Working with mature age job seekers

Click on a topic or scroll down the page.

Introduction
Profiling mature age job seekers
Exercise: Who are your mature age clients?
Exploring employment barriers
Case study: Peter
Case study: Mature age women and their return to the workforce
Service needs and preferences of mature age job seekers
Exercise: Service needs and preferences of mature age job seekers
Changing jobs
Case study: New skills and attitudes
Why mature age job applicants were unsuccessful
Exercise: Addressing barriers to unsuccessful applications

Introduction

The experience of job seekers aged 45 and over:

"Two thirds of unemployed job seekers aged over 55 report that the most significant problem they have in finding work is being considered 'too old' by employers." (5)

It is important to understand the conditions job seekers aged 45 and over face and the role that Job Network and other employment service providers can play in assisting this growing group of job seekers to overcome barriers to employment.

Once unemployed, mature age job seekers are less likely to regain full-time employment, are more likely to earn less than they did in their previous jobs and take longer to find new opportunities (18).

A survey undertaken by the global recruitment agency Drake, Beam and Morin (18) found that only 31 per cent of mature age people looking for work gained full-time employment. On average, mature aged people's search for employment was longer than any other age group (4.3 months for mature age workers; 3.3 months for all workers) and the longer they looked the less likely they were to find employment. The survey also demonstrated that mature age workers often entered into employment which offered less working hours or a lower position within an organisation, resulting in diminished earnings.

By developing targeted strategies, Job Network and other employment service providers can provide job search support and guidance to assist mature age clients to stay motivated, hone their job search skills and successfully target areas of work suited to their skills and experience.

DEWR has recently released an occasional paper entitled "Mature Age Job Seekers and Job Network". This occasional paper draws on information gathered from Job Network members and mature age job seekers and identifies the successful strategies for helping mature age job seekers find employment.

Profiling mature age job seekers

Job seekers aged 45 and over are not an homogenous group. Their career experience and skill sets differ, as does their gender, culture, ethnicity, lifestyle and values.

Three broad categories of older job seekers are:

those with long, secure work history and who have often been displaced through an organisation level restructure or industry downsizing
those facing difficulties in returning to work after a long absence - many of these may be women returning to work after family responsibilities
those who have held a marginal attachment to the workforce and may be at a disadvantage due to disability, a lack of skills or experience in mainly unskilled and manual jobs.

These three generic categories of older job seekers may not completely reflect the diversity of your older clients.

Exercise: Who are your mature age clients?

Exploring employment barriers

To provide successful services to mature age job seekers it is useful to consider the barriers to achieving an employment outcome. This section explores the barriers that may be faced by each of the three groups previously identified.

Group 1

Mature age job seekers with long secure work history and who have often been displaced through an organisation level restructure or industry downsizing.

These job seekers may have:

less current academic qualifications compared with younger people
unrealistic job search goals that are based on replacing the lost job
specialist skills that are no longer in demand or a history of semi- or unskilled work resulting in a lack of relevant technical skills and experience
a lack of awareness of current labour market conditions
limited job search experience.

Job seekers in the category may also be grieving the loss of their previous job and displaying anger, withdrawal or depression.

Employers may have stereotypes of cost, capacity and 'fit' of a mature age worker.

Case study: Peter

Group 2

Mature age job seekers facing difficulties in returning to work after a long absence, many of whom may be women returning to work after family responsibilities.

These job seekers may have:

limited work experience
lower formal education and training qualifications (38)
limited geographical mobility, given responsibilities external to the workforce (20)
a lack of awareness of the conditions of the current labour market
a lack of understanding about how to market their capacity
limited job search experience and skills
a lack of current work networks.

Employers may:

not recognise the skills and experience that they have developed outside of the workforce
have stereotyped views of their capacity and attitudes.

Case study: Mature age women and their return to the workforce

Group 3

Mature age job seekers that have held a marginal attachment to the workforce and may be at a disadvantage due to disability, a lack of skills and experience in mainly unskilled and manual jobs.

These job seekers may have:

low vocational skill levels
poor work histories
poor motivation to work as the work available may be low paid or insecure
social, economic and psychological disadvantages that impede their capacity to successfully engage in the job search process
limited job search skills.

Employers may have:

a low demand for mature age workers
stereotyped views of their capabilities and attitudes.

Service needs and preferences of older job seekers

Understanding the service needs and preferences of mature age job seekers is critical. Mature age job seekers represent close to a third of all Job Network clients and this number is increasing. Comprehensive information of the service requirements of mature age job seekers is limited and demonstrates the importance of undertaking research into this area.

Anecdotal insights into the service needs and preferences of mature age job seekers have been developed by Business, Work and Ageing through the research and programmes they have implemented relating to people aged 45 and over. General themes regarding the service requirements for older job seekers include:

mature age job seekers generally seek support from consultants with equivalent levels of life experience
they often express a desire for services that are professional and business like and that this also be reflected in the premises where the services are located
mature age job seekers may prefer assistance that is focused on a practical plan directly aimed at the area of work they are seeking
mature age job seekers can have a preference for consultants that take a facilitative role rather than a directed approach. For example, consultants need to review and advise on job search plans developed by mature age job seekers
mature age job seekers often require service consistency, such as dealing with the same Job Network consultant
mature age job seekers look to their Consultants for job leads and opportunities
consultants may need to review the job search skills of their mature age clients, in particular:

the role of the CV
prepare a generic CV
the process of tailoring the CV to applications.

mature age job seekers often need to be re-oriented into the labour market and informed about industry and occupational changes and work place conditions
mature age job seekers will usually need help to develop strategies that help them to stay motivated throughout their job search
mature age clients may seek assistance with social, physical and economic problems that inhibit their capacity to gain employment. Programmes that address healthy ageing, financial management and relationships are good examples of effective assistance in this area.

Exercise: Service needs and preferences of mature age job seekers

Changing jobs

For more information regarding the re-employment of mature age job seekers after they have left previous employment and the role attitude and training can play, please read the following case study.

Case study: New skills and attitudes

Why mature age job applicants were unsuccessful

Understanding employers' perspectives on why mature age applicants for positions were unsuccessful is useful in considering how mature age job seekers can best be assisted to achieve successful job search outcomes.

A survey conducted by the Social Policy Research Centre (SPRC) at the University of New South Wales in 2000 asked 1006 businesses in high growth industries to comment on the reasons mature age candidates were unsuccessful with their job applications.

Main reason why the mature age candidate was unsuccessful

The survey is based on a weighted sample. The sample has been adjusted by sex and single year of age from the Australian Bureau of Statistics estimated resident population and a further adjustment has been made to reflect the proportions receiving social security payments.

This survey reinforces the challenges to employment mature age job seekers may face. It again illustrates that technical skills and experience were not regarded as relevant to today's jobs and that stereotypes about how mature age people fit into the culture of an organisation also influences an employer's recruitment decisions.

Exercise: Addressing barriers to unsuccessful applications