Senior Careers

If you’re planning to work well past the traditional retirement age of 65, you’re now in the majority. No longer can you depend on a combination of Social Security, pensions and savings to fund a good life. Income from work is necessary to fill the gap between what you have and what you need, especially as health costs increase, pensions become rarer and smaller; and pension defaults are increasing.

Benefits of having a job, even if you don’t need the money

Life is most meaningful when you have a purpose and satisfying relationships. Working offers unparalleled opportunities to stretch talents, serve others, and engage in meaningful relationships with people of all ages and cultures. Outside the home, the workplace is typically most people’s primary community.

Given these benefits, it’s not surprising that meaningful work can help you stay healthy and live longer. Any job can be rewarding and meaningful if you bring your own sense of purpose to it. For example, a primary task of hospital intake clerks is to process insurance forms and other paperwork. These tasks can be more satisfying if you combine efficiency with compassion that helps alleviate patients’ fear and enhances the healing process.

Each common component of meaningful work also suggests questions that can help you discover your best work:

• What talents would you like to stretch through work?
• How does work give you a way to be useful?
• How much does community at work matter to you?
• What kind of workplace community do you want?
• What legacy would you like to leave through your work?

Improved options for working as long as you wish

Two major trends, the warming economy and the aging of 76 million baby boomers (those born between 1946 and 1964), have many positive implications for seniors who want to work:

• Every job that is relinquished by a new retiree (or reduced voluntarily to part-time) generates opportunities for those who want to continue working.
• The combination of retiring boomers and a warming economy will probably mean a shift from a long-term tight job market into a tighter labor market that offers more and better jobs.
• All fields that serve people over 40, especially health care, face serious and growing shortages of qualified employees, from professionals to clerical workers. Who is better equipped to serve people over 40 than their peers?
• As the number of jobs exceeds those who can do them well, employers are more willing to create attractive options to draw older workers, such as more flexible hours.
• Human resources executives, government organizations and nonprofit organizations are actively promoting the benefits of older workers to employers.
• New and creative partnerships are making it easier for older workers to find jobs.

Valuing older workers

For years, older workers have been the first to be let go and the last to be hired when times are tight. Now, more employers are waking up to the fact that employing older workers is good business. A great example is Borders, one of AARP’s featured employers, which more than tripled its percentage of older workers between 1998 and 2005.

After noticing that half of Borders’ customers are over 50, the firm reasoned that the best way to increase its market share was to stress personal service and to hire employees who could relate better to its customer base. Some results of this are:

• Turnover among workers over 50 is 10 times less than those under 30, which translates to an overall 30 percent reduction since the intentional recruitment of older employees began.
• Reduced turnover costs and more consistent service naturally lead to increased profits.
• Priceless good will results from older workers’ work values and their passion to be connected to the community.

Stories like this are getting attention, inspiring other employers to embrace older employees. Seniors are also being recognized as being just as tech-savvy as youth when it comes to utilizing technology on the job. All this leads to a growing awareness that older workers are critical to the nation’s economic health, particularly in an expanding service economy. When customers want service, they want experience, dependability and good manners. Seniors offer these gifts in abundance.

Employment trends to help you discover and create a great job

Your attitudes and beliefs about the job market can profoundly affect your actions. Once you educate yourself on new options, you are more likely to notice job possibilities, become more confident and promote yourself effectively to potential employers. Knowledge of trends can:

• Provide guidance - Each new trend represents multiple cues to guide you your on your career search. If you are in a diminishing field, what wisdom and experience can you transfer into the booming healthcare field? In your own field, what new opportunities are generated by aging babyboomers?
• Inspire creativity – Knowing about employment trends can help you leverage your wisdom into new forms. You might be able to train or mentor others in your field of expertise, or you can use the example of a new model, like the partnership between Monster and AARP, to come up with unique job possibilities.
• Clarify your goals - An understanding of trends from a human resources executive’s perspective can be particularly useful. Even a quick review of online employment resources can give you clarity about employers’ needs, and language that could help you frame your resume and other presentations.

Types of employment open to seniors

• Full-time - If you want to work full-time, a little research should yield many role models. For example, there are postal carriers who work past 80 and attorneys who are still doing a great job at 100.
• Part-time - If part-time work is your preference, options are increasing both as employers are more eager to accommodate older workers and as professionals or entrepreneurs seek help to support their own scaled-down work lives. Job sharing is another possibility.
• Temporary or Seasonal - Temporary work is increasingly available through agencies for all sorts of jobs: clerical and administrative, professional, industrial and blue collar. Major chains, such as bookstores, offer new opportunities to work in different areas throughout the year, allowing you to combine travel and work
• Freelance - You can broker your own services and command higher fees if you work as a consultant or free-lancer.
• Entrepreneurial - You can join the growing ranks of senior entrepreneurs. You might consider creating a home-based business, opening a small business, or creating a new business based on a hobby or favorite activity.

