Starting to think "Ageism" might be real.
 

I was let go with about 60 people from my company last year. Market headwinds and debt refinancing at the recent interest rates pushed them cash negative. I was shocked I made "the list", but I get it... personal loyalty can only go so far. Generous severance and paid COBRA was included.
I was naively not too worried about landing a comparable job. I've been recruited into nearly every role I've had in the past. Well, that hasn't happened, and I'm months into hundreds of applications, cover letters, and network outreaches and nada. There have been job descriptions that are nearly 1-to-1 with my experience that I don't even get a response to, let alone an interview for... even in some cases for roles I had earlier in my career. I'm a 57 y/o white male (which is made obvious on LinkedIn for better or worse), and don't check too many Diversity/Equity/Inclusion boxes. I'm lucky to be consulting for a colleague (I'm in the healthcare payer/PBM space) in what I hope is a bridge to my next equivalent role, but I've started to wonder if it's my demographics dampening my responses. I don't have many other explanations.

Anyone else dealt with this?

Absolutely experienced it and sorry to hear that you're going through it. I have been self-employed forever so not really looking for a job but the few times I did stick my toes into the market, I had similar experience as you wrt no callbacks or interest in me. And that was 10+ years ago, when I was maybe 50! It doesn't help that my hair went grey in my 20s and I definitely look like a geezer. :)

I don't think that ethnicity has anything to do with it, just age. I have a weekend gig driving for Uber that I really enjoy, beats the hell out of being a Walmart greeter! :)

I should add that when I was young, I got virtually every job that I ever applied for, regardless of whether I was qualified. It's all about your appearance, sad to say. :(

My sister and her husband were both laid off by HP after about 19 years.

I think maybe they worry they will have to pay commensurate with experience. If you were a disabled chick, you would be hired already.

I don’t have any grandiose advice, but hang in there.

I’m 65 with gray hair and the company I work for is on the rocks. At this age, my salary/knowledge/experience would make it difficult to get a similar job in the homebuilding industry. I went through this during the great recession and it sucked. Sorry to be a Debbie downer.

I am in a similar situation - 58 years old. Senior exec with the same company for 27 years. Laid off last year when a new PE firm took over the company. I get why companies don’t want to hire me - they know I’ll be retired in a few years so why invest their time in me? They probably think I lack the ambition and drive of my youth. After nearly 12 months of looking I am seriously thinking about pivoting and doing my own thing. I’m fortunate that the house is paid for and the kids are just about through college. I’d like to work with my hands again (I was an apprentice trained machinist in my youth) so maybe my working life will come full circle. The famous business thinker Peter Drucker always said there was three phases to our working life: the eduction part. The mastery part then the final part where we are suddenly upended by health, technological obsolescence or basic prejudice against our age. Few prepare for it. I had prepared for it financially but not mentally. It’s tough. You have my empathy.

Went thru similar after an injury in my 50's. Because I wasn't bringing a book of clients with, most folks I talked to were afraid I was either there to poach their clients or that I was too experienced to take direction from someone 10 years junior. Part of the reason I semi retired then totally retired early.

Absolutely my experience was the same. 55 years old with time in grade and you're vulnerable.

I had been passed over for promotion even though I'd been doing the job for 5 years. Then I got shuffled sideways. When I posted a grievance I had one HR rep say, and I swear this is true " now you know how women have been treated...". Of course we were alone when that happened.

I too received generous buyout payments and at 62 I was close enough to my numbers to make retirement work.

I felt like it happened to me. I did a pretty extensive job search about 8 years ago in my early 50's. It didn't help that I had relocated to a much smaller city. The typical response regarding age was that they were looking for someone who could be in the job for a "significant period of time". Before too much time went by, a former co-worker who was now the CEO at a large company gave me a job that was a great fit for about 4 years. I then transitioned into a part time position that will hopefully be my last gig before fully retiring. Best of luck.

It’s real as is sexism. This could get PARFy real quick. Sorry it’s happening to you. I live it at work. I’ll just ride out my time at 54. It sucks but We adjust. I could write a book on the unfairness of corporate life.

The notion that a company would be worried that they will invest time in you just to have you retire in a few years seems odd to me as it seems that the younger generation “hops” from job to job very frequently. I sat on a few interview panels in the last couple of years and reading many of the resumes showed that a lot of the younger applicants had several jobs that they held for just around a year before taking another job elsewhere.

The higher pay situation seems very real though.

starting?

agism in careers is very real. so is sexism and racism. mostly under the term "culture fit"

Happened to me back in 2008 when the economy tanked after 25 years with the same company

Pounded the employment pavement hard for a year or two.

Things happen for a reason. Fate?

My Mom came down with a nasty brain tumour and I became her prime care giver for 2-3 years.

I was in my early 50's, took care of Mom till she passed, and basically never went back to work and fully retired...........

If you were a 35 y.o. hiring manager would you hire a 60 y.o. guy that reminds you of your grumpy father that is set in his ways or a 28 y.o. that you can teach and mold to do the job you need for the next 15+ years.

It's not just about hiring but also about laying off the older employees.

