The question
A year ago, at age 58, I was downsized from a company I had been with for 15 years.
I saw a councillor to get a résumé and cover letter in order and signed up for free Word, Excel, Powerpoint, Quickbooks and accounting classes to upgrade my skills. However, I find I can't get an office job because no one is willing to take the time to train me. I feel like I have to know everything about the company before I can even get an interview.
I have applied for about 75 jobs over the past year and have only had three interviews. I don't indicate my age on my résumé for fear that I won't even get the interview.
I have worked for 35 years, have gone through 11 months of severance and am just starting employment benefits.
I feel like no one is going to hire someone who is 58 years old. No one is going to give me a break. Gone are the days of someone hiring you because your old boss says you are the best employee they ever had. If you don't know everything about the company, if you can't keep your composure in an interview with five people staring at you, if you can't type 80 words a minute, there will be no job for you.
So what's next? Depression, crawl into a ball? Not my style. I will continue to fight for a good-paying job because one of these days, someone is going to make a mistake and hire me over the 30 year old and a month later make the comment: It was the best decision I ever made hiring this 58-year-old woman!
The answer
I feel your struggle and frustration. You’re in a situation that many others can relate to and are experiencing as well. Our age can be a huge hurdle in achieving our objectives – whether it’s being too young or too old, we can create a perspective for ourselves that can be very limiting and not self-serving.
Your question definitely highlights your current perspective – “no one is going to hire someone who is 58 years old. No one is going to give me a break. Having a good reference is not enough. You have to be strong, smart and an expert in the field.” With this frame of mind, you’re setting yourself up for failure. Even if someone offered you a job, these voices in your head are probably so loud you would never hear it.
Your first step should be to gain control over these voices. Image you’re sitting at a table. Now image on the table are these thoughts – “you’re not good enough,” “you’re too old,” “you’re not talented enough.” All these negative thoughts are on the table and out of your head. You’re not thinking them anymore – you’re seeing them in front of you scattered all over the table.
You look up from the words and see someone sitting at the other side of the table. Sitting across from you is a strange looking thing – a troll, gremlin or goblin. He is also starting at the words on the table and smiling. Could those thoughts be his? Could he be sabotaging your success at getting a new job by putting these thoughts in your mind? Probably, because you know that you would be a valuable asset to an organization and your age is insignificant. Your self-doubt and lack of confidence is being felt by others in an interview situation and becomes a strong deterrent to your potential success. By associating these negative thoughts with the goblin, you can disown them and regain your self-confidence. Separate yourself from these thoughts and allow the truth in your abilities to shine through.
I appreciate your hard work in gaining new skills during your severance period. You’ve obviously used your time well and took advantage of programs and resources available to the public. This is a great selling point because is shows your capacity and desire to stay current and learn. Bravo!