Job placement help available specifically for seniors

Help is increasing as employers are discovering how critical older workers are to their ability to compete well in today’s economy. BusinessWeek’s June 27, 2005 cover story on aging workers, “Old. Smart. Productive,” offered many examples of companies that are actively recruiting and retaining older workers. Consolidated Edison, Inc., is one of many companies that encourage increased on-the-job training. MITRE Corp. and other technology firms are seeking retirees on a part-time or on-call basis. Many companies are offering phased retirement or other benefits aimed towards older workers.

Different sources of employment advice and assistance for seniors include:

• Employment partnerships - AARP’s new partnership with Monster.com will connect mature job seekers with jobs throughout the United States and be an advocate for older workers. AARP’s Featured Employer Program allows employers who demonstrate a commitment to hiring older employees and treating them well to advertise job openings on the AARP site.

• Job placement agencies - It might be helpful to work with an agency, like AARP’s Senior Community Service Employment Program (SCSEP) or another non-profit job assistance program. Programs such as SCSEP can help you add to your skills through retraining and find a job that suits your experience.
• Community programs - Many states, community associations and local non-profits have their own programs. The Eldercare Locator, a service of the Administration on Aging, might be able to connect you with job placement agencies in your area.
• Job support groups and fellow job-seekers - The best job placement help often comes from fellow job-seekers. No one understands your triumphs and pains better than others in the same situation. Other people actively involved in the job search process can help you brainstorm solutions and help motivate you when you feel down. If you can’t find a nearby job group that is focused on senior workers, think about creating one of your own by spreading the word in person or over the web.
• Online job boards - The internet can be an incredibly helpful tool for identifying specific jobs in your area. See the resources below for job search engines that will help you find positions that meet your criteria. Additionally, local non-profit organizations, churches and schools will have information about volunteer opportunities. There are many different "job banks" available through the Internet, i.e., web sites where you can post your resume for potential employers to see and review a vast number of available job opportunities.

Age discrimination

Age discrimination is illegal. Some of the important laws established by the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA) are:

• Advertisements and job listings cannot list age as a qualification for jobs, as it is rarely a legitimate qualification for employment. Companies cannot even imply a preference for one age group (e.g., looking for a pilot, age 30-40) or even obliquely refer to age (e.g., seeking young college graduate). Nor can companies specifically seek mature or older applicants.
• Applicationscannot ask applicants their age either directly or indirectly, except in rare cases where age is a legitimate qualification. Examples of indirect age questions include asking for high school or college graduation dates.
• Help is available for age discrimination issues from government agencies and attorneys who specialize in employment discrimination. The resources listed below can help you.

In spite of laws against it, some people never give up discriminatory beliefs. Thus, there will always be employers who erroneously believe that being over forty equals being (1) inflexible, (2) unproductive, (3) unwilling and/or unable to handle technology and (4) not worth the higher salaries we command due to our experience.

Age discrimination is supported by powerful community forces. The current media and marketing culture practically deifies youth and fears aging. That often translates into an illusion that visibly older workers drive away business, while young and trendy workers increase it. Increasing healthcare costs are often blamed primarily on the aging of the workforce, without considering the escalating costs of drugs or medical procedures for everyone. Because older, experienced workers cost more than younger, inexperienced ones, letting go older workers is too often viewed as effective business strategy.

Many people believe seniors have had their chance. Now it’s time to go home, live on our Social Security, and graciously turn over our jobs to the next generation. Age discrimination can also be unintended. Employment applications and initial interviews in many companies are often initially handled by young personnel. It’s not uncommon for a younger person to feel uncomfortable “hiring Grandma,” even if the unintended result of not hiring Grandma is that Grandma lacks the job she needs. Nor it is uncommon for older workers’ confidence in their own competence to be considered evidence that we are smug.

Getting past age discrimination

The best overall strategy is to do everything you can to turn yourself from a faceless member of a stereotype-laden group into a fascinating individual who is worth knowing and hiring.

