Looking for a Job at 62 is Hard
As so often happens with me, I start out with every good intention — in this case, to write regular blogs for my own website — then “stuff” happens and it gets pushed to the back burner!
The “stuff” this time around is that I (sadly) realised the prolonged lack of a regular income, and the scarcity of juicy well paid writing projects, means I need to find a “proper job” — at least for a while.
My current reality is that I am living one pay cheque to the next. And when I say “pay cheque” I actually mean my other half’s! My business bank account is at max overdraft. I’m using credit cards far too frequently for everyday things, and have ZERO reliable income of my own. This is not sustainable for me (or my other half!) and, frankly, it’s making me bloody miserable.
I feel “less”. I feel diminished. And, naturally, this is impacting on my relationship with my partner, as well as how I am presenting to the outside world; not that I actually get out much if truth be told. In fact last week when I had an online meeting, a dinner party, AND a job interview, was the most varied human interaction I’d had for months, if not years.
Isn’t that a little sad?
Somehow, I have isolated myself to such an extent that the three things last week seemed almost “too much”.
But, back to the I need a “proper job…
- I am 62, and haven’t been employed (as in been a bona-fide employee) for over 10 years. That’s kind of a hard sell!
- I’ve done a LOT of different things, and have masses of experience in different areas. How to package that is proving tricky.
- The job market in the UK isn’t great at the moment and (prideful moment, sorry) I am worth more than the minimum wage jobs I keep seeing .
- To further complicate things, I really don’t want full time roles. I have commitments to my grandsons, and want to keep my own business ticking over (plus a new networking community I am establishing). Decently paid part-time roles seem, however, to be as rare as rocking horse poo.
- Although I’ve accepted that I HAVE to get a job, my heart is rebelling, and that is maybe showing through.
Currently I have:
- Interviewed for one role with Derbyshire County Council (should hear this week)
- Have an application in with Derby University (applied early July and heard nothing since)
- Was turned down for what I thought was THE perfect job at Chatsworth.
- And have numerous online applications in progress — not that you ever seem to hear anything back from them!
- I’m scouring jobsites multiple times a day
- Same with LinkedIn
- I’ve even created an algo with ChatGPT which checks job boards for me everyday.
- Bought some smarter “work wear” having lived in jeans and casual clothes for 10 years!
I also ran an unsolicited email out to local businesses to see if there was a need for the kind of outsourced EA/VA work I could provide. That resulted in a couple of replies out of 30+ sent emails.
One positive note, two fellow business networkers have confirmed they want my services, but events outside their control have delayed me starting with them. Honestly, you couldn’t make it up.
So, dear readers, do you have any ideas? How did you find your current job?
See my LinkedIn profile here
