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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 needed team members who could see the big picture, keep a sense of proportion, and remain calm when the pressure was on. I was to discover that these qualities were more likely to be found in the older candidates.
However, despite being sympathetic to older candidates, the prospect of employing staff in their 60s did require me to be reassured on several issues.
Tips for the Mature Jobseeker
These are some of the concerns I had when interviewing older candidates, along with some ideas for allaying your potential employer’s worries.
1. Prove your long-term commitment.
The problem: The question of the candidate's commitment to the job was a major concern of mine. It is an expensive and time-consuming process to recruit and onboard new staff. It would not reflect well upon me, as the manager, if a new employee were to…