Even self employed it happens. I can't get work as a handyman. Think about that. Now how do I know that? Well, all my career I was at least good enough for people to refer me. Over 50% of jobs I did was the direct result of a personal referral. If you work a lot then there are lots of referrals.

Que the pandemic and everything is shut down. Come back and the whole situation is upended. It's like starting over with no carry over. But now I'm 75 (in the pandemic). People really don't think an old man can work.

I was on my roof last month pressure washing and rolling out silicone, a process that once begins you don't stop until finished. I won't bore you with the work I do on my own for me. I use a push reel mower, leave it at that.

Like speeder says, white hair is a game stopper. What work I do now (repairs to objects instead of homes) I get paid half of what I used to make. There's no money in fixing things unless you're qualified to work at the Smithsonian. And that is such a narrow niche that it takes money (PR) to even get a sniff.

Appreciate the observations here and on PMs. One of the things that recruiters are telling me is that retained searches for senior level talent is way down b/c no one is leaving their position. Without the churn, and in a market where there has been a huge amount of consolidation, there's just not much turnover... and of course there's less positions near the top of the pyramid than at the base.

With all that said, I was in retrospect cavalier about my employability. When you're the go-to guy with political equity (trust) built up over years in delivering, you don't realize how little that translates when an unknown clerk at a new company is evaluating your profile.

I don't have many words of wisdom, either. I guess the "Look for a job while you have a job" is a good one, b/c even if you think you're in a good spot, if the company starts shedding jobs, they're looking at total compensation and you could be out. Said differently, if you're 50+ and layoffs are beginning to trickle through the organization, begin your job search immediately and jump when you have the opportunity. The optics of unemployment, however undeserved, are not a plus when you're job searching as compared to when you're working but "looking for a new challenge".

Came here to say the same thing. From ~2010 to 2020 we had a steady stream of young people come in, work for a couple of years, then take a job in a bigger market for better pay. It seems to have slowed down since the pandemic.

The company I work for recently merged with another. They've just restructured the IT department, and now there's 7 VPs under the CIO. Way top heavy. I'm waiting on the inevitable layoffs, but nothing yet. They have moved raises back from May to July.

Reading these posts makes me sad. Seems to me this country is missing out on a lot of productive and experienced talent.

Ageism is absolutely a thing.

Color your hair, remove age data from your CV etc, excise the long-ago jobs and education or remove date references.

Man, when I worked at the hardware store a contact like you would have been a godsend for me and the customer when I had to recommend 'a guy' to (fill in the. blank - hang a door, sort out a window, patch a sidewalk, repair a fence, install an extra outlet, repair a lamp, assemble flat pack furniture)

An ambitious handyman with a card to pass out would have been busy every day that he wanted to work.

I had a neighbor who did handyman post-retirement who got all his contacts from his church, and he was as busy as a one handed wall-paper hanger in a windstorm.

It is.

I was offered a package during the darkest daze of '08 when my IT dept. was outsourced to a second rate outfit (imo) ... and it was my choice ... I could have continued with them. At 48, a heavyweight systems techie, top rate salary in my field (maxed out for years), I had had enough of corporate BS ... I was not alone ;).

But I knew it was my "last rodeo" if I "retired" .... considering the timeframe and economy back then.

NO REGERTS :)....

Saw it happen a lot during my career to folks that didn't control their own destiny... a LOT .... and it sucked.

Best of luck to all!

Will not go into the details of my history, but will agree on what others have already said. I'm another example that when you are in your late 40s and early 50s, getting a job offer is near to impossible. Apparently having a very successful past experience (international business development in the tech industry) is not something companies are interested in anymore, or they have presumptions that they are unwilling to truthfully share with you (headhunters included...).

Today a lot depends on being able to "bypass" the ATS (applicant tracking system), but difficult to do as some information is required. An example: dates in which you worked at X places or graduated from school/college which can then be used to estimate your age which is then used as a filter to discard you. I read somewhere that only 2-3% of applications online actually end up with an offer. I'd say it's a numbers game, but my numbers have shown me that the percentage of potential success is a lot less than claimed.

And to think that a major concern of managers/leadership (who are mostly in their 50s) is that the next generation lacks the work ethic/culture needed to keep the business growing into the future. In many cases, these "youngsters" are the gatekeepers to opportunities that we are definitely being left out.

Being forced (because nobody will give you an opportunity) to become an entrepreneur/retire increases on a daily basis, or so it seems, once you are past your mid/late 40s. Some in their late 40s/50s have had the luck to be hired for top positions, but those are the exception to the rule and many have had to wait years before getting such an offer. I know many who have gone through this process (waiting years before getting an offer).

That's a fact.

I've seen the church thing work well before. You might not believe this but joining AA in an affluent area works just as well. I know of a perfect example.

While I am outgoing and very friendly/helpful when called on, I'm not a joiner and I hate groups/meetings. As I said, 'PR' will get the job done but I'm cool with what happened to me. I'm pretty much done with people anyway.

And I'm really done with suppliers. The more corporate a lumber yard becomes, the worse it is in every respect. The HD and the like are a plague and I loathe having to go there. In fact I've been in a HD 2wice in the last year. I hate that place.

