Open For Business: Older job seekers have support in Morristown

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By Beth Kujan

Age discrimination is a deep fear running through Morristown professionals in a job transition.  Actually though, the jobless rate among older workers is lower than the average, according to an article published by the Bureau of Labor Statistics last March.

For those over 55 years of age, the jobless rate was 7 percent in February 2010 , compared to the average in NJ, which was hovering around 10 percent at the time.  (It’s now 9 percent.)

Even so, the unemployment rate for persons over 55 has increased sharply since the beginning of the Great Recession.  It is also true that older persons who do become unemployed spend more time on average searching for work.

In February 2010, workers aged 55 years and older had an average duration of joblessness of around nine months , compared with about seven months for those aged  25 to 54 years.

So why the longer transition time for older workers?  Two research briefs published this Fall by the Rutgers Heldrich Center for Workforce Development suggest that lower reemployment rates for older workers may be caused by the job search strategies they choose and the intensity of their job search.

Life Cycle Assessment
Beth Kujan, sustainability engineer

Technologically savvy youngsters  are making use of social networking websites including Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter, whereas many older workers report using newspaper classified ads and recruiters.

The Wall Street Journal reports a trend away from job postings in print media as well as online job boards.  Hence the job seeker of 2011 must keep up with the technology.

Fortunately, there are ample ways to learn the latest versions of software via the public library system, as well as at workshops for innovative job searches.  The state offers and administers training grants.  The Morris County Career Network and Dover Professional Service Group offer volunteer business opportunities to keep skills sharp.

For a more intense job search, career coaches are easily met through networking groups.  Accountability groups form around the friendships developed during networking.  Stepping up one’s use of LinkedIn, especially optimizing keywords, will amplify search efforts as well.

Vitality and relevancy are antidotes to age discrimination.  In Morristown, there are plenty of resources to catalyze both.

And job-seekers 55 and older enjoy one big advantage: Youthful indiscretions were not recorded by cell-phone cameras and circulated around the web!

MORE BY BETH KUJAN

Beth Kujan is one of the organizers of the Morris County Career Network, which meets on the second and fourth Monday of each month at St. Peter’s Episcopal Church in Morristown to help professionals in transition.

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