Finding a New Job in Your 60s
Why I employed older jobseekers
I was sitting on my balcony enjoying the final hours of the day when I heard the ping on my smartphone. It was a message from the Human Resources department of my company. The two candidates for open positions in my team had accepted their offers. I was relieved; I could now enjoy my short stay-at-home vacation knowing that I could start reducing the ever-increasing pressure on the team. As the sun sank over the horizon, I reflected on how in just 18 months I had gone from an unemployed technical writer of 65 to a team leader in a successful international hi-tech company.
I had previously shared my job-hunting experience with readers of The Ascent in an article about finding a job at 65. The tips I gave were from the point of view of the job seeker. In this current article, I share my insights once again, but this time from the point of view of the recruiter.
Why I Preferred Older Candidates
The high-pressured nature of the work meant we needed people who would help build a strong team with a minimum of training. When sorting through the resumes, I first looked for the candidates with the most experience, and the older candidates had an obvious advantage in this respect. But I was also looking for something beyond professional experience — I…