And let me bring this back around to the point at hand. HD let go all the talented guys that would work for peanuts after a career in the trades. They knew stuff and were helpful. Not any more. The replacement do nothing-know nothings just stand around BS'ing with each other. For someone that knows how to work, that pisses me off more than anything.

And then there's the "talent" standing in the parking lot. Eff that place.

The interesting thing is that the company that doesn't want to hire a 50-60 y/o employee has no problem hiring a 50-60 y/o consultant or vendor or contractor. Depending on your field and contacts, that may be something to consider.

Senior People leaving a company with Youngsters in charge is called Brain Drain and old skills and talent are lost.

Has to be. Corporations have been shedding senior employees since the 90's. But they hire many of them back on a contract. No benefits. Can you guess?

Ohhh, that sucks. We've been without a Home depot here in Charlottesville and are getting one this year. The thing I missed most was the tradesmen working the departments. Didn't know that wasn't still a thing.

Maybe try Ace.

In my experience Ace isn't much better - at least the one I can go to. The prices are higher, but it seems like the products are higher quality, at least in things where that difference can be noticed.

I'm lucky then. Yes, Ace is a bit more, but the ones in LB have at least one really knowledgeable person on the floor. They are all on the other side of the city so it's a min of a 20 minute drive.

In 10 minutes I can get to 3 HD's and one Lowe's. I've said this many times before, I live in a city of 460,000 people and not one lumberyard in the city. 30 minutes to 2, maybe 3 if I head towards L.A.

But that is usually a mistake traffic wise.

I am so happy and fortunate that my wife and I retired on our own terms vs being forced out . It is sad to see brain drain unfold :( . Good luck to anyone in that situation .

Play their game if your game isn't working

Where there is chaos, there is cash, there is a lot of chaos out there

If I was looking for an employee role in my industry at my age I think I would find it tough landing a job but as freelance contractor/consultant I would have more job offers than I'd know what to do with

At your age, I'm hoping you're not living one pay check to another, the luxury of this will allow you time to chase and land all sorts of interesting jobs

Timely.

https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/2024/03/28/americans-forced-retire-early-layoffs-health/72897910007/

<iframe width="928" height="523" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/taWgYEEAwyI" title="The Company Men clip: &quot;Ethical Scrutiny&quot;" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin" allowfullscreen></iframe>

From the movie "the company men" with Ben Affleck
I love that movie.
BTDT


Older employees usually have more years with
the company, and make a lot more money than
some snot-nosed brown-noser recently recruited
straight from Rice university.
A company can save a great deal of payroll by replacing
a 25 year manager with that newbie.


And since most high level executives
are only interested in the three year plan where they
slash costs despite the long-term detriment to the company
in order for their own short-term career advancement,
well the pieces all fall into place...

The sweet smell karma waifs by when you end up
doing very well,
but the a-hole executive gets canned a several years
later and tries to use you as a reference.

Guess he forgot what he had done and to who.
He won't make that mistake again. :D

↑ this

Another good point here. I see that you're already working as a consultant...maybe just keep at it. I did this for many years in the engineering business and, quite often, an offer for direct employment would be extended once the contract ran out.
In that field, consultants didn't receive benefits or perks, but the pay was substantially higher than for direct employees and contracts could sometimes extend for a year or more. I've even seen consultants at some companies running entire departments.
There are also agencies that specialize in placing consultants, contractors and temporary employees. Age didn't seem to be a barrier to placement either, as long as you had the right skill set and could produce.

Me too...

Self-employed has some benefits. Lot more stuff can be expensed (written off), for one thing.

The other thing is, starting a consulting biz prevents a “gap” from forming on the CV, and you can talk in some future interview about setting and implementing best practices at different companies blah blah.

My industry is ageist, when my company shut down in 2015 I was 52 y/o and many doors were closed as a result, I went to a different part of the industry for five years then opened my own shop, am happier than I’ve ever been. Money is fine, I work my own way, don’t deal with workplace b.s. or bosses or bosses’ bosses, take Tuesdays to ski, make it up working Sundays, go to Europe for a month if I want to, etc.

I’m sorry you’re going through this but do be open to landing in a different and better place. Use your contacts, sound them out about the consulting / contract idea, what would make it sell to people like them, etc. Absent special regulatory or licensing issues, might cost you $3K for LLC, landing page website, basic insurance. Work from home office, expense everything arguable. For sure explore the agency thing, headhunter thing, alternative parts of the industry, etc.

Another piece of advice is, you can only look for a new job so many hours a day, and guessing if you go the consulting route your gigs will be more by word of mouth and referrals and recommendations (I could be wrong) rather than beating the street all day. Which means you may have free time. Use it! If there’s professional credentials to get and networking to do, do that, but otherwise enjoy yourself. I’ve twice had significant (many month) periods of unemployment - the first time I fretted the whole time, the second time I used my free time well and now look back at that period fondly.

Oh, apply for unemployment benefits if you can - it’s free money after all.

And - sorry for droning on with advice - if you’re fat or saggy or look/dress like a schlub, change that. First impressions etc.