More Than 55? In Pursuit of a Job? Maybe Your Chances Are Getting Higher #article

Career coach Diane Huth helps keep their applications in order for more than 100 persons a year. Many of her study concerns clients of baby boomers in their 50s and 60s. You 'd think the COVID-19 pandemic will make it difficult for us to look for work. And yet, when most of us see a disaster, Huth sees a shot.

"If COVID has any bright light at all," Huth says, "it's the big raise in people living at home." Disconnecting from the physical workplace as she sees it lets older candidates escape many of the implicit tensions that can transform into sexism towards age. There is no longer a gap between the age of cardigans and the younger colleagues who favor Cardi B.

As Huth puts it: "When someone works at home, it means they don't see you as much." The strength of the success of others is all that counts.

Across the United States, the morale of older job-hunters is rising — as indicated by the new version of the Workforce Confidence Index of LinkedIn. (Every two weeks, it polls more than 4,000 LinkedIn members.)

This study has been questioning individuals about their present desire to pursue or retain a job, their financial opportunities, and their future outlook since April. Boomers (ages 56 to 74) are markedly more optimistic among career seekers in the new poll, as seen in the chart below, than Gen X (ages 40 to 55), millennials (ages 24 to 39) and Gen Z (ages 23 and under) predecessors.

On a scale ranging from +100, which is the most positive, to -100, which will be the most negative, responses are measured. In general, career seekers are a touch more downbeat than the total population polled, which, when all three variables are combined, demonstrated an average confidence level of +34 in the current survey.

The greater confidence about their financial future is a large part of the boomers' edge. 37 percent graded their financial conditions as decent or outstanding, even among unemployed boomers finding jobs. With Gen X (28 percent), millennials (22 percent), or Gen Z (19 percent), that's way beyond the equivalent percentages.

In Lansing, Mich., Chelsea Jay, a job coach, points out that boomers are expected to have bigger financial cushions set up — and are less likely to be living paycheck to paycheck. They are more likely, in fact, to benefit from any sustained stock market upturn.

What is more, there could be less costs for boomers. As Jay says, "they're not going to have student loans to pay off." If boomers have stayed for several years in the same house, their rent or mortgage payments could be comparatively minimal.

Each century, meanwhile, has its own ideas on how to win in job searching. Gen X is most likely (50 percent) to go back to school part time or take online courses by unemployed job seekers in order to learn expertise or skills. That's way above the millennials (33%), Gen Z (26%) or boomers (25%) points.

However, the most open to leaving conventional full-time employment in favour of freelance or independent contractor work are the unemployed older people. 49 percent of boomers and 54 percent of Gen X consider this a course, way above the rate for Gen Z (42 percent) or millennials (38 percent).

With retired accounting company associates, I see this a lot," says Rick Manning, an executive recruiter in Northridge, Calif. "They tell me, 'I can't play golf all the time. If something pops up, let me know, "even if it's a more ad-hoc scenario.

As she has gotten older, job coach Huth epitomizes this ability to pursue casual working arrangements. She says, "No one is going to recruit me now, considering decades of working in senior level corporate marketing roles." I'm seventy years old. My two master's degrees from 40 years ago don't matter to anybody.

Yet she doesn't sound dismayed. She's making a decent money, charging $500 a piece for her resume-advice customers. "As an author of e-books, she earns extra money, including" Reinvent Your

It takes a good social media presence to create a fan base for both her consultancy and her books, so that's perfect for her. On Facebook and LinkedIn, she has built up a huge following, making it easier to expand her company. Her frequent guidance to clients: if you stress your work ethic and your present-day skills, boomers' chances of age prejudice can be resolved.