Job at sixty - proving difficult

Dixiegirl47

I have been working in the UK for the last 5 years. Previously worked in Ireland for 25 years. I have a house in Ireland and want to return there now. I will be 60 in March. I have a masters and a BSc in healthcare. I work in the NHS - not in nursing. I have applied for several similar roles in Ireland and haven't gotten a reply though I have 30 years experience. I had a recruitment specialist in the UK give me advice on my CV - all dates of qualification were removed, except the last 15 years of employment. I became so concerned after not getting anything in my field - only one interview out of 25 job applications - that I even applied for admin work in the medical secretarial field - I trained as a secretary after leaving school before I went into healthcare. I have good typing and admin skills from all the years I worked in healthcare, and am proficient in Word, PowerPoint, Teams, Excel, Outlook. I rang one agency and we had a good conversation on the phone and they said they had loads of work, but then when they asked about commitments and working hours, and I said I had grown up children, the conversation went cold and I never heard from them again. I thought then about taking a year out and doing a course - I have some savings - I thought about doing a FETAC Level 5 in gardening - absolutely love gardening and would like to study it more. I applied to three different courses - all said there was no issue with someone aged almost 60 applying that they had people of my age on the courses before - I told them my age on that occasion as I wanted to know if others my age had managed the courses physically. Despite sounding quite interested I never heard from any of them again, and never got an interview. Looks wise, most people mistake me me for late 40s.

I am concerned about coming back to Ireland with no job. I don't have a pension, except the UK and Irish State pensions and a small HSE pension, so I will need to work part-time. I have no mortgage. Kids grown up, and no debts. Is ageism a massive issue in Ireland? I didn't plan and don't want to stay in the UK until I'm 65 but don't want to return to Ireland without not even a part-time job.

Would welcome any advice/comments on this.

Mrs OBumble

Yes its ageism. Yes itt sucks.

Try home care.

fritzelly

What wage are you expecting - maybe apply for one of the civil service jobs - CO/EO, at least you know there can't be any discrimination. Really you are looking for just a few years of work til retirement so I assume you are not looking for any high powered position so may suit to fill out the years til retirement

Dixiegirl47

Hi! Fritzelly and Mrs. O'Bumble - thanks for replies. Fritzelly, I am expecting about 30k. I am currently on 65k sterling in the UK, but am not expecting anywhere near that salary - 30k would be grand. My current career is interesting but also very stressful, so not something I want to continue. Re the CO/EO - they do numerical testing to get through to interview. I did pass maths at LC and failed it, repeated it with my mum at the time getting lots of grinds for me, and got a 'D.' One of my psychology colleagues in the NHS did some testing on me about three years ago and discovered I had dyscalculia. My base profession is psychiatric nursing - not currently practising, and the aggression in the psychiatric wards in Dublin when I have done a few agency shifts when on holidays in Ireland has put me off - but the dyscalculia never impacted as there was were just basic calculations and formulas to do some of the basic drug calculations. So as much as I would love a job in the civil service to carry me towards 66, I don't think I would pass the numerical testing.

Mrs O'Bumble - I think you are right that I may get care work - I did a lot of this type of work when I was at the beginning of my psychiatric nursing career 35 years ago. It's not something I wanted to go back to - heavy work also - but I may have to. As mentioned above, I just wouldn't be able to go back to working on an acute adult psychiatric ward - lots of aggression or undercurrent of aggression now in them - years ago it wasn't the same, and I just find that too risky at my age.

I currently work in psychological therapies in the UK and am a Team Lead - integrative psychotherapy and addiction therapy qualification. I have applied for 12 different counselling jobs and jobs working with the voluntary sector working with young people - which is what I do in the UK - but no luck, though got two interviews.

The NHS is stressful to work in but it isn't ageist. My colleague is retiring and they are taking her back three days a week and telling her they hope she will work until she is 67 when she gets her retirement pension. One of my other colleagues turned sixty a couple of months ago, and decided she would rent her flat out and move to London to see more of her grandchildren -and has just gotten a job in psychological therapies in London.

Kalimah

Why not try for an admin job in a charity? Not very well paid but your excel and word skills would be well received. I’m 62 and changed jobs three years ago within the charity sector. I didn’t experience any ageism at all which was heartening. Best of luck with your search.

cml387

Brothers of Charity or John of Gods are always looking for people.

finbarrk

What about contacting some private nursing homes directly? They might have something to suit.

smalltalker

It's really disheartening to hear you're experiencing ageism. I wouldn't have said it was a big issue, but there doesn't seem to be any other explanation for what's happening.

Before you write off a job in the civil service, consider the following:

1. Not all positions require you to sit a numerical or any kind of test, especially at the lower level.
2. You can see and practice the kind of tests you would have to take at the different levels here. If you are capable of basic drug calculations there's every chance you could attempt the numerical test at CO level, especially as you only need a passing score.
3. If you have dyscalculia you can request a reasonable accommodation (e.g. more time to do the test).
4. You can apply to any open competitions and see how you get on, without prejudice to applying at a later date. The sooner you do this the better, as the competitions can take a while.

I assume you are using online sites like public jobs, irishjobs etc. Hopefully something will come up for you soon.

