Top 10 Tips for Older Job Hunters

Thanks to their seniority, folks 55 and older were once less likely than their younger co-workers to be laid off during a recession. Not this time around. Steep manufacturing cuts have hit older workers particularly hard. And even in workplaces where seniority still provides protection, older men have less of it than they used to; only 44% of male workers aged 58 to 62 work for the same employer they were with at age 50, down from 70% 25 years ago.


Here are some tips for older layoff victims.

No. 1: Keep Your Health Insurance

If you have employer-provided health insurance, use "COBRA"--a federal provision that lets you continue in your ex-employer's plan, but without an employer subsidy. It was always essential to stay insured, and now it's affordable too. Under the stimulus package passed in February, the feds will pick up 65% of your COBRA premium for nine months. Warning: If your adjusted gross income is more than $250,000 for a couple or $125,000 for an individual, you'll have to pay some or all of the federal subsidy back when you file your tax return.



No. 2: Consider Americorps

If you don't need too much income and would like to do work such as tutoring, consider Americorps. A law President Obama signed in April slowly increases the number of federally funded Americorps slots from 75,000 to 250,000 and aims to fill 10% of them with folks 55 and older. The jobs pay minimum wage plus a $4,725 education grant (increasing to $5,350 Oct. 1) for each year worked. Under the new law, this grant can be transferred to children or grandchildren. Another senior-friendly change: Americorps slots used to be full-time jobs lasting a maximum of two years. Now they can be turned into part-time jobs lasting longer.



No. 3: Find Senior-Friendly Employers Online

At www.retirementjobs.com, you'll find 20,000 listings from employers that say they're open to applications from older workers. AARP, the 40-million member organization for folks 50 and older, lists 41 companies, from AT&T to Walgreens, that have won spots on its "National Employer Team" and links to those employers' job sites at www.aarp.org/money.


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Should Older Job Hunters Use Facebook?

By ELIZABETH GARONE
Q: How important is it for educated, laid-off professionals over the age of 50 to join networking sites? I am very Web and computer savvy, but do not really care to get involved with Facebook, LinkedIn, etc.  
                                                      

A: You would be doing yourself a disservice not to have a profile on a networking site in the current job market, career experts say. It's becoming increasingly common for recruiters to use these as their first point of contact with potential employees. Without one, you could be in danger of being overlooked.

"First, it shows you're relevant," says Diane Darling, founder and chief executive officer of Effective Networking Inc. in Boston. "And, two, it gives you a very easy Web link that anybody can go to get your data points, from a resume to awards you might have received or anything along those lines."

It would be a mistake to think that networking sites are only for "a younger crowd," adds Jason Alba, author of "I'm on LinkedIn – Now What???" "There are a lot of jobs getting filled from these social networks, and I'd hate to think they are all going to younger professionals simply because you aren't there," he says.

Some networking sites are even exclusive to high-level professionals, such as ExecuNet (http://www.execunet.com/) and The Financial Executives Network group (http://www.thefeng.org/).

When 50-year-old Chuck Hester started a job search in 2006, he let 50 or so of his LinkedIn connections in the Raleigh, N.C., area know he was open to new opportunities in marketing or public relations. One of them -- someone he'd never met -- was Ryan Allis, CEO of iContact Corp., an email-marketing company. Mr. Allis responded with an offer to get together in person and Mr. Hester accepted. During the meeting, the executive invited Mr. Hester to interview for a newly created position as director of public relations at his firm. Mr. Hester agreed and was subsequently hired. "I truly believe I got my job through LinkedIn," he says. "In today's world, it is through social-media sites you are going to get the next position."

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Gap In Employment: "Feeling Abused By Management"

Posted by Comment Of The Day Contributor George Abney 

From Article on  "Gap In Employment".How Do You Address It On A Resume?

No.. I was not in a coma for five years.
No.. I was not in prison for two years.
No.. I was not on a job in Columbia.
No.. I was not working a ball and chain under a deputy's gun.

Yes.. I started a landscaping business that failed miserably.
Yes.. I needed time to recover from the damage by physical labor.
Yes.. The painting business just didn't work out. Too may of my workers
turned out to be illegals, or ex-convicts who specialized on milking the timeclock.
Yes...I was a student again at age 45/55/65...
Yes...I discovered my retirement pension fund was looted by management
and I had to return to job hunting where no one over age 45 was selected for
interview.

Yes..I discovered the Americans Disability Act means nothing during HR interviews
when my most frequent answer was "HUH? Would you please repeat that question?"
Yes.. I do have severe dental problems. WHO can afford a dentist anymore?
Yes..I really DO object to the feel of an interviewer's naked foot dragging along the
inside of my leg during an interview.
Yes..I really DO object to the intrusion of a spontaneous neck massage during a job interview.
Yes..I dare to think the job is nothing but the job. I resent being screened as another male hustler by resort management keen to make a guest's stay as 'pleasant' as possible.

Yes. I have had ALL of these experiences...and then some that are unprintable. I resigned immediately when I discovered such abuse was endorsed and encouraged by management.



Have you had similar experiences? Your reaction.

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Boomer: Are You Part Of The Spend and Borrow Generation?

Thomas Friedman points out that as boomers coming from a generation of "Spend & Borrow" we are still leveraging from our parents generation of "Save and Invest". With the back drop of Zero job creation in August Meet The Press discusses the current jobless recovery. What the President and Congress might do during this new congressional session? The problem is politics will certainly get in the way. Its pretty simple: One Political party sees government as a job facilitator. The other Political party sees government as a inhibitor of job growth. If you are unemployed it is very difficult not to have government affect you through its policies or programs. Just go down a quick checklist:

• Unemployment payroll benefits
• Food stamps including supplemental nutritional  food assistance
• Cobra health insurance and HIPPA
• Education: Federal Pell grants

With an average unemployment for a worker over 45 yeasr old lasting approximately 55 weeks and a rate of unemployment still at over 7% (varies both by exact age and sex) what role do you think the Federal Government should have in helping us get out of the worst economic slump and job creation since the depression? Nothing , something or the Full Monty? (Editor's Note)

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