I’m a forty-something woman. No college degree. I’m well spoken and have good writing skills, and am able to learn. My professional experience is in the hospitality industry, mostly - hotel, restaurant, and entertainment. But I’m getting older. I took a year off when the baby was born, and that year turned into four years because my husband was injured and unable to see to his daily needs. He still isn’t able to work, and I have to find a job. We need income, and health insurance would be nice. And I’m worried. I have good experience, but I am not young. I have a 4-year gap in my resume. I’m probably behind the curve in my computer skills, because I haven’t needed to learn newer stuff since early 2012.
How screwed am I? What should I learn? How should I market myself? I live in a college town - I’m thinking that my experience makes me a good candidate for jobs in leasing offices for the rental units (I don’t really want to go back to hotels, because I would like a 9-5 job, not 24/7/365. I enjoy the hospitality industry, but I don’t want to be on call always.) Am I doomed because I’m in my late forties with a big gap in employment? Honestly, I’m scared. I’ve worked since age 14. I don’t know how anyone will look at my recent history and age.
Market yourself as an experienced, mature, self-reliant employee. Someone the boss can rely on to get work done competently, with minimal hand-holding. In contrast to young, inexperienced,unreliable, party-going youngsters (don’t say this, just let the boss think of it.)
Stress your experience in hospitality, dealing with upset, stressed-out customers in a soothing, unflappable way. Try to connect some past experiences with the typical problems faced in the job you’re applying for. Say something like “once you’ve dealt with a tired traveler whose airline flight was delayed, arriving late past the check-in time, and having to find them a room & get them settled, most customers are a breeze to handle”. You want to emphasize that you can be productive on the job quickly, without needing to run to the boss constantly like a younger, less-experienced employee would.
Regarding your gap in employment history, just explain it like you did here: time off to have a baby, raise the child, and then deal with your husbands’ illness. And say that now that your child is old enough to be starting school and your husbands medical situation has stabilized, you are ready to get back into the work force. (Mention this so the employer doesn’t worry that these responsibilities make affect your attendance.)
Computer usage for most jobs hasn’t changed much since 2012 – MS Word, Excel, etc. are still largely the same. Anything more complicated, industry-specific software will require training anyway.
In general, make those things you mentioned as ‘disadvantages’ into advantages – several years of dealing with a small child & a disabled husband, efficiently managing your time to steadily cope with that is quite a recommendation for a job. Remember that the boss wants more time to spend on his own work, so he wants an employee who can be effective on her own. Show how you could do that more than any young person.
One reason I’m looking at work as a leasing agent in the local rental market - aside from the obvious transferable experience from hotel - is that I assume that I am relatable, to the parents co-signing leases (as a fellow parent,) and the kids themselves. I know I would do the job well. I am conscientious, and really good at customer service, and detail oriented. I’m just nervous about getting back out there. 47 seems awfully old to get hired, you know?
Since you’re in the end user side, that’s not a problem. The two companies I currently work for (employer and client) are on Windows 97 and Windows 7 (but set up in such a way it looks exactly like 97); one is on Office 2013 and the other one on 2010 and don’t ask me what the difference between them is.
Any company-specific software you need to learn, you’d need to learn it anyway.
And 47 isn’t too old to get hired, you whippersnapper! I started my job in January and turned 48 last month: you’re apparently a bit younger than me.
Heck, the last property build I went through with Starwood was done entirely in Unix. (The front desk interface was web-based, but the build and accounting were Unix.) After that, I was doing builds for Choice properties, and apparently I’m reasonably currently on their property management system - a former colleague recently messaged in a panic, and I was able to fix her debit/credit error in about 2 minutes. But having experience with a whole ton of property management systems, I’m pretty confident in my ability to pick up a new one for a leasing application. And I’m good on Windows operating systems. I can type, and talk, and am good at keeping track of a complex rhythm of tasks. So maybe this won’t be a complete nightmare…
I started a new job a month ago - at age 62. Six months before that, I was hired for another job - the one I quit to take this one. I was a bit worried each time I interviewed, but for this latest job, three different managers wanted me, so apparently I still have something to offer.