Dixiegirl47

Finbarrk - I'm not that keen on going back to a caring role, well not as a nurse - in my experience, too many agency staff with few permanent staff in many elderly care settings and often things are then missed in handover,

Smalltalker - I would love a job in the civil service - I enjoy admin and it's often commented in my current job that I am the one who is always up to date with the admin. Working in admin in a charity is something I will have a look at as someone suggested it as a possibility. I think I will try for the CO in the civil service. Is there somewhere I can get practice books for the numerical part - do such books exist?

Augme

Remove everything in your CV and don't give any information, beyond your appearance, as to what the you might be when talking with employers.

smalltalker

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122820873#Comment_122820873

You can view and take a sample test at this link:

https://www.publicjobs.ie/en/information-hub/our-recruitment-process/test-advice

Scroll to the bottom of the page and you will see "Clerical Officer Self Assessment". Grab a calculator and take a look at the questions in the numerical test. It may be that they are more manageable than you thought.

If you haven't already, you should register on publicjobs.ie and search there for suitable opportunities. All kinds of administrative jobs come up from time to time. Not all will require you to sit a test.

Dixiegirl47

Thanks for that Smalltalker. I'm going to have a look at the test advice for public jobs now. I haven't registered on publicjobs.ie - just presumed I wouldn't meet the numerical criteria - but maybe I would, with a little practice. I was mostly looking for jobs on Irishjobs.ie.

Augme - It's good advice to take dates off my CV - initially I didn't do this, but in the last while have started doing so, and just putting last 15 years on my CV. I even got rid of the dates on my LinkedIn page and then the page itself - which may or may not be a good idea.

Be right back

…..

Dixiegirl47

Thanks, Be Right Back. I am going to have a look at that now - the Courts Service would be an interesting place to work.

NIMAN

Are job applications asking for your age?

I thought that wasn't allowed any more?

Mrs OBumble

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122821779#Comment_122821779

A lot can be inferred from the year a person got their first qualification.

NIMAN

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122821893#Comment_122821893

Ah, I see.

Surely they shouldn't be allowed to ask what year you got qualifications in, as it dates you?

Surely it's the qualifications that are important, not when you got them.

Jim2007

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122820951#Comment_122820951

Yep if you enjoy wasting your time talking to people who will be POed because you conned them and have no intention of employing an older person.

smalltalker

Why would anyone care about inconveniencing such people?

CelticRambler

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122821241#Comment_122821241

A few years ago, I inadvertently found myself in a "back to work programme for auld folks" (auld folks being the over-fifties, at least as far as the French are concerned … ) Amongst the many really useful pieces of advice we were given were the following two points: (1) regardless of your professional domain, once you hit middle age, anything you did more than five years ago is irrelevant; and (2) if you're applying for jobs as a "senior" then your CV shouldn't look anything like the kind of CV prepared by a twenty-something year-old.

Now my line of work being in a bit of a recruitment crisis I have a natural advantage, but having done that course, I completely re-wrote my CV: stripped out almost everything relating to my academic adventures, relegated my recent employment history to a paragraph of small print at the very end of page 2, and devoted all of page 1 to who I am (including the stuff employers are not supposed to ask about) and what I can and do do.

Once I posted that updated version on my preferred recruitment networks, the number of offers I received jumped 10-fold compared to what I'd been getting with the bog-standard version. Most surprising was the number of recruiters who made a specific reference to the stuff that had absolutely nothing to with the job, but was an interest that they themselves shared, or something that they found intriguing.

That's what got me the interviews and the offers. Even though I unlisted my CV a couple of years ago, I'm still getting enquiries from a few recruiters whose offers I turned down previously and who want to know how things worked out. They're not at all bothered by the fact that I'm two years closer to retirement and scratching at the door of my sixties.

Mrs OBumble

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122823407#Comment_122823407

You're wasting your own time too.

That's what I'd care about.

Augme

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122823189#Comment_122823189

There's lots of companies who'd be happy to employ someone in their late 40s, but not in their early 60s.

Jim2007

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122823896#Comment_122823896

Yep, but unfortunately the OP is 60!

If you are 60 you got to have something special to offer some kind of certification the business requires such as resident chemists that chain stores require, a patent, a large block of customers that come along etc…. Otherwise you need a lot of look to even get a look in.

Augme

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122823963#Comment_122823963

But they look late 40s. They can use the two their advantage.

littlefeet

My husband changed jobs in his 60s and had no problem getting a job because there is a shortages in his profession.

The Op would have no trouble getting a job as a nurse as there is a nursing shortage.

The Op doesn't want to work as a nurse and that's fair enough.

So in way it's nothing to do we with being 60.

Dixiegirl47

Thanks for all the replies. Be right back, I applied for that Civil Service post - I will be returning to Carlow, so not far from Waterford. We shall see if the Civil Service is not actually ageist as it says. I had many of the skills they were looking from from 35 years in healthcare.

Littlefeet - there are no part-time or full-time permanent jobs only agency jobs for psychiatric nurses in their 60s, and there isn't that much agency work, actually less in Dublin than down the country. Psychiatric nursing does not have the same opportunities as general nursing in terms of volume of jobs/work. I have friends who retired and then wanted to return but could only get agency, and then ended up either doing very heavy work in elderly wards or working in very dangerous environments in acute psychiatric wards where there are lots of assaults on patients and staff. As you get older it's physically difficult to do 13 hour shifts and heavy work. Older staff can also be a liability in acute psychiatric settings, for example, if staff have to restrain a patient - this happens - where the patient may be brought to the floor using MAPPA - I cann't now get down or up from the floor quickly and would have to lean on someone else or an object to do so - though I am still mