What it's like to look for work after you turn 45
John Neil Bunting has no trouble landing that first interview with a prospective employer but after two years of job hunting, the 61-year old wonders if his career experience is working against him.
"In the pre-interviews on the phone, they say I'm perfect for the job but when they meet me, the conversation is short," the London, Ont. man said as he listed off qualifications ranging from a university degree to two decades as an insurance broker.
Bunting is one of a handful of mature workers, otherwise known as workers over the age of 45, attending a career counseling workshop in the city hosted by Goodwill's career centre.
The goal isn't learning to write a resume, which is something everyone there has done.
Instead, the objective is to re-think the approach to job hunting at a time when many employers are looking for younger staff.
No job after 19 interviews
"Experience is not being taken into consideration anymore and that is really frustrating," workshop participant Shelley Lerock said.
The 53-year old medical aesthetician and instructor recently moved from Toronto, and had 19 job interviews in London but no call backs.
"I look around and I see employers taking people who are fresh out of school and older people like me are getting shoveled aside," she said.
Lerock, like others around the table, considered retraining but are still hopeful an employer open to hiring a mature worker will come along.
Myths about older workers
"There are a lot of myths about the older worker," workshop facilitator Jim Ido explains to participants stressing that employers incorrectly think older people are not physically able to do the job or have bad habits from years in the workforce.
Another barrier Ido said is a concern that older workers may not fit into the current culture.
"I would put myself up against a 25-year-old any day, in terms of energy levels and being able to handle stress," Bunting said. "If I were an employer I would be looking for that."
The ability to cope with stress is one skill participants are being told to highlight in interviews.
Ido adds mature workers will also want to emphasize communication skills and their ability to adapt to new situations, which are lessons experience should have taught well.
