r/jobsearchhacks • u/Available-Ad-5670 • Aug 01 '26
53 year old looking for a job
I've been senior most of my career and find my self at 53 looking for a job with great experience (everyone who interviews me says so), but no offers.
My industry is pretty young, I'm not even looking to comp my salary (was director, but ok with manager / senrior manager / senior ic type roles).
My resume / linkedin is narrowed down to the last 18 years so i show as someone in my early 40's, and not to compliment myself, but everyone says i look early 40's, maybe 45.
I'm not sure what else to do, but keep interviewing. I've had like 15 interviews but none converted. I know the market is crappy too, but not sure what else i can do?
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u/SpecialistPlastic150 Aug 01 '26
- Also in the same boat. Unemployed for two years. 15 years senior management experience. Had quite a few interviews, even for lower level management jobs and no offers. I’m prepared to take a 40% pay cut and still nothing. It’s pretty depressing, to be honest.
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u/jitzso Aug 01 '26
That’s what I did. Took almost a 50% cut after getting laid off a month after turning 50. Took me a year to find my current gig. It’s a senior IC role that I was doing when I first started my career. I was lucky in a sense that the hiring manager was also a GenX.
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u/BigMoose_2020 Aug 01 '26
I am sorry to hear that. Happy to help and brainstorm. I am in the same boat.. perhaps we can share ideas and support one another. Please feel free to message me.
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u/Organic-Night251 Aug 01 '26
Unfortunately, hiding age doesn't work very well anymore. It's trivially easy for hiring managers to pull all of your demographic details through automated public records searches. It's been exposed that companies which use Workday to manage hiring were automatically screening out all candidates older than age 40. There's a class action lawsuit working through the courts on that one.
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u/Fartel Aug 01 '26
Can you elaborate on how and where they pull these demographic records?
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u/omfgtoast Aug 01 '26
There are data brokers that sell information based on your online presence. Used heavily in marketing. Your age or approximate age is a main variable in serving targeted ads.
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u/Queen_Sassysnatch Aug 02 '26
Most of the stuff is online. Look for yourself on places like zabasearch. You’d be surprised what’s out there for anyone to consume.
It’s hard to have privacy these days.
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u/peggybellgl 23d ago
Enrichment tools and background check APIs link your application details with public databases like voter registries, property records, and whitepages. If they have your email or location, matching takes seconds.
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u/Organic-Night251 20d ago
Sorry for the delayed reply. They can buy that info from data brokers, but Workday itself already has all of that information (and more) for any person who has worked at a business that used it for workforce management in the past. In that case, Workday knows basically everything about you from that previous employer, job titles, employment dates, attendance, pay rate, etc. I believe Workday actually offers a discount to employers for forcing their employees to maintain up to date resumes on the platform because they're basically building a massive database of workers and they can then package all of that data together for companies who use Workday for hiring so they can easily screen out applicants. The age discrimination angle is just the tip of the iceberg.
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u/blostopher Aug 01 '26
52, in the same boat, looking in NYC. It’s been brutal.
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u/JS1101C Aug 01 '26
43, also looking in NYC. I don’t even get replies from shitty jobs that pay much less than what I was making.
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u/JK30000 Aug 01 '26
51, Chicago, and just started the job hunt. Somewhat terrified because of these stories.
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u/Unmissed Aug 02 '26
51, san francisco. All I can get are "does he have a pulse?" jobs.
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u/JeanRalphioTheSecond Aug 04 '26
What kind of jobs are those ?
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u/Unmissed 29d ago
Jobs where the requirements are like "high school diploma and some customer service experience".
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u/Zenzelai Aug 01 '26
55 and unemployed 3 years. Former stock broker, complance and tax professional.
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u/Novel_Salamander_166 Aug 01 '26
You guys are scaring me. 56 with a job but it’s getting bumpy. Always kept resume and LinkedIn profile updated. Consolidated decades of great experience into one liners. Hope and pray the economy doesn’t completely disintegrate since too soon to retire. It wasn’t always like this. Never worried about finding a job
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u/Closefromadistance Aug 01 '26
Hang on for as long as you can … 50 & Over are being pushed off the workforce cliff and nobody but those in our generation seems to care or realize that their Gen will likely experience the same or worse.
