BristolUK

Maybe, but that's in situ. If you're looking for work, you're no longer established.

Faced with the older person who's had a history of steady employment, mostly with one or maybe two employers, an employer might be more interested in them than someone younger who has flitted about quite a bit.

Home Depot or Home Hardware (can't remember which) is currently advertising a policy that gives older people a chance.

Simon Legree

Home Depot has always hired retired trades people. They are the ones that can actually answer questions and give good advice. Not like the teens at my local hardware outlet that know nothing.

dbd33

What we did in the past, when the client didn't like a class of person, was to have an acceptable person negotiate for the firm to do the work. After that remote work is judged on merit, it's done or it's not done, and the client doesn't know anything but the name and accent of the worker.

dave_j

I sympathise.

When I graduated in the early 70's it was in a year when a turndown in the chemical industr severely restricted recruitment. With an MSc I found myself out of the market for run of the mill graduates and was unemployed for 6 months... and I was only 24.

I remember having a file inches thick with rejection letters and when I plonked it in front of the local labour exchange official, his reply was that I must be applying for the wrong job. Money is always an issue and I would have taken any work but as one potential employer put it, 'you have a degree, if I take you on you'll leave as soon as something more suitable comes up so why would I do it?'

As time passed, I remember getting very depressed and the days become very long indeed.

My only advice is to apply for everything.. anything that will fill the days and boost self esteem because once you feel depressed, as I did, this must influence how you are percieved at interviews.

Paul_Shepherd

I know exactly how your husband feels, he is not alone, I am going through the same thing, last time I got laid off I was 28 and I walked straight into another job, Im 47 now....and its just not happening for me....ageism is definitely a factor.

Im not even getting the interviews considering the number of jobs I have applied for, I have even started to seriously thinking about about downgrading the experience I have, just don't know what else to do.

So I fully empathise with your husband, ts getting harder and harder to pick myself up, you really start to question your abilities.

He is lucky to have you to pick him up, its obviously hard on you too.

chawkins99

This is definitely a thing and have to admit I would probably be the same if recruiting.

I was laid off from a management job in the early 90's. Although my background was IT field service, I couldn't even get an interview for a field engineer role until I changed my CV and removed all management references. Had a job within a month.

Certainly downplay your experience but be sure to be truthful. Omission is not untruthful.

You need to customize your resume for every individual application. Be sure to keep copies of each so you don't trip yourself up.

Former Lancastrian

Places like Walmart, Home Depot, Tim Hortons and Rona don't appear to have a problem hiring mature people.

bats

Ageism definitely exists and not always from employers. Your job can be made a misery by younger people who think that you know nothing. My last job they assumed I knew nothing about computers and one bit of imaging technology in particular when the opposite was true as I knew more than the lot of them combined. Bar stewards

Paul_Shepherd

It may come to that when EI runs out.

Snowy560

I did a lot of academic work on ageism before I left the UK. I'm a sociolinguist so I was interested in the way it was written about and talked about. I once complained to the Advertising Standards Authority because they ran an online ad several years ago for (I can't recall but I think) a Sky Digibox with Michael Parkinson saying (something like) "even someone of my age can use it" or similar which of course reinforces negative stereotypes about ageing. They made a bland response along the lines that it was not discriminatory to which I replied that if the advertisers had written "even someone of my colour can use it" or "even a woman can operate it" they would never allow it.

Yes, self employed can be the way to go. I retrained (since in Canada) and have several short term renewable contracts.

Almost Canadian

How do they know your age from your resume, or are you inferring that it is implied from your work history?

Paul_Shepherd

Just through work history, I have already omitted my first ever job, thinking about it now, I may drop the next one too, as I don't think any of the experience in that particular position is relevant to the position I am searching for today. Its hard to know what to do.

bats

Why not summarise your UK experience in one paragraph and detail your Canadian experience with dates etc? Would the dates of any professional qualifications be a giveaway? If so could you give dates of the Canadian equivalent if you did those?

Former Lancastrian

Maybe the job application asks for the DOB

scrubbedexpat091

Easy through work history and educational dates, provided dates are provided for each.