When I was 49 I suddenly found myself unemployed and broke after a business failure! Once I had sorted out the issues that caused it, I moved from my lovely home in the country to a small end of terrace house, courtesy of a local housing association. It was very compact but my family and I were very grateful to have a roof over our heads.
I then started the task of finding myself a job of work, to enable me to start building what I had just lost. I was an experienced manager and had been a director of a number of companies, some successful and other not quite so.
I had a good knowledge of IT and software development, and real skills in working with people and developing new business concepts. I saw myself as very innovative and bright with a great future ahead.My first task was to create a new CV, one that showed me off in the best light. I had never needed a CV before because I had never needed to apply for a job. Jobs had always come to me! I co-opted the help of a friend who was well experienced in the recruitment industry and with the help of a book all about CV writing, we put together what we thought, was a great CV. We then made a number of versions of it for the various areas that we thought I could gain employment. This was the easy bit!
Next we drafted a letter to be sent to each of the local recruitment agencies that would each have dozens of jobs that might be of interest to me. This was relatively simple and in due course the letters, all fifty four were dispatched along with a photo and a copy of my CV.
This was quite easy as well!
Then I began the task off scanning the local and national newspapers, job and agency websites, looking for potential jobs that I could apply for. This seemed easy enough, and I selected those jobs that I though I could do well and paid enough money. Requests for applications forms were despatched and after a few days the letters came pouring in. That all seemed reasonably easy as well!
Then came the task of reading each of the job and person specifications and completing the application forms. "Minimum five years experience required", "a degree in Bionics", "5 A levels" etc. Now this was starting to get harder. So far I had only found two jobs that I could even apply for. Why didn't they say in the job ad that they needed 5 years experience? It didn't matter that the job was for a trainee? Office Manager? Why do they need a degree in Bionics? I thought it was the office and the people that they needed managing, or did they employ robots?Anyway I persevered and sent off application after application. I kept a copy of every job I applied for and as the answers came back I would file them away.
About 1 in 7 responded in anyway to my application, always saying that they were sorry but there were other candidates more qualified than me, but they would keep my name on file just in case another job became available that I might be more suited to.
Why do they bother, I never heard from a single one of them again. I even had one company who sent me a very rude letter saying that I had applied for a job with them, when their advertisement has clearly stated that previous applicants need not apply. What even for a totally different job? Even when it was 7 months later?
Over the next few months, I continued undeterred, to apply for jobs, complete application forms, talk to recruitment agencies and generally do what had to be done. Even the local job centre was unable to help past making me give up two hours every other week, spend money on petrol to drive the 30 miles round trip to sign on to get my £50, which didn't even cover the expenses I incurred looking for a new job. During all those months they never did anything to increase my chances of getting employment! Typical government agency! Don't get me wrong, the staff were very sympathetic to my plight, but the system was not designed to help us find work, but to make sure that the correct benefit were doled out, and unemployment statistics were massaged correctly!
Sorry if I'm a cynic, but you're starting to understand why!As the time went by I began applying for lesser positions with a lot less money. At least, I reasoned, I would stand a better chance of getting a junior position as I would not have an issue with experience or qualifications! How wrong I was! Now I was being told that I was too experienced in business and would quickly get fed up or bored with the job they were offering!! One company even suggested that I would find working with young female clerks uncomfortable! Yes I might have, but sometimes in life you have to do things out of necessity rather than because you just like doing them.
Anyway, surely they were employing me to do a job, rather than worry about me working with an office full of young people. I'd probably enjoyed it anyway! Then about six months into my search, now 50 years old, I suddenly get invited to an interview at a local warehouse for the position of Office Manager. Hooray!! So when the day arrived, I donned my best suit and brushed my hair (what little I have) and gave myself a good talking too. Off I went to my interview and after being kept waiting for 30 minutes past my time, I was ushered into a very untidy office of the manager.
He was very kind, and told me all about what they did and at the end of his dissertation he asked me if I thought I could do the job. I don't think he asked me one single question other than that. YES! I responded, knowing I could do this standing on my head. My dog could have done the job as well as me! "OK" he said, "you are the best candidate we have had so far, and I can tell you that, you will probably get offered the position, but I do have one more candidate to interview. He is waiting outside at this moment. I'll call you with my decision one way or another tomorrow."
I was dismissed and as I left the office I saw a young spotty, long haired youth sat where I had been sat, in his un-ironed shirt, a black tie (probably his only tie, the one he had for a family funeral) and jeans. "Ah" I thought "this looks very promising!" Indeed it did, here was a job that was literally just 5 minutes walk from my home, a job I could do easily, and although the pay was poor, maybe I would be able to get a substantial increase (as I had often done before) once they saw how effective I was as a manager.
The next day, I waited for his phone call, but as the day neared its end my heart began to drop as I realised that he was not going to call. "Not to worry" I thought, he is probably very busy and just didn't get around to it. The days past and I did not get that call, not even a letter saying sorry.
About three weeks later I was walking my dog past the warehouse when I bumped into the lady who had looked after me when I went for my interview. I asked her who got the job. "You did" she said, "but you never turned up!" she continued. You can image how amazed I was that I had been given a job but no one had thought of telling me. Anyway to cut a long story short, it turned out that the company had decided to close that warehouse down, and therefore did not offer me the job, and as they did not want to tell the staff at that stage, they even lied to them!
On hindsight is was a blessing is disguise.Eventually after I had applied for 743 different jobs I was offered another interview, and again off I went only to be told that I was over qualified for the position. I did however get offered a position as the manager of the person whose job I had applied for, and started there after 17 months of unemployment now aged 51. I stayed there for three years, working my way up until sadly I had to resign because of ill health.
So why have I told you this story?
Well it is to highlight the plight of those of us who are in our fifties or later (or earlier in many cases) who, through little fault of our own were unable to go to University, have few qualifications from school, perhaps worked in vocational jobs until they disappeared, served in the armed forces as I did, or graduated from a menial task into junior management, then progressed onto senior management perhaps with one company for a long period of time. Then later in life, after various politicians had forced in legislation and change to the workplace we become a burden on our employer and got no further. Once we leave, that is about it!
Whether you are 30, 40, 50, 60 or even older you have lots of value to give. Today employers are short sighted, following the crowd, employing graduates because they have a bit of paper, ignoring experienced people who have skills that the young just cannot have until they are 'time served'!So my question is …. At what time in life do we move into that group of older people who have little value in today's modern workplace? In my case it was 49, but could it be 45 or even 40? Has this happened to you?
Sadly, with fewer children being born, in future years there will be a shortage of people to fill the jobs (that is if they still exist, but that's another story completely) and then I suppose someone will suddenly realise that we do have value. I just wish that the politicians and decision makers of today would consider the longer term effects of the decisions that they make, and then perhaps this world would be a better place to live in.
Just because we are getting older, it does not mean that we are not valuable members of society with a wealth of knowledge and experience to give and share. Later this year will see the arrival of The Chronos Club, (www.the-chronos-club.com) a new concept in helping those who are 'neo-retired' get a voice, start contributing again, and allowing them to raise their heads and show the rest of the world, that just because we are getting older, does not mean that we do not have lots to give!I
f you are interested in this subject then please let me know by emailing me at jim@the-chronos-club.com
Jim Tuffin
http://www.businessmatchmakers.co.uk/
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