Re: Gizza Job
 

Uber / Lyft - if there was any job category I'd want to see some degree of 'ageism' in, this would be it! In the US, local authorities (DMV) are very reluctant to cut off driving privileges to the elderly because they know that driving is a necessity for many elderly folks; so they err on the side of allowing people to drive who otherwise ... shouldn't. I know that some states do require re-testing at certain ages, but I'm not sure they all do. Would be interesting to see what the rules are. Of course, the elderly are less likely to rob, rape, assault, etc ... :)

Re: Gizza Job
 

If a USC were honest, no we are not responsible for selecting the candidates that run for office. They are chosen by their parties and by those who hold the money purses and sit on the thrones of power.

Re: Gizza Job
 

Not all mail carriers walk their route. Here in MS while we don't live in the 'country' all mail is delivered via truck which the mail carrier never leaves unless it is to deliver a package.

First up for a job with the USPS would be a military veteran. They get extra points on the test. Then you need to pass the test. Then you are 'considered' for employment. If you have a family member already working for the USPS or a friend, then you will be pushed ahead. My father worked for and retired from the USPS and my first husband was a mail carrier, as well.

Re: Gizza Job
 

Don't you have to be a citizen to work for the Postal Service? I thought you did, but I might be wrong.
Is the OP a citizen?

Re: Gizza Job
 

You did at one time. Believe they have relaxed the requirements. In fact it is no longer a civil service job and has fewer and less liberal benefits of past civil service employees.

As for the OP, I don't know him/her from Adam. Dropped into BE in April and posts usually on the US forum site. Never bothered to introduce himself.

Re: Gizza Job
 

Yes to being a USC:

Requirements for USPS mail carriers include a high school diploma, a clean criminal background check and driving record, and proof of US citizenship.
They must also pass the 473 postal exam and go on an interview

Re: Gizza Job
 

Thanks for all comments - much appreciated.
Uber or Lyft - not sure my 19-year-old car will be viewed as suitable by prospective passengers.
Trader Joe's - yes, they seem to have a good rep as an employer, but not hiring here. Ditto Costco.
Census worker - this is one of the first jobs that took my attention. Better pay than most. But, must be US Citizen, so ruled out.
USPS Mail delivery - I have long thought I would love to drive the little USPS right-hand drive vans around town. I have never seen this job advertised, and I guess this is a highly coveted job.
OP never bothered to introduce him/her self: Apologies If I have breached the rules regarding introduction etiquette. Although, if this establishment requires Blazer and Tie to be worn at all times, I will not fit in here.

Re: Gizza Job
 

Any pizza delivery places hiring drivers? They don't normally care what the car looks like, but suppose depends on gas prices if that sort of job will make money or not.

Any casinos in your area hiring?

Re: Gizza Job
 

Not quite sure what her comment regarding 'introduced yourself' was all about ... I don't think anyone does anything special in that regard. Perhaps she missed a post or two of yours where you may have said a bit about your background.

Regarding the several jobs that seem to require citizenship ... were you ever eligible to apply? There are a few recent threads on here where people talk about how long it took them to apply after becoming eligible (myself - 25 years!). It may serve as an illustration to others why you should consider applying even if you don't see much point at the time ... you just never know when it may become useful. I had assumed, when I was hot and heavy into my career, that it was pointless because I didn't want to work for the CIA or military, didn't care about voting, and didn't want to get called for jury duty. Little did I know that it may also prevent me getting a cushy job in my later years!

Re: Gizza Job
 

Pizza delivery, now that's the ticket. Tips.

Re: Gizza Job
 

Very true, but also very sad. Some of them need a job in order to get health insurance and a lot of them need a job because they have no retirement funds, or their funds got wiped out due to illness and crippling medical bills. It's a very f'ed up system in the US.

Re: Gizza Job
 

Why pick on Walmart when it is generally true of retailers? In fact Walmart are better than many.

Re: Gizza Job
 

This reminds me of a chat I had one time with a Walmart "associate". The Walmart guy asked me where I was from, and when I answered U.K. he said that he had visited the U.K. more than once on business trips to visit a subsidiary operation. His previous job was Engineering Director at a large well-known disk drive manufacturer. He explained that the reason he was now working at Walmart was due to the very high level of stress at his previous position. He reckoned that one more year in his previous job would have killed him due to stress.

Re: Gizza Job
 

Wal Mart has spent the law few years improving things. Lowest hourly wage they offer in stores is now $13 per hour.

They now offer up to 48 hours a year paid time off.

75% of store level managers and department managers started as hourly employees.

