Job Search After 50
Tapping a Valuable Resource
by Kate Wendleton

Fifty isn't as old as it used to be. The average American today is living 29 years longer than the average American did at the turn of the last century-but those years are being tacked on to middle age-not old age. People today are in better health and are planning to work longer. They have a whole career in front of them.

      So, if a person wants to work, what can he or she do?

1.    First, ask yourself how many more years you want to work. If it's only five years, you can try to stay in your current field, perhaps with a smaller company. But if you want to work for 20 more years-as many people do-develop a plan that you find exciting.

2.    Decide how you want to live those years and what you must do to get there. Do your Seven Stories Exercise and your Forty-Year Vision. (That's right. Plan through age 90.) Develop a vision for the next five years, fifteen years, and so on. Your fifties may be different from your sixties, which may be different from your seventies. But you can engage your brain for many years to come.

      For many people, this is an opportunity to work non-traditional hours and also to capitalize on all the experiences they've accumulated. Here are a few examples:

· Bill felt he had done what others wanted all his life, and felt it was time he did what he wanted. He just didn't know what that was.

            At age 61, it took him 6 months of planning to start his own consulting business-ranging from serving as a trustee on a foundation to handling real estate deals that involve a few mining ventures. He's having a ball-more fun than he even thought possible. And he has flexible hours so he can spend time with his grandchildren and run marathons in Bermuda!

· Gerry, at age 55, decided to move from his banking job to private banking, which is a bit of a growth field and one where age is a plus. He became a certified financial planner, and is now interviewing with 14 companies, trying to decide which would be best for him.

· Marian wanted to get into the hospitality field. She got a job at Arthur Anderson through Advantage Staffing Services-a temporary placement firm. She's working full-time in the field she wanted.

· Art had been a general manager of top major-market radio stations. He decided to help a large company set up new radio affiliates so he could be an owner rather than an employee.

· Carol, a former homemaker who handled the family's finances, decided to start her own business helping elderly people with their finances. She got all of her leads from her local bank!

To overcome the prejudice against older workers:

· Be spiffy looking: get some new clothes.

· Appear energetic: talk about going skiing or hang-gliding (just kidding).

· Be willing to pitch in: don't see anything as beneath you.

· Maturity and experience count. Many companies staffed with kids still want a few gray heads around to call on the big corporate clients and to help the company avoid big mistakes. "I hope you want a mature person: someone who's been around the block ..."

· Don't confuse age prejudice with salary prejudice. If people don't want you because you cost too much, then don't say that it's because you're too old. Address the salary issue. Find someone who is willing to pay you what you are worth.

· Look to those companies that have fewer than 1,000 employees. They need people who can hit the ground running.

Those over 50 need to:

· Develop a plan. Where do you want to go? How do you want to live your life? How many more years do you want to work? If you're going to work another 20 years, keep up your skills and join associations.

· Learn how to market yourself. Older people are often used to being in one place for many years. They work hard, but don't know how to promote themselves to the world. Show energy and enthusiasm.

· Pick up new skills. Everyone else has to. Why should you be different? Don't say: I'll learn it after they hire me. Learn it now. Keep up-to-date. Things are changing. (One older executive took a course in keyboarding; another in not-for-profit management.) Consider part-time or temporary assignments to learn new skills.

· Prove yourself-even though you don't feel you should have to. Recent grads and older workers both think that they have already proven themselves-but they are both our of sync with this market. Today, job search requires a more proactive approach.

· Don't use your age as an excuse for not being hired. Maybe the problem is something else. Try to figure out what it is. At The Five O'Clock Club, people over 50 who work the system are finding good work in the same amount of time as those who are under 50.