Career advice

Getting a job in your 50s

If you're in your 50s and looking for a job, you might have figured out by now that the job market is prejudiced against older people, and the odds are stacked against you. It's brutal and possibly showing signs of getting worse.

During the pandemic, many older people were pushed out of the workforce. What has been popularly dubbed "the great resignation" was more of a "great firing" for people over 50. While younger people left their jobs voluntarily in search of better opportunities, research has found that wasn't the case for older workers. And now that things are opening back up and the job market appears to be bouncing back, the struggle is real.

Older candidates less likely to get an interview

Separate research conducted a few years ago involved sending out more than 1,800 fake resumes representing job candidates between the ages of 20 – 50 over two years. The study found that all things being otherwise equal with identical skills and qualifications:

  • Overall, younger candidates were 4.2 times more likely to be offered an interview.
  • Younger men were 3.6 times more likely to get an interview than older men, while the gap was 5.3 times among women.
  • The most dramatic difference was seen in applications for factory jobs, where 50-year-old female applicants were 25 times less likely to be offered an interview than younger women.

Yet more research has found that older workers are significantly less likely to be hired than younger ones and that the situation is worse for older women than men and even worse for women of colour.

So, people with years of experience and expertise may wind up stepping down the ladder and taking jobs for which they are wildly overqualified just to make ends meet. Hopefully, that won't be the case for you.

Best jobs for people in their 50s

We've put together a list of jobs expected to see high demand over the next few years, many of which have lower barriers to entry. It means that, in order to switch to one of these roles, you won't need to go back to school for 5+ years.

Just so we're clear, there are no specific "jobs for people in their fifties." It's offensive to suggest that people with more life experience be relegated to specific sectors or positions simply because the hiring process is ageist. These jobs are suitable for anyone at any age – including you.

Real Estate Agent

A real estate agent is a typical second or third career. Those who are dedicated, work hard, and are natural salespeople can do very well in real estate. You'll need to take some courses and get licensed. The whole process takes about one year.

Recruiter/HR Manager

There are no specific licenses or education requirements for recruiters or HR managers. LinkedIn reportedly conducted a search of 100,000 recruiters and found that the most common degrees among recruiters fall into five fields: Psychology, Business, Marketing, Human Resources, and Sociology. But you can get into it with any background. Similarly, HR Managers usually need a 4-year degree, but it does not have to be in HR. You will need to be a people person and a good salesperson and be able to identify your transferable skills.

Marketing Manager

Again, marketing managers come from all kinds of career backgrounds, and there is no particular path you need to follow. You'll need excellent written and verbal communication, project management, and decision-making skills. It would also help if you were willing to learn new technologies and capable of keeping up with changes in markets. Marketing managers don't start out as managers. You probably want to look into marketing coordinator roles if you have little to no marketing experience.

Administrative Assistant

An admin assistant needs good organizational skills, listening skills, and the ability to take direction and multitask. Admin assistants may work in an office or virtually, and it's a promising career with few experience requirements.

Project Coordinator

Requirements for project coordinator roles vary widely. Some require many more qualifications than others, including certification, but not all. You must have excellent multitasking skills, time management, and organizational skills. This may be a career you can transition to from other roles that require these same skills, like admin assistant or office manager, and you'll be more successful with some sort of business education under your belt.

Welder

The skills trades are a good choice for a career change as there is always a need, and welders are expected to be in high demand in the coming years. You'll need a high school diploma and certification, which is typically obtained through a three-year apprenticeship program, or have a combination of more than three years of experience and some college or industry courses in welding.

Social media manager

Social media managers come from any and all career backgrounds, and there are several ways in the door. If you have a knack for social media – and you know if you do – there is always a significant demand for that talent. The best way to prove your mettle in this area is to showcase your skills in a portfolio, highlighting your big follower counts and high engagement metrics.

Accountant

Accountants will be in high demand in the coming years. Requirements differ for different types of accounting jobs. Chartered accountants, for example, require a university degree, completion of a professional training program approved by a provincial institute of chartered accountants, on-the-job training, and membership with a provincial Institute of Chartered Accountants. Meanwhile, certified general accountants need a university degree and completion of a training program approved by the Society of Certified General Accountants or Society of Management Accountants and several years of on-the-job training and certification by the Certified General Accountants Association or the Society of Management Accountants.

Developer

A developer is also known as a software developer, computer programmer, programmer, software coder, or software engineer (according to Tech Republic). There are many pathways to a career as a developer. Most have a bachelor's degree or higher, but these days skills can be self-taught, and if you're good, that's what matters. You'll need coding skills, complex problem-solving skills, research skills, and analytical thinking skills, among others.

Tips for getting a job in your 50s

Once you know what you're looking for, here are some tips to help you land the job.

Do your research. Take a deep dive into the job market and plan your next job or career. Are you switching sectors, or are you looking for something you're already experienced in? Find out what you're worth on the market and what the demand is for the roles you're after. Who is your competition for these jobs, and what do they have to offer that you don't?

Sharpen your skills. Look at the job descriptions for the roles you want, find your skills gaps, and then fill them. The employment landscape is changing all the time, and in order to keep up, we have to keep learning. You may need to focus on technical skills. Sometimes we get caught up in our lives, or we get complacent and start thinking we have nothing else to learn, but this is never true. Read, take courses, and always be upskilling.

Connect with your network. Talk to the people in your network. This is where help from others can make all the difference. Your friends and contacts can provide insight, advice, and leads to jobs. Many people want to help and will do so if they can.

Get active on social media. Work on your personal brand and elevate your social media presence. This is important for most industries, as employers will often look for you online and, if they don't find you, will likely move on to someone else. At the very least, update your LinkedIn. Ideally, you should be posting regular content and engaging with others on the platform. Depending on your areas of interest, you might also want to be active on other platforms like Twitter, Instagram, and TikTok. But you should absolutely be active on LinkedIn.

Take the job for which you're overqualified. It's always better to be job hunting from a place of security than one of insecurity. While the bias against the unemployed has relaxed somewhat since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, employers are still going to be more interested in someone who already has a job. So, if you have to take a position for which you're overqualified, take it and keep looking.

Don't hide your age, but don't focus on it, either. The experience section on your resume should only go back 3-5 jobs and no more than 10-15 years. Leave your graduation year off and just list your degree or certification. Remove outdated skills like "email" or "Word." We all know how to write an email and use Word (if email marketing is one of your skills, however, you should, of course, include that). And put those relevant tech skills – like coding or data analysis -- front and center. You don't need to hide your age, nor do you need to make it a focal point.

Maintain your self-confidence. It can be challenging not to feel frustrated and hopeless when dealing with the discrimination older workers face in the current job market. But try not to let it get to you. Stay engaged and active, even when you're feeling down, and try to move through it. Know your worth and believe that you will get through this.

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