They offer medical at 30 hours a week. Plans start at $26 per check.

Average hourly wage is now $14.26 before benefits are included.

They offer ways to get a bachelors degree for $1 per day at their partner schools (only in certain subjects not a free for all.)

They offer those employees without HS the ability to get HS diploma free of cost.

Are they as good as Costco no. But they are improving.

Re: Gizza Job
 

That is interesting, because I heard anecdotally that Walmart had deliberately cut working hours in order to not have to pay benefits such as health care.
Hopefully there is some human decency shining through the dystopian gloom of end-game capitalism.

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If they'd done it a few years ago during the recession (when actually they reduced workers' hours) that may have been true. But they've done it just when the economy started to improve and they needed to retain workers.

Re: Gizza Job
 

It is reported that the number of over-65s in the US workplace has increased by 35% in the space of 5 years and is the fastest growing segment in the workforce, so I am going with the trend here.

Had an interview recently at the local equivalent of Jobcentre. I asked the lady there directly if I am wasting my time looking for a job at my age. She assured me that employers are not allowed to discriminate due to age. Having said that, they had me amend my resume to remove all age indicators.

Interview arranged later today at a casino, so perhaps I will get a glimpse at this seedy underworld of racketeering and second-hand cigarette smoke. The interviewer's caller ID is William Hill. Now there is a name I recognize.

Re: Gizza Job
 

My sense is that "casual" service-type jobs - e.g. Walmart greeter etc - are easier to find for over 65's here than in the UK. But in many professions there is rampant ageism. Like Steerpike, I'm a software developer, and it was very noticeable that once I reached 60 I stopped getting any bites for full time employment. I've also worked at a couple of startups where they clearly weren't going to interview older people. All done verbally, of course, so there was no documented track record that could have been useful to prove age discrimination.

Re: Gizza Job
 

This is the key. If it can't be proved. then it didn't happen.

Re: Gizza Job
 

Of interest, I've just started consulting with a new company that needs only part-time IT support. I'm ideal for them in many ways, in that I prefer part-time work and I happen to have good familiarity with just about everything they have (Dell servers, VMWare, Avaya phones, Ubiquiti WiFi, etc) except that I travel a lot (therefore not local when they may need me) and I'm way over their price range. So we've agreed that I'll help them out short-term until they can identify a long-term resource. We discussed who this 'long term resource' might be. The idea of a recently retired person who wants to stay 'active' but not engaged full-time came up. They are a non-profit / charity organization and are hoping they can locate someone who is 'committed to the cause' and thus willing to accept lower rates. We also discussed using interns. I'm not optimistic about interns but we will have to see what comes along.

Re: Gizza Job
 

How did it go?

And who won the 2:20 at Kempton Park?

Re: Gizza Job
 

Worked at a Casino for a year in Tunica MS... Great Job as long as you can handle the unsocial hours. Be aware though they are paranoid about their money and how you handle it.

Re: Gizza Job
 

I'm guessing you have to like cigarette smoke also? I'm guessing these day's they'll make you sign waivers for 2nd hand smoke?

Re: Gizza Job
 

No worse than sat in seven lanes of traffic in a rush hour😝all jobs have drawbacks

Re: Gizza Job
 

I have a friend whose brother died in middle age of lung cancer. The guy never smoked a cigarette in his life, but he worked for a couple of decades in a night club where second hand smoke was constantly a factor. Nothing can be proven, of course, but there is a high probability that second hand smoke killed him. I would be really wary of taking a job in such an environment.

Re: Gizza Job
 

Speaking of jobs, drawbacks, etc ... how does current employment law handle people who travel? I see lots of gnashing of teeth on this forum about salaried people having to (or choosing to) work 'extra hours', but what about those who have to fly off Sunday night (or Monday morning) and return Friday? I've known people in 'consulting' and also in 'sales' who practically live 'on the road' (in generic hotels across the country) for much of the year; they literally see their family on weekends only. I've had glimpses of that life myself when I was a techie doing installs, troubleshooting, design review meetings, training, etc - sure, I only 'worked' from say 9-5 but I was away from home and often in some boring shit-hole with very little to do every evening. I decided way back that I'd rather work 12 hours a day at home than do a nominal 8 hour job 'on the road'.

Re: Gizza Job
 

I was rejected for the casino job for lack of relevant experience. My casino experience is limited to sitting in front of a 1c slot machine in order to benefit from free beer. But it was refreshing to hear "No" at the face-to-face interview, unlike two other interviewers who said "We'll let you know" and after over 3 weeks, no they haven't.

