Older job seekers face age-barrier struggle

WASHINGTON - Like many unemployed older workers, Allan Kellum, 64, fears his age has made it harder to find a job. At a recent job fair, Kellum expressed interest in a supervisory role coordinating an international health-assistance program. A recruiter set him straight: "The people applying for that are young."

So now Kellum, who lives in McLean, Va., takes no chances. He has deleted his college graduation date from his resume and reduced the number of years it covers.

Kellum, who has been out of work since January, may be right to be concerned. Despite their years of experience, out-of-work older people are finding it harder than other adults to find new jobs.

Older workers have always found it harder than others to land a job after a layoff. In part, that's because many employers assume they are more expensive or will not stay long in jobs that pay less than they have earned previously.

But this job market has been especially frustrating for them. The Labor Department said yesterday that as of June, unemployed workers 55 or older were jobless an average of nearly 30 weeks, compared with about 21 weeks for those under 55.

Now, many older workers are taking steps similar to Kellum's to try to minimize any role their age might play in hiring decisions. Tinkering with resumes is a common strategy.

To avoid appearing out of touch, others are using time between jobs to become familiar with the latest technologies and social-networking sites. Sharon Armstrong, a career consultant in Washington, urged one client fearful of seeming too old to discuss her use of Twitter and Facebook during job interviews.

And she endorses the idea of keeping certain dates off resumes.

"I don't think anyone needs to know when you graduated from college," she said.

Once at the interview stage, Armstrong urges clients to prepare for questions like, "Aren't you overqualified?" Armstrong suggests they show enthusiasm for the job and make sure not to seem to be applying out of desperation. AARP also urges older job hunters to stress their skills and achievements - not their years of experience.

Complaints of age bias to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission jumped 29 percent to 24,852 in the year that ended in September, the most recent 12-month period for which figures are available. That is the highest such total on record dating back 16 years.

Job counselors say they remind older workers that networking is even more crucial for them than for younger job seekers, because their resumes are sometimes undervalued.

Patricia McNally, 58, is following that advice: She is using sites such as LinkedIn and Facebook. Yet one of her most effective tools is decidedly low-tech: her dog, Lola.

After being laid off from a marketing job in Washington in December, McNally decided she could no longer afford to pay her dog-walker. Still, the dog-walker forwarded her resume to a communications start-up. That led to an interview, and while the company is not yet hiring, McNally says she thinks she has gained a foothold there.

"You never know where your networking's going to come from," she said.