Ageism

[Cancerian]

After applying for part-time jobs in the local area i.e. Dulwich and Camberwell and beyond I can only assume that it’s because of ‘ageism’.?

[Sally Eva]

Might be. How old are you and what are you applying for?

[Pugwash]

Some employers prefer older people as they are deemed to be more reliable, B and Q at one time had lots of 'older people'.

I retired at 66  but on a casual visit to my old department, my former boss offered me a job saying I could name my hours. Would have loved to taken him up on it but the reason I took 'early retirement' was that my arthritis restricted my mobility re walking and standing for periods of time. 

I would say it may not be ageism but not being deemed suitable for the position.  Someone I know was always looking for part time work but having spoken to her over a period of years, although she may have had the qualifications  needed for the work, her general attitude towards others and her very set views, I could understand why she found paid employment difficult to achieve.

Can you do voluntary work? This may give you additional transferable skills.

[Cancerian]

I’m 61 and mainly looking for part time shop assistant jobs as that’s what I’ve been doing in a voluntary role for the past 18 months in a very busy charity shop. I’m on the shop floor, serving on the till, helping customers with queries,  taking donations etc. I’m there once or twice a week and most days it’s so full on that I don’t get a chance to sit down but I really enjoy the role. I know the managers would give me a good reference. 

I’ve done lots of voluntary work over the years and was a voluntary treasurer for a local sports and social club up until 2 years ago.

Maybe I’ve just left looking for paid employment too late but up until 2 years ago I was a carer for my mother in law for nearly 6 years and couldn’t actively look for anything as she was totally reliant on me as a carer.  Before my life as a carer I was self employed as a registered childminder for 16 years, also bringing up my own family and before that I had many office roles in various organisations but times have changed with office work. That’s why I thought I would volunteer in a charity shop and I really enjoy it but sadly it’s not paid!

I started applying for paid jobs around 7 months ago (when I was 60) and some don’t get back even with a yes or no but continue to advertise the jobs either in their shop window or online. A couple of my friends (of a similar age) and I applied for the same job in a gift etc shop in the Camberwell area and all got no response at all. The latest application was at another well known gift/clothing shop in ED. They had a sign in their window for part time Christmas staff and the job was also online. I applied online and was told the job was no longer available and to click on a link for more jobs in other areas. Clicked on the link they sent me and lo and behold the job in ED was still on their website! 

I’ve applied for other positions but not heard anything back. A friend who is my age has applied for over 200 jobs (not all shop work) and most don’t even respond back. 

Maybe it’s not ageism and happens to everyone but just thought I’d bring it up.

 

 

 

[JohnL]

You don't have to put your age on an application .. obviously if interviewed you will be seen but then have your notes prepared to make sure they know why you're the best for the job.

Make sure to make any CV achievement not chronologically based (which is popular now anyway).

Some jobs advertised online don't exist and are just for collection of applicants.

[Cancerian]

Thanks for the info. Didn’t know you don’t have to give your age!

[Sue]

8 hours ago, Cancerian said:

Thanks for the info. Didn’t know you don’t have to give your age!

Age discrimination is illegal, but like other forms of unfair discrimination still happens, because if an employer doesn't want to employ someone they can usually find some other  "reason" unrelated to their actual ability to do the job.

As said above, definitely don't put your age or date of birth on applications, and don't give dates of education, qualifications or past employment (unless recent) either,  as all those could give away your age as well.

Stick to stating how you meet the person spec, or if there isn't one, how you meet the requirements of the job you are applying for.

 Also, tailor your application to the particular job/company, don't just use something which could apply to any employer.

And include a brief  covering letter saying why you want this particular job and why you think you are ideally suited to it, eg say how much you love their shop and why  😀

Good luck!

Don't take rejections or lack of replies  too personally, btw. Employers are often inundated with applications. Yes it's rude not to reply to every applicant, but sometimes it just may not be possible, especially for a small company.

ETA: You could try approaching suitable shops etc directly, even if they are not advertising a vacancy, saying why you would like to work for them, and asking them to consider you if a job comes up.

Then your application won't be lost amongst loads of others.

Also, there is a book called "What colour is your parachute?" which you might find useful.

It is revised every year, but  you can find  second hand copies online very cheaply, and the basic advice doesn't change from year to year (though things like employment legislation might do).

I think it is American, but again, even if there isn't an English version, the basic advice is the same.

Edited December 30, 2024 by Sue

[OutOfFocus]

3 hours ago, JohnL said:

Make sure to make any CV achievement not chronologically based (which is popular now anyway).

Interesting point.  I worked in IT sector where having experience might make you look like an old fogey. Not many IT people started on punched cards!

[Sue]

6 hours ago, OutOfFocus said:

Interesting point.  I worked in IT sector where having experience might make you look like an old fogey. Not many IT people started on punched cards!

I remember punched cards! 

And the uni computer taking up a whole room!

And the results of a simple statistical test on your data being returned to you (along with the box of punched cards which you had spent hours punching) on a long piece of paper with error error error on, and having to go through all the cards to find the error/s before you could get the test redone.

And this sometimes happening several times before you actually succeeded in not having any errors, and got the actual test results on the long piece of paper.

And the terrible fear of dropping the box of cards and getting them in the wrong order.

Those were the days (not).

ETA: I stopped putting my date of birth on job applications long before age discrimination became illegal, after I wasn't shortlisted for a job when the only possible reason could have been my age.

Not in IT, I hasten to add. I tried to learn Fortran once. My brain encountered some sort of barrier around the third lesson 🤣

Edited December 30, 2024 by Sue

[malumbu]

I've been occasionally involved in recruitment over the years and welcome all the efforts many organasations and the public sector put into avoiding intentional (illegal) and unintentional bias.  It did get weird when applications were totally anonymised ie we just had a long number for an application.

Some thought that the courses we went on to avoid bias were a bit politically correct but they did tell you things that you were totally unaware of.

Ultimately it was the person with the best fit, and that would included how we thought they would work in the team - obviously based on the examples we gave.

In retail unless it is clear that you are bad with people (which applies to any age, and you could argue that a work ethic is stronger with those who have more life experience) age really doesn't come into it.

Of course the age stereotype I have just revealed could be argued either way.

[Sue]

14 minutes ago, malumbu said:

 

Some thought that the courses we went on to avoid bias were a bit politically correct but they did tell you things that you were totally unaware of.

 

Many moons ago I used to develop and run some of those 😀