How to Land a Great Job When You Are Over 50

When I recently found myself unemployed and looking for work — a position familiar to many — I knew it wasn’t the best time to be job hunting. There is a worldwide pandemic and about 30 million other people joining me on the search every day. A vague little voice in the back of my head reminded me that I’m also older and competing with kids who use words like bandwidth and leverage and can walk briskly in the morning, even before a cup of coffee.

I didn’t panic. I could do this. Even as I started noticing that times had changed a great deal from the last time I went looking for work.

After I graduated from college, I purchased reams of paper weighing more than a small child with off-white shades like iridescent so my résumés and cover letters would stand out. I mailed them in bulk while watching President Clinton’s impeachment hearings, and within weeks the offers came pouring in.

I worked in education and issue campaigns — took some time off to raise children — and got back into the game as a political organizer and columnist. Here we are, two decades later. For the past six months, I’ve emailed, uploaded and parsed approximately 337 resumes, cover letters and writing samples. I’ve logged into 28 virtual interviews and have received over 104 rejection notices.

I’ve perused job boards, enrolled in new technology webinars and dissected advice columns encouraging older applicants, especially older female applicants, to think young. That’s usually when I’d begin counting down the minutes until Happy Hour. Every single day.

It took a while, but at the age of 51, I finally secured a job in political communications and advocacy, despite the fact that I’m old enough to consider Mary Tyler Moore a personal hero.

Here are my tips:

A résumé should be ageless, like afternoon naps or wearing socks with flip-flops.