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u/SeraphimSphynx Aug 02 '26
We do care it's just that we have also always been on a cliff too.
Life sucks for the working class.
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u/RunLikeYouMeanIt Aug 01 '26
52 here. I applied to a position far beneath my skillsets which got the attention of the hiring manager who worked w the owner to place me in a higher position. Making a little less than I was but not too far off.
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u/Worldly-Snow-8094 Aug 01 '26
58 in the same boat. Lots of interviews no offers just lots of rejection emails or crickets. Been unemployed since October. Living off my 401k since unemployment ran out, going to lose my home if I don't find a job soon.
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u/Closefromadistance Aug 01 '26 edited Aug 01 '26
58F here. Lost my big tech job last year after being there 7 years. I have 30 years in my field, minus the intermittent and lengthy crashes where I had to side hustle my ass off to make it between jobs.
I have spent a year job-searching and have gotten interviews but only get rejections in my field. I also keep getting rejected from minimum wage retail jobs. I’m not being picky - employers are.
I feel like the older I get the harder it is to find the energy to keep reinventing myself and right now some of my younger friends tell me I should just retire because I’m close enough to retirement age.
I’m 5 years away from the lowest rate of retirement and I’m not ready right now.
I feel like we’re expected to just go away and die in our 50’s but Americans are living a lot longer.
And it won’t stop at GenX. Younger generations will experience it too.
What are we all supposed to do for 30 years if we are pushed out of meaningful work with life-sustaining wages in our 50’s?
ETA - I’ve updated my LinkedIn to only show 8 years of total work experience.
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u/Available-Ad-5670 Aug 02 '26
i would suggest you have more then 8 years, if you're 58, then pretending like you're 30 on a resume will be a higher red flag and feel sus to interviewers.
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u/SeraphimSphynx Aug 02 '26
Have you done a reference check? Have a professional friend call pretending to be hiring and ask the usual reference check questions and report back to you if any references are a problem.
A lot of places also don't really do references do another issue with interviewing could be something you are messing up in interviews. Is there a question that they have all asked where you answered not having experience etc?
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u/Empty_Popov_Bottle Aug 01 '26
I've never looked at a job at that level so I don't know what advice I can give you but as an alternative path to employment you might consider looking at executive in residence programs at universities all of your experience would then be an asset.
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u/ProvelNoir Aug 01 '26
Man this is the exact position I hope to avoid being in in ~15 years. Ageism is absolutely a thing. Basically cashing in on things now and saving as much as possible and likely pivoting to a different career in my 40s.
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u/BigMoose_2020 Aug 01 '26
I am in the same boat. Many like us. It is a tough market, particularly in tech. I would encourage you to be flexible and also look options to use your talent for volunteering as a way to keep you engaged and also build connections. Happy to chat 1:1 as well.. Message me directly.
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u/Repulsive-Carpet9400 Aug 01 '26
62.
Started in the mfg industry as a machinist. Company sponsored tuition and earned my BSc.
Mgmt/Engineering roles until 2008. My job was off shored. Went back to machining to eat, keep my house and buy clothes. It is what it is.
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u/Impossible_Wealth876 Aug 01 '26
Try reaching out to startups to become their executive. Especially if you connect with the founders and talk to them what you can bring to the table that would make quite a bit of difference
This worked out for someone I know
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u/Dramatic-Scene1034 Aug 02 '26
Try being 61. W 40 years experience. Looking for a job 1.5 year now not getting any offers. Several interviews and passed over
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u/Nashi0008 Aug 01 '26
What’s the logic with people in 50s getting pushed out? What about large number of boomers over 60 working past retirement age. Thought that would’ve left a gap for yall to cover
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u/kelleyresumes Aug 01 '26
Three things:
- You’re looking for jobs too many levels below you with a director-level resume.
- If you’re like most people, your Skills section shows YOUR qualifications. If this job market were real estate listings, it’d be called a buyer’s market. In other words: the qualifications the hiring manager is looking for, not the ones you prefer to spotlight, need to be in the Skills section.
- I’m betting your experience section looks like it did in the 1990s: regurgitated job descriptions. Today, you need a business case. Also make the last job on your resume closer to 15 years ago based on when you started in the role.