A delightful opportunity has presented itself in my quest for non-ageist employers in the form of a job advertised at . . . the Department of Employment. It will be interesting to see how they wriggle out of this one.

Re: Gizza Job
 

Postmates


https://postmates.com/

Re: Gizza Job
 

Hey good luck if you could get in at the dept of employment... At least you could see other opportunities as they come in. As far as worker rights that was mentioned in a previous posting... Hmmm there is the law and then there are ways round them.. Gladly I am retired from many years as a manager of people. Hearding cats comes to mind, Whatever you choose remember your old enough to ask all the questions at the interview that they tell you not to ask.

Re: Gizza Job
 

I did an installation one time in Saudi Arabia, during which I needed a part shipped out from the factory. Ordinarily I would have returned to the UK to wait for the part to arrive, but in this case the travel visa was only valid for the single business trip. So rather than return and apply to the London Embassy for another visa, I sat in Saudi and waited for the part to arrive. It took 3 weeks for the part to ship and clear customs.

Re: Gizza Job
 

I am seeing a pattern here; at 3 different job interviews received an almost identical comment: "Well Sid," (interviewer leafing through resume with raised eyebrows) "you sure have a lot of experience here". I can think of two possible interpretations to this remark:
1. You are a Jack of all trades, and Master of none.
2. You are too old.

Back at the Jobcentre this morning, which was a lot busier than last time. One geezer started complaining loudly at the front desk, but was hustled off to a cubicle before I could get the gist of his complaint.
I have a hazy memory of being in a Jobcentre in the UK just once many years ago, the main difference being on that occasion there was not a security guard armed with a gun sitting at the front counter.

Re: Gizza Job
 

I don't why you British are so sensitive about guns, if you behave yourself you won't get shot. It's that simple.

Have you taken my advice and gone to a pizza joint? 20 year old cars are de rigueur for pizza delivery, and sometimes you're able to get a free pizza (mistakes happen).

Re: Gizza Job
 

:huh: Tell that to the families of the kids shot at school, and all the other innocents victims of murder by gun.

Re: Gizza Job
 

Have you noticed, the English laugh easily but don't really have a sense of humor. they're always outraged about something or another.

Re: Gizza Job
 

Nope, haven't noticed that. I think British people in general have a fantastic sense of humour :)

Re: Gizza Job
 

Had an interesting experience last week that is somewhat related to this thread. I've just started doing a consulting gig at a non-profit / charity kind of place. Everyone is very nice. Like, really nice . Anyway, I'm doing IT stuff for them and we were discussing security in general and touched on background checks. The guy I'm talking to is the head honcho of the whole operation, and he volunteered that he 'checked me out online'. I laughed and told him I do everything I can to maintain a low profile online, so 'what did you find?' 'Your LinkedIN profile' was his reply. I almost told him, that's foolish because you can write anything you want in your LinkedIN profile ... but then I thought, no, I'll let him continue with his opinion. Someone else wandered in and he proceeded to tell them just how amazing I was ... he really was impressed by the stuff in LinkedIN!

Now, my LinkedIN profile is actually 100% accurate, and has a bunch of real endorsements from former managers - glowing appraisals of my work. I actually use it now as my resume, if anyone asks for it, so I have really made it such that it would stand up if challenged. But anyway - it never occurred to me that someone would check out my LinkedIN profile in this context but this experience suggests that a) if you don't have one, create one and b), make it worth reading (get endorsements). I've also made sure my Facebook profile or 'page' or 'wall' or whatever that god-forsaken product calls it is 'clean'. I refrain from any controversial stuff on FB (I haven't posted anything in 2 years). Basically, "Google Yourself" and see what shows up.

Edit To Add - working for free for a non-profit - volunteering - may be a great way to 'get to know' useful people that can lead to work.

Re: Gizza Job
 

OP: Keep trying, lower skill jobs tend to attract a massive amount of applicants so just getting interviews is some success on its own. Maybe try looking for work at home call center jobs?

Re: Gizza Job
 

This will not be an issue for cannabis users in Nevada from Jan 1st next year, as it will be illegal to turn down a job applicant on the basis of a failed marijuana screening test (with some exceptions).
Nevada is the first state to pass such an employment discrimination law. We are striving to overtake Colorado in our pot-friendliness.

Re: Gizza Job
 

This is the sort of employer I need. No pretence.

https://reno.craigslist.org/lab/d/si...937062059.html

Re: Gizza Job
 

My kind of employer! Wish there was more of this out there.
I hired and fired for 25+ yrs and must admit checking out all the BS on the resumes used to get burdensome.. Straight talkers are best.