You’ve probably heard—and maybe even said—that it’s impossible to find a new job once you’ve reached a certain age. And we talked about ageism last time, so let’s dig a little deeper into the north-of-50 job search.
First of all, I do want to acknowledge that it’s harder to find a new once you’ve got some miles behind you, especially if you’ve been out of the paid workforce for a while. But it’s still possible!
The first thing you can do is update your skills a bit. This doesn’t have to be a long, expensive journey. Find some jobs you’re interested in and see if there are any programs you aren’t familiar with, any tools they’re talking about, and so forth. Then head on over to YouTube to see what you can learn for free. If you need more, check into free access to LinkedIn Learning (sometimes available through your public library) and low-cost options on platforms like Coursera and Udemy. Formal classes will give you the benefit of a credential to add to your resume or LinkedIn profile, but they aren’t always necessary.
Next, define the things you’re willing to do in order to get back into the workforce. You may not be able to focus as narrowly as you did before, so think about what would be good, what would be acceptable, and what would be a hard pass. For your next role, you might need to settle for something in the acceptable category, so think about how the industry or employer will let you grow so that you can move into something good sooner rather than later.
Once you’re clear about that, start to optimize your resume. The rules from the last post still apply (take “objective” off and give it a mercy killing!) so look around for examples of 2025 resumes for the fields you’re considering. If you’re not sure where to even begin writing an up-to-date resume, check out https://www.themuse.com/advice/resumes, https://hbr.org/2022/05/how-to-write-a-resume-that-will-stand-out and https://www.indeed.com/career-advice/resumes-cover-letters/resume-format-guide-with-examples.
Be sure to demonstrate your experience and knowledge. At this stage, you have lots of experience that younger workers lack! Embrace it. Talk about mentoring others, acknowledge the fullness of what you’ve done, list those tech skills. (I don’t know about you, but the first time I used a computer, we were writing DOS code in pixelated green font on a black screen—I am clearly not afraid I will break the system.) Show examples of your success, and have stories ready to go for an interview.
Get familiar with platforms like Zoom and Teams. Video interviews have largely (though not entirely) replaced phone screens, and the more familiar you are with the tech, the more you will come off as a real pro during an online interview. Download the tools in advance, and practice using them so you’re familiar with them.
Work on those interview skills. Practice hard questions (“If you were a bird, what kind of bird would you be and why?”) so you can answer smoothly, but without seeming robotic. Tools like https://www.tealhq.com/tools/ai-interview-practice can help if you really just need some practice. Don’t be shy about asking friends and family for help, either.
And if you want to feel less like you’re doing this alone, check out job search councils (https://www.neversearchalone.org/) and job seeker support groups in your area. Sites like https://80000hours.org/ and https://www.mycareerspan.com/ can be helpful resources as well.
Finally, don’t give up! I know the job search stinks. I know it can be demoralizing and frustrating. But I also know that you’ve done hard things before, which means you can do hard things again.
