Job Searching really SUCKS!

[BFS57]

Hello;
Been filling out internet application after application and getting absolutely nowhere! Sucks to loose a job you have had for almost 20 years to discover that you are too old to apply to anything! Got a offer to do what I did for $18.00 reduced to $13.00 an hr. Under employment almost running out, no extensions! Whats a guy to do?
At 68 I really don't have too many years left to work anywhere!

Bruce

[phat46]

Work for yourself, I went through the same thing five years ago and my brother and I started a handyman business and have a lot of work. It is amazing what people can't do for themselves and will pay you to do. Just finished a job today where we put down a carpet, put up a light and patched and painted a ceiling, even installed a faucet sprayer for him.  You must have a talent or knowledge to do something others can't or won't do.

[purplepickup]

Around here $13/hr is about what entry level factory work starts at.  I know people that took those jobs and if they performed as expected they gradually got raises or promotions giving them higher pay...sometimes considerably more.  

I don't know what you did but you said that after 20 years you were making $18/hr.  You might find that you can earn that amount again, or more, if the new employer values your performance.

I lost a job after 21 years and it took a while to find something else.  Yes, it paid less but in the end it turned out to be a much better employer.  I started out at about half of what I was making before and was considered "temporary" until I proved myself.  It wasn't long before I made much more than before and was able to make more of my own decisions regarding my duties.

Age is definitely a factor they look at, but so is how long you have been without a job.  During the interview try to point out some of the interpersonal or other skills you may have used in past jobs, even though they weren't directly related to the job description.

Hang in there.

[GPster]

Lightly following your history here you might see if you can do something for the guy in the shop where your '57 is. If you're not doing something you will spend time trying to think of what you can sell to make money and when you aren't making money it will be depressing how you're going to ransom your car. If you can work off some of the bill it won't bother you as much. I've got a friend here that does a few related things on the side that maybe you and someone else down there could do. He sells/charges scuba gear and every once in a while he will work into diving/salvaging/repairing/selling pleasure boats. He also does fiberglass work and along with repairing salvage is sometimes called to do fiberglass repair on some of the fiberglass acid tanks in the plants around here. Because of your past work there might be some people around there with boats that need something repaired for the coming season. GPster