<p>I’m 55 and was laid off a few months ago, so back in the job market again. I know that it will take more time to find another position than someone half my age, so I’m prepared. I also know there will be age discrimination and am prepared for that.</p>
<p>Part of me is feeling very rebellious these days though. I refuse to start coloring my hair again to look ‘younger’. It is so sexist that grey hair in a man is considered distinguished, and in a woman it means ‘old’. I am very fit, have a nice, current wardrobe, and have lots of experience. </p>
<p>Maybe I’m naive, but I want to be hired for my experience and competence, and am counting on employers who won’t hold it against me for looking my age.</p>
<p>^^ I know a guy who had a full head of gray hair, somewhat prematurely gray, who showed up at work one day with very black hair. I made plenty of fun of him for it but he was convinced it would help him in the workplace. He ended up leaving and going to another company and he was sure is dark hair made a difference. I don’t know if it was really a factor or not but I’m with you - I wouldn’t color my hair, but then I’m quite distinguished looking (if it’s proportional to the amount of gray hair)</p>
<p>Post #63, the guy on the right and the guy on the left looks the same age. However, one is more muscular than the other, not necessarily younger.</p>
<p>ucb,
He is not a risk-taker, does not want to look as if he is planning to retire in ANY way…
He is probably paranoid, but I can tell you, he absolutely won’t BUDGE.
I have been ready to sell our house for three years. I even had it ready to go in March 2009 (signed agreement with agent, scheduled photographer and open house), and that day he pulled the plug.
Don’t get me started…
All he ever hears from head-hunters and career consultants is that he has to find his next job through his network; they have not showed him any ideas for positions or for career changes; it is a tough time, and the message for someone his age with his skills is particularly bad.
He has explored with his accountant how to run a business from our home and has one idea that should be easy to implement, but he is not enthusiastic.
MY bet is that his career is a young man’s business, and that he needs to change careers to something OUT of his network. And if we move out of the area to save money, there will be NO network of any kind.
I am waiting patiently as we spend our savings (of course I have restricted spending to the bare minimum, but this house does need maintenance) for some action on the job-hunting and the down-sizing front, but he is focusing on how to keep THIS job as long as possible, in a “one thing at a time” and “I want to look and be totally committed to what I am doing now” way.
I also think he is scared he will never find another job…</p>
<p>He is afraid his bosses will see that and assume he is giving up, thinking about retiring, and then they will force him out. So he thinks it is a way to help keep the job he has now.
He has already been demoted into a very frustrating to live up to performance expectations position, but the pay and benefits are much better than if he was asked to leave and had to start up something on his own. “A job in hand” is better then any other one he an imagine afterwards, or no job.
As the former manager (pre-merger) of the department, he feels he need to show confidence in his lifestyle.
That is his thinking…</p>
<p>The problem with all the “looking younger and fit” (which I think I do) is that in my position you respond to a lot of postings with your resume. The old “take the dates off” is no longer the rule and it is quite clear that I am a very “senior” applicant. Many times you don’t even get to be in front of them face to face. Of course you also network, use your linkedin contacts etc., but the fact remains that it can be pretty hard to hide your true age when you have 30 + years of experience…</p>
<p>I list running and tennis (among other things) under Other Interests. The last time I looked for a job was in the summer of 1994 so I’m pretty rusty in the job hunting and resume area but what I have learned in the meantime is that having hobbies and outside interests can help you get people interested in hiring you - even if you’re not looking.</p>
<p>Looking fit (or not looking unhealthy) may be more useful if you’re already working in a large company where there are openings in other departments and where you are already seen by others.</p>
<p>Performersmom, are all your kiddos of at college now? That is a very natural time to downsize, and shouldn’t raise any eyebrows at all if you both give that as the reason and stick to your story.</p>
<p>I interview regularly for “jobs” because I have a project management consulting practice. I would say I average hunting/interviewing about once every 18 months (sometimes a gig lasts years, but sometimes I have a string of 6 month stints). I almost always get regular job offers from my clients after I have been there for a few months. Many of the “6 month” experiences are because I would rather not continue with the client at the end of our originally agreed upon time period than because they terminate my contract.</p>
<p>MOMWC, I don’t worry about the length of my resume, I consider it a strength in my search because everything on it is rock solid useful management/work experience. BC, personally, I would never put outside interests on my resume. I certainly would discuss them in an interview if I heard or saw some hint of a shared interest while I was there. And I agree that connections made in places outside of work can sometimes lead to job leads or offers. I think I got a job once because the guy I interviewed with had the same duck print that used to hang in my dad’s office, and I commented on it. But I feel like putting outside interests on your resume can hurt as much as help; people have biases you have no idea about. Their first pass on your resume is whether you have the professional qualifications and would be a hard worker. I wouldn’t let anything distract them from that. Once you get in for the interview, I fully agree that a shared interest can be useful. But I personally wait until I have my foot in the door on my professional credentials before bringing up anything outside of work (kids, hobbies, etc.). You just don’t want a hint of a doubt in their minds about where your focus is (on the job).</p>
<p>Well, my graduation dates are on my resume too but an interviewer going by those would think that I’m ten years younger as I received my degrees in my 30s.</p>
<p>dstark- my wife is doing the exact opposite. There is a new medical facility opening that will need exercise physiologists and she wants to apply. She will leave all dates off her resume. In person my wife looks significantly younger than her age. She is very petite with dark black hair- no gray and can pass for much younger than her 54. The place will not open for at least 2 years so I hope she never applies. I do not think she realizes how much better her business is than having a boss for the first time since she when she was in her late 20’s. From an income analysis she will also not make near as much money either. For some reason she wants the experience of working in a professional setting.</p>
![http://static.abbottnutrition.com/cms/BODYFORLIFE/IMAGES/champion_1998_life.jpg]the](http://static.abbottnutrition.com/cms/BODYFORLIFE/IMAGES/champion_1998_life.jpg%5Dthe){kind=link}