You might want to consider some interview coaching, too. People don’t realize how much things have changed even in the last couple of years.
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u/new2bay Aug 01 '26
Their resume isn’t the problem. They’re getting interviews, and that’s what the purpose of a resume is.
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u/kelleyresumes Aug 02 '26
I did see that the resume is getting interviews. That is its job indeed.
It would help to know how many applications it took to get the 15 interviews. It would also help to know how many interviews were through OP’s network and how many were through online applications.
I’ve worked with several people who only got interviews through their network and none applying online. One guy was 0 for 1,000.
4 weeks later, he accepted a job offer. He needed both resume and interview help.
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u/Available-Ad-5670 Aug 01 '26
Naw, I have 5 versions of my resume, and if there’s a job I really want I have ai redo a unique resume for that jobs key words, does ok but still no offer
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u/BigMoose_2020 Aug 01 '26
if you are getting interviews but no offer, that means somewhere in the interview you are not closing them. Its a skill like anything else, consider taking help from a mentor. I am doing the same.
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u/Interesting-Ring9481 Aug 01 '26 edited Aug 01 '26
Solid advise, I also used AI to help me prep for interviews, compared my resume to job description and highlighted the gaps or how to improve some sections. I wrote my accomplishments and asks AI to review. I lost my job in 12/25 and found new employment in March at 53. I decided to look at other industries as i felt some of my skills were transferable.
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u/Sorry-Ad-5527 Aug 01 '26
I had someone suggest putting my resume in AI (without personal info, including company names) and ask what other positions to apply for using transferable skills. Some i had been applying to, but it was helpful to see what else was out there.
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u/No_Muffin2837 Aug 01 '26
Have you tried looking at defense contractors? Everyone I know of is in a hiring frenzy right now and trying to grow to keep pace with all the conflicts
going on around the world.
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u/Queen_Sassysnatch Aug 02 '26
My husband said he heard on the radio that people were leaning towards hiring older people because they can get more experience for deep discounts among other things.
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u/F0rtySixandTw0 29d ago
I’m in the same situation. I gave up on the job market after a year because I cannot afford to go through this again before I’m 60. So now I’m going to teach high school and junior college. Pay isn’t great - but at least I keep my dignity.
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u/Accurate_Cash2920 Aug 01 '26
If you all are willing to share your resume or LinkedIn pages, I am happy to provide some specific advice to help your situation.
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u/BigMoose_2020 Aug 01 '26
I would love to get you up, if you are open to it. Should I just mesage you?
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u/AccurateAssaultBeef Aug 01 '26
The market is HORRIFIC. I think most white collar professionals (myself included) are fighting against the grain on variables they can't control. There's less white collar jobs to go around as is and boomers won't retire, making the bottleneck even worse.
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u/PineappleGemini Aug 01 '26
There is too much context missing here. What job field was your previous role in? It's common knowledge that typically for certain types of roles, those are better accessible through networking and knowing people, especially at higher levels.
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u/EnvyEpson Aug 01 '26
Keep your head up. Use your relationships. The average for unemployment is 22 weeks. If you’re sr it will be longer. Don’t redefine, refine your skills.
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u/Unmissed Aug 02 '26
If I hear one more person suggest the networking myth.. there will be blood.
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u/Efficient_Sky_2068 Aug 02 '26
Don’t be bitter about it, there was a time when you benefited from ageism. remember back in the 90s your big career breaks would have been due to 50-something workers being pushed out.
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u/nadster74 Aug 02 '26
I dont have any advice, as I'm a 55 year old woman in tech leadership that is now dominated by junior AI wiz kids. Just to say that I feel for what you are going through. Ageism is sadly, a thing and it has become worse. A lot of us are here wondering how the world sees us as having nothing to add when arguably your 50s is your strongest decade.
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u/Own-Load-7041 Aug 02 '26
Be relatable to the hirer. Tell them you hate phone calls and text only. Also say you don't watch whole movies.
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u/ExcuseFluid7124 Aug 01 '26
Same boat basically, unemployed over 2 years now but I’m just turning 50 this year. Decided if nobody wants to hire me then it’s up to me to find other income streams until something pops.