's world, he advises, "you've got to be a computer junkie."

 Despite the hours that he must spend on diligent reading, Bill loves what he does. "I enjoy working. Retirement doesn't appeal to me." But he would like to see more balance in the way the American workforce operates. "Today, if you're going to be highly compensated, you've got to work 60 to 90 hours per week, 49 to 50 weeks a year. I would love to be able to do two-thirds of the work I do, and have one-third more time for myself—but not retire."

 Bill attended the Chicago branch of the Club.

Ida Lowe

From Academia to Corporate—After 25 Years

 "I don't think if I'd come in with white hair it would have made any difference," Ida claims. "I don't think I encountered age discrimination. I find that the baby boomer generation has a different attitude toward age. When my mother was 50, she felt old. I don't feel old, and the people around me don't feel or act old." She recalls the remark of Gloria Steinham to someone who said to her, "You don't look fifty:" "This is what 50 looks like."

 Ida was much more concerned about her attempt to move from academia to the corporate world—after almost 25 years at a college. She accomplished the leap to the for-profit world because she positioned herself well, stressing her management skills especially. "I did the Seven Stories exercise before writing my rĖsumĖ; it helped me get focused. I had a lot of experience that was all over the place. I recommend the Five O'Clock Club to everyone I can. It was very good for me because I'd never looked for a job, and I found a job within a month."

 Being in a high tech field, Ida is not about to let her technical skills slip, and her daily routine includes the homework required to remain current. Her long commute gives her a lot of time to read trade literature, but she also attends conferences, takes classes and subscribes to several Internet discussion lists.

 Ida doesn't believe her career has peaked, and looks forward to many more years on the job. "I can't imagine the idea of retiring. Even if I won the lottery, I wouldn't want to give up working. I find it very satisfying and fulfilling. I couldn't retire and pamper myself." But her vision of the future does allow for a more relaxed pace: "At 70 I would like to work part-time on project management. When I was in academia, I took consulting jobs for the United Nations, and had the opportunity to go to Africa. I wouldn't mind taking it easier—but I don't want to stop working."

 Ida attended the main branch of The Five O'Clock Club in Manhattan.