At lunch with friends the discussion turned to finding jobs at 50. It's the matching bookend for those finding jobs at 20, particularly those without tertiary qualifications.
I have a few thoughts:
Age discrimination may be alive and well, but just make sure it's not being used as a palatable way to accept rejection. If so, valuable lessons for the next interview may not be learnt.
If age is an issue, put it on the table. Prep for interviews to ensure your answers knock their socks off so that age has less impact on the selection outcome.
Lastly - we created the generation that relies on tertiary qualifications. We've told our kids that without one (at the very least) you'll be wearing a hi-vis vest holding a 'stop-go' sign. So if we want to stay employed, we may need to heed our own advice and get back to school.
The job market isn't easy to get in to. If you need help to raise self-awareness about your interpersonal skills ie. how to influence and get along with others, how to structure a CV, how to prepare for interviews, please send me an email or give me a call on 021 764 603.
In the meantime, have a look at this TedTalk where entrepreneur Jia Jiang gives a humorous talk about his 100 days of rejection experiment and the simple lessons he learnt that changed his life. Enjoy.