Barbara J. Hamby

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How to Get a Job When You’re a Female Over Fifty

We’ve all heard the sad stories of older job hunters, especially females over fifty.  In spite of regulations forbidding age and/or sex discrimination, such discrimination still occurs and the perpetrators are lurking out there in the job marketplace.  However, it’s not impossible to beat it.  Paying careful attention to four important parts of the application process—resume, interview, salary negotiation, and follow-up can lead to success.

1.  Preparing a resume and cover letter.

As an older job-seeker, you may be able to fill many pages with your educational and employment history.  Don’t.  Abbreviate and eliminate as much as possible, while retaining what is essential to present your qualifications for the specific job you are seeking.  Don’t include your dates of graduation from various educational institutions.  The fact that you obtained a diploma or certificate is sufficient.  There is no reason to emphasize your age.  Do include all relevant education and employment of significant duration.  Obviously, if you are applying for a position as a personnel director and you washed dishes in a diner while in school, that isn’t relevant.  It might possibly impress a prospective employer with your diligence and determination, but it could also be negative.  School was a long time ago.  If you worked less than a year somewhere, for any reason, it is probably best to omit that information.  Women job-hunters who have families are expected to have spent periods of time between jobs occasionally, caring for children or obtaining additional education.

I can’t emphasize enough the importance of neatness and accuracy on a resume.  Typos, spelling errors, and obvious incorrect grammar or usage can wipe out any chance an otherwise well-qualified applicant might have, particularly if the job involves the use of any of those skills.  If you don’t have a computer with spelling check, ask a friend for the use of one, or have the friend type your resume, or if all else fails, pay a service to prepare a professional resume.  The cost is reasonable and the finished product, if you have selected a qualified service, is well worth it.  If you’re not satisfied with the resume prepared for you by professionals, let them know and try to have it redone to meet your requirements. 

When you have your perfect resume reproduced on quality paper, prepare a cover letter specifically directed to the prospective employer to whom you plan to send the resume.  Newspaper advertisements, state employment offices, private employment agencies, and any source you can find, should be constantly searched for prospects.  Do as much research as possible on the company or agency where you plan to apply.  Point out in your cover letter what especially interests you about that company or agency and the particular position you wish to fill.  Also outline how you can help them achieve their goals.  When you are selling yourself and your abilities to a prospective employer, modesty is not the best policy.  Be confident, but don’t exaggerate your capabilities or accomplishments.

When a prospective employer has received your resume, cover letter and/or application (if required), follow up after a few days with a phone call.  You might say:  “This is Susan Jones.  I left a resume with you a few days ago and I wondered if you have had a chance to look it over.” If no one has looked at it yet, ask if it would be a good idea for you to call back again in a week or so.  If you are told they’ve decided not to hire at this time, ask if they will keep your resume on file and possibly consider you at a future time.  Twice, I have actually been contacted by employers who kept my resume on file.  I was hired for one of those positions; I turned the other one down.  If they say, “Don’t call us, we’ll call you,” or words to that effect, it is probably best to wait for their call.  However, don’t wait forever, but continue your efforts with other prospective employers.

2.  Interview. 

As part of your preparation for interviews, there are a number of things that you can and should do as soon as you know you are going to be job hunting.  If you have gray hair, even if you love your streak or streaks, or silver-haired look, cover it with a temporary rinse.  All hiring personnel will deny any age discrimination, and that may be true at a conscious level, but coloring my hair has worked for me all the times I have been hired since age fifty.  Drastic changes in hair color should be avoided, however.  Very dark hair emphasizes wrinkles, while very blond or yellow hair can look unnatural.  Also, be sure you are not still wearing your high-school hairdo (unless it is back in style again and looks well on you).  Update your hairstyle, while being sure it is flattering to the shape of your face and your age.  Dress neatly and as fashionably as appropriate for the position you are seeking.  Be as fit as possible.  Get enough exercise so that you can be limber enough to sit and rise gracefully, as well as bend over to pick up any dropped item.  Nothing emphasizes age more than stiff, awkward motion.  Unless you are five feet tall or shorter, don’t wear four-inch heels.  If you are tall, towering over an interviewer can be intimidating and you will lose points immediately.  Wear a minimum of jewelry.  Nothing should distract your interviewer from your personality and what you have to say. 

Exude confidence during the interview.  Practice in front of a mirror ahead of time.  If you can get a family member or friend to act as an interviewer, so much the better.  The more familiar the situation is to you, the less overwhelming it will be.  Nervousness can cause memory loss, confusion and embarrassment.  If you can achieve a state of calm (easier said than done), an interview will progress much more smoothly.  If you feel shaky, with sweaty palms or weak knees, take deep breaths as unobtrusively as possible.  If you have done your homework and are totally convinced that you are the best person for the job, it is easier to relax.  I have actually enjoyed a few employment interviews.

A friendly smile as you enter the interviewer’s office is helpful, but don’t be over-friendly.  Often you can determine, by paying close attention, whether the tone of the interview will be very formal or quite casual, and act accordingly.  Try not to be intimidated, if you are interviewed by a panel of people, or asked to take a battery of tests.  Even if some of the tests appear to you to be very stupid, don’t express that opinion.  Answer all questions honestly.  Unless you are asked to give a lengthy explanation of an answer or tell why you want the job or are interested in the company or agency, don’t give long, drawn-out answers or volunteer information not asked for. 

Usually at the end of an interview the interviewer will ask if you want to add anything you would like them to know about you or your experience, e.g., special training, awards you have received or abilities that apply specifically to the position under consideration.  Be prepared to offer any appropriate information, if asked.

3.  Salary negotiation.

Sometimes salary will be discussed during the interview.  Occasionally a prospective employer will prefer to wait until making the actual job offer before discussing salary.  Either way, never give your bottom-line figure initially.  You can never negotiate upwards; you can always go down.  If possible, find out what the interviewer has in mind as an appropriate salary offer.  If not, ask for what you want.  Then, depending on how badly you need or want the job, negotiate appropriately.  Remember, if you take a ridiculously low offer, especially one much lower than your previous salary, that is the point from which you will have to negotiate for future positions.

Benefits are a critical part of an employment offer package.  Sometimes they are negotiable, more often not.  Health insurance coverage is extremely vital and, if it is not offered with at least a partial subsidy by the employer, a higher salary should be expected to compensate for that deficiency.  Whether or not paid vacations are provided is necessary for future planning.  It is also important to find out what the policy will be for offering future raises—how often and how large.

4.  Follow-up after interview.

A day or so after the interview, if you have not yet heard from the prospective employer, a follow-up letter thanking the interviewer for the time spent with you and expressing your continued interest in working for them is usually helpful.

If you find time passing by while you are job hunting, instead of becoming impatient and discouraged, spend that time upgrading your skills and broadening your knowledge.  If you can afford computer classes or whatever education is appropriate to your field, get busy and learn as much as you can.  Nothing is more detrimental to your job hunt than outdated skills.  The fact that you can type over 100 words a minute on a manual machine is not very useful nowadays.  Don’t show a prospective employer that you are unwilling or unable to keep up-to-date in the market place.  A woman I know who lives in Seattle went to school to learn computers and word processing when she was past fifty to make herself more employable.  She has been steadily employed for a number of years since that time, using those skills.

If, after all your best efforts, you receive a letter or telephone call advising you that someone else has been hired, don’t waste time or energy in despair.  Somewhere out there is the right job for you.  Get out there and find it!