Forget Indeed. Those Over 50 Should Be Looking on These Job Boards Instead.

When I was younger I had no problem getting a job. Now that I’m over 50, I couldn’t even work at McDonald’s if I wanted to:

Screenshot of email

Hi Kristen,

Thank you for applying for a Team Member position with McDonald’s. At this time, we have decided not to move forward with your application. We appreciate your interest in our jobs and wish you the best of luck in your search!

Thank you,

McDonald’s hiring team at McD of Grand Morton (37954).

I have gone on more than 6 job interviews over the last couple of months and have been turned down for all of them. I’m not saying that there is age discrimination going on here. But when certain employers in the job interview say that “There’s a lot of younger workers here. Would you be comfortable working with them?” Or “We’re not sure you fit in with our company culture, but thank you for coming by.” When I hear those types of things I start to wonder, “Am I too old to be hired?”

A recent data analysis by the Urban Institute and ProPublica shows over 50% of older workers in the U.S. are pushed out of longtime occupations before choosing to retire, essentially experiencing often irreversible financial damage. According to this article “If You’re Over 50, Chances Are the Decision to Leave a Job Won’t be Yours,” more and more folks are experiencing age discrimination. The article states ‘Many people in America assume that by the point of reaching their 50s they will have time to save, have steady work, as well as the right to make their own choices regarding when to retire. However, unfortunately, that is no longer the case for most people.’

So it is recommended that if you are approaching 50 or are over 50, you choose one of the three suggestions:

Stay in your current job no matter what

Start your own business

Try one of the following listed job boards that specifically works with older workers

The workforce landscape for older workers is changing. If you are still going to Indeed, I highly encourage that you change that. If you are 50 years of age and up, I highly recommend these 3 job boards for older workers:

RetirementJobs.com

RetirementJobs.com is a certified age-friendly job board of employers committed and willing to take on older workers.

This job boards offers these benefits:

Free

Millions of members

Mixture of people from every level, from leadership/executive level all the way to staff level

Multitude of jobs available

Hourly and salary positions available

No age discrimination

Members rate employers

Retired Brains

The site Retired Brains offers a multitude of resources and offers part-time, seasonal, and temporary work. It is a fantastic option for retirees looking to supplement their income or who are considering restarting a business.

Senior Community Service Employment Program (SCSEP) Program

SCSEP is a work-based training and community service program for America’s older demographic. The program offers training for unemployed, low-income, senior individuals. The Senior Community Service Employment Program grantees comprise 19 nationwide non-profit organizations and state agencies. For more details on programs in your region, you can use this Older Worker Program Finder here. The AARP foundation also helps with such resources and information.

According to the program’s website:

Participants receive work experience in various community service tasks at public and non-profit facilities, which includes senior centers, daycare facilities, hospitals, and schools. This program offers more than 40M community service hours to non-profit and public agencies, which allows them to provide and enhance needed services. People work about 20 hours per week and get paid the greatest of local, state, or federal minimum wage.

Users of the program have to be a minimum of 55 years old, unemployed, as well as have a total income of not more than 125 percent of the poverty level. Priority is provided to vets and eligible spouses, and then to people over the age of 65, have limited English proficiency or low literacy skillset, have a disability, live within a rural region, have low or no employment prospects, are at risk of being homeless or are already homeless, or have not been been able to secure employment after utilizing services through American Job Center system.

If you are a seasoned freelancer and prefer the peace and quiet that remote work offers, here is a list of remote job sites to check out so you can get your first gig:

Reddit R/ForHire

Guru

LinkedIn

Fiverr

Upwork

Media Bistro

99Designs

Ruby Now

Gun.IO

Dribble

Authentic Jobs

Remote Jobs Club

Workew

Remote4Me

Angel List

Virtual Vocations

Skip The Drive

Remote.Co

We Work Remotely

HubStaff Talent

Remotive

Solid Gigs

Jobspresso

Remote OK

Flex Jobs

Working Nomads

Ever work with any of these sites? If so, please feel free to share your experiences in the comments section!

Continue reading on Medium