• Stay focused. Don’t let your feelings about age discrimination stop you. Take a cue from the nonviolence training of the civil rights movement and keep your eyes on the prize rather than the obstacles in the way.
• Don’t give up. Make your quest for good work important enough to commit sufficient time and energy to it. Educate yourself on the challenges and opportunities of finding and keeping good work.
• Don’t fight the stereotypes. Simply demonstrate gifts a discriminating employer least expects: patience, flexibility, and an appreciation for the technology that’s appropriate to your job.
• Don’t do it alone! Find or create groups for emotional support and for sharing tips and resources. Surround yourself with others who affirm your worth and can help you build on it
• Reaffirm the value of your experience. Use an affirmation such as “My need for work and my desire to serve are the answer to someone else’s need for service.”
• Avoid your own stereotypes. Rather than expect someone to be prejudiced against you, meet each person as a unique individual. Look him or her in the eye respectfully. This invites them to reveal their unique nature, see past their stereotypes and recognize the value you offer.

Process of finding a job

One of the most meaningful things anyone can do is to seek a pathway to living and working with integrity, purpose and joy. Unfortunately, it’s so easy to be focused on tasks or to be lost in unproductive emotions that you fail to notice the meaning and joy of the process. You can then lose sight of your values and the direction for fulfilling them.

To make your job search more meaningful:

• Take time for reflection about what you are called to do.
• Savor your growing wisdom.
• Give thanks for your new learning, your new connections.
• Bless every step of your way. Throughout time, the word blessing has meant the equivalent of “I see you. I see not who I fear you are or what I want you to be, but you as you are. I envision the best for you, and I call forth the best for you in a way that I hope you will appreciate.”
  - Appreciate yourself as you are now – faults as well as gifts – so that you will have the confidence to present yourself effectively to others.
  - Envision the best for yourself and liberate your creativity. Your unique job vision will be a goal against which to measure your progress.
  - Invoke the best for yourself so you can remain focused and energized on the steps needed to achieve your goal.

References and resources for senior careers

Job listings and job placement support

Experience Works - Offers employment and training to older adults. Also provides links you to staffing agencies and training services, and special training programs and employment opportunities for low-income, rural residents. (Experience Works)

Senior Community Service Employment Program (SCSEP) - Provides work training and job assistance for low income seniors (55 and older). (AARP)

Eldercare Locator - Provides information for seniors and their caregivers about services geared toward their needs. May be able to provide help in finding local job placement assistance. Also available by calling 1-800-677-1116. (U.S. Administration on Aging)

Monster - Offers an extensive list of job opportunities in all fields at all levels and enables you to make your resume available to thousands of potential employers, research specific companies, get advice on resume preparation and interview techniques, and access comparative salary information. (Monster.com)

Resume help

7 Rules for Crafting a Rock Solid Resume – Tips targeted at older workers for putting together a solid resume. (AARP Bulletin )

Employment trends

Baby Boomers - Drivers of Change – Provides a comprehensive overview of boomer statistics and impact. (Connecticut Department of Economic and Community Development)

The Best Companies for Older Workers – Discusses the best companies for older workers and the criteria for selection. Accompanied by a list of the Top 15 Companies. (AARP Magazine)

Understanding employer’s perspective on older workers

Are You Ignoring Older Workers? – Provides clear understanding of age discrimination, how discrimination is poor business and why hiring older workers can be good business. (Society of Human Resources Management, SHRM)

Workforce Management Magazine (commercial site) – Magazine for human resources executives, access to article archives is free with registration. Articles listed below describe why employers are more likely to appreciate older workers. Requires registration. (Workforce Management)

• Novel Ideas at Borders Lure Older Workers
• Getting Ready for Older Workers
• A New Generation Redefines Retirement

Grieving job loss

Learning to Live through Job Loss – Provides a four-page overview of job loss issues. (North Central Regional Extension, US Department of Agriculture)

Additional online resources

Note: The following articles are longer and more technical, but can help you to delve deeper into the subject.

Breaking the Silver Ceiling: A New Generation of Older Americans Redefining the New Rules of the Workplace – AARPs’ 2004 testimony before the Senate Special Committee on Aging, is packed with statistics, challenges and hope. (AARP)

Staying Ahead of the Curve 2003: AARP Working in Retirement Study (PDF) – Reports on attitudes and priorities of older workers, including work-life issues, what makes work meaningful, age discrimination and implications for employers. (AARP)

Staying Ahead of the Curve 2004: Employer Best Practices for Mature Workers (PDF) – Study focuses on best practices of employers selected as good companies for older workers. (AARP)

Pat McHenry Sullivan, M.A., created this article with contributions from Gina Kemp, M.A. Last modified on: 1/21/08.