Based on what I’ve heard from some managers, some younger folks looking for jobs aren’t looking for work - they just want to be paid to be somewhere while they futz with their phones and occasionally do what they’re hired to do. Maturity and proven responsibility are assets.
So to answer your question, no, 47 is not too old. Go get 'em!!
This is what you say if asked about computer systems. The fact that a former colleague called to you, four years after you left, and you fixed the problem in 2 minutes shows:
former colleague knew that you had the skills to help in a crisis, even though you’ve been away for four years! (and if you play the Ghostbusters theme at the same time: “Who ya goin’ call! Lacunae Matata!” )
you fixed the crisis, lickety-split. You’ve not lost any skills just because you’ve been away for four years.
No kidding. I have a “gap” in my resume from 2002-2004, and it’s because I went to graduate school full time.
Apparently most recruiters and hiring people are too stupid to actually *read *the resume, and realize that it’s not an employment gap, so much as I went back to school.
I’ve tried having the “Experience” and “Education” sections of the resume, and that stymies them, and I’ve done it in strict chronological order, and that stymies them. Just about every time, I get the half-patronizing “Soo… can you explain what you were doing between 2002-2004? We see that you weren’t working then.” And, usually I say that I was in grad school. Then they ask where that is- they didn’t see it. And I explain that it’s between the 2005-2008 job and the 1999-2002 job on the resume. Then they go “Oh.” and usually follow up with “And you went back full time? No job?” To which I mightily struggle to point out that I got 2 grad degrees in that time from an accredited, top 40-ranked business school, not a half-assed part-time grad degree from a diploma mill.
So long story short, never underestimate how dumb hiring people can be. They fixate on stupid stuff, and gloss over important things. And I’m saying that as someone who’s actually interviewed about 15 people for jobs myself; my co-workers tend to concentrate on the stupidest stuff- asking entry level candidates about technical experience, or school knowledge, or asking experienced candidates about stuff that isn’t germane. And no questions about organizational fit, or personality traits or any of the stuff that ACTUALLY makes a difference.
Since you’re in a college town, check out the job listings at the school and keep checking them. You’ll find some you’re qualified for, and hopefully they’ll come with a benefits package. Once you get your foot in the door you’ll have opportunities to work your way up.
I had to fill up the last five years of my work history, because my current employer runs background checks. There was an option for “type of employment” of “self-employed through an agency”, but apparently the checking people have no idea what that actually means. Every single spot between jobs was marked as an unexplained gap, even one which was 9 days. I figure I should be grateful the check wasn’t longer
They also asked “paper only” or “picture” under “types of driving license”… does the Government of her British Majesty even issue the no-picture type any more? I only understood that question thanks to having read references to it in documents about international driving. For Spain, type of license would normally mean “motorcycle, car, truck, dangerous materials” and so forth. The company running the checks is British, but their customer base is not.
Good heavens! Don’t they think you take holidays now and then? And why are they demanding precise dates? I’ve never been asked for anything closer than the month. And for anything over 10 years old, I just listed the years. Something I did was group all the contracts under one title and put my current contract at the top and have a section, ‘previous clients include …’ and detail the best.
I had a five year gap in employment when my husband was on international assignments and I decided to go along with him. I approached it as a positive, emphasizing my familiarity with various languages and cultural mores in a time when more and more companies were hiring internationally. I was told that was one of the reasons I was chosen for my current position - that I had successfully turned a negative into a positive and presented it as an asset rather than a liability. And by the by, I was 55 when I got my current job.
Think about what you’ve done during your time off, how it has improved you, stretched you, broadened your perspective, how this knowledge can contribute to the type of employment you are seeking. Do what I did and market the time away as a positive. Don’t shy away from it or hope they won’t ask about it. Be enthusiastic about it and be the one to bring it up in an interview.
If you have solid connections from old jobs that might be a good staring point. Reach out to recruiters, too. They may have access to jobs that are hidden to you.
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