Too old to be hired at 50 ?

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Dr.Debt

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First of all, let me just say that Im not over 50 !!

Read an interesting article over the weekend about ageism in the American labour market.

Apparently there are a huge number of disgruntled older workers who claim that it is nigh impossible to secure employment over 50.

Do we have that issue in Ireland ? Would you employ someone over 50 ? Does it happen ? (be honest)
 
An over 50 female would be less likely to fall pregnant and so might be more desirable to hire than a younger lady.
 
Do we have that issue in Ireland ?
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Dr. Debt, I can tell you are not over 50, by how surprised you are about this.
I am over 50, and gave up trying to find employment after so many interviews which went well, I had all the qualifications and experience, was not asking for the moon in wages, but never even had a follow-up response.
I would say this is the general rule. You may find an older employer who would take on someone over 50, but for the most part, the only one who will provide work for the over 50 job-seeker is himself.
 
To be honest, it does happen.

I suppose it depends on the industry, the skills required for the position and the physical nature of the position.

Some employers see older workers as overqualified and seeking high salaries, or they believe they're inflexible and technologically challenged.

We, as a recruitment agency, frequently get requests from employers for candidates not over the age of 40, they specify male or female and will ask for a recent photograph or uniform sizes to ensure that the candidate is not overweight.

It's against the law, of course, to advertise based on age or gender, but these sort of 'wishlists' are coming in on a daily basis and clients will not review candidates if they do not match this criteria.
 
Even someone at around 40 is having difficulty even getting the most menial of jobs.

Coupled with the fact it does not pay now to get off benefits is it any wonder the country is wrecked.
 
Totally agree with Gervan, in that category myself and have pretty much given up too. Once I see an interview panel who don't remember the last recession I know I am on a loser!
 
Wow, thats very interesting / worrying

I wonder if there are any or many 50+ candidates who didnt have any problems finding suitable employment.
 
My father got a great job with a very large Multi-National in his 50's after having worked at a variety of poorly paid jobs (including working for himself) for a few years after having been made redundant by another large Multi-National when they pulled out of Ireland.

He had good contacts from his previous employment which obviously helped but at that age, most people would have built up a number of contacts in the same industry I would have thought. Maybe it's easier the higher up you are?
 
I often wish there was a B&Q near me, they employ older people and I quite fancy working there!
 
My local supervalu has a wide range of ages groups and a lot of them are there years.
 
I think it works very well in B&Q, people seem to trust the opinion of men/women over 50 rather than a teenagers when it comes to DIY.
 
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Personally I could not think of a better time to employ / work with a person over 50 in Ireland. They have a raft of information and experience behind them, having lived through two major recessions (the 80s and now).

Furthermore, if somebody with Finance behind them and was trying to pick up new business ideas, surely the best place to look for persons in this criteria would be in the over 50s age bracket.

There must be a heap of people out there looking to engage with others, to put new ideas into play. They are probably well heeled, well educated but might have lost their jobs and direction and have become unemployed due to the Financial crisis.

Maybe this is an opportunity post, where diligent bright over 50s might put their ideas together to form either a practice lap or to place a multitude of ideas together, to get something working again.

I'm over 50 (just), and still have plenty of ideas and cop-on !! Lads and Ladies, let's do it. It's never too late.
 
This is an interesting thread. As someone who works in IT I am particularly aware of this. However, I think that looking after your own personal brand is becoming ever more important. I've worked with contractors well into their 50 who were simply amazing at what they do and have no problem charging & getting top daily rates.
 
contractors well into their 50
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This is what I was saying, about a certain age making one unattractive to an employer. As somebody self-employed, people see my age as a sign of experience.
Perhaps there is an expectation that over 40 one should be in a managerial position, if any good, even if this is managing one's own enterprise?
 
I got my last job to some extent because I was over 50 rather than in spite of it. It was a management job in financial services in a subsidiary where the rest of the team were young and inexperienced and they thought a bit of gravitas would help the balance - they were right.

I think it also helped that I was able to convince them that despite my long experience and talent (!!!) I was looking (at this stage of my life) for a job not a career and thus wasn't going to be competition for the other managers - I was able to convince them of that because it was true!
 
That can be a big issue, my last boss was not born when I started in the industry. I had no problem with it but she sure did, the insecurity was something else! I did not want her job and would not have taken a present of it but nonetheless she obviously felt threatened by my experience. Thankfully it was only a temporary situation I was stuck in as it was very unpleasant while it lasted.
 
In my industry we’re desperate for skilled people so we’ll take anyone we can find but there is a perception that older people are less willing to up-skill and/or learn new ways of doing the same thing. People get into a comfort zone and like to stay in it. That’s why small kids embrace new technology more readily than older people. In a rapidly changing sector adaptability is critical.
That said just because something is generally the case it doesn’t mean that everyone shouldn’t be judged on their own merits.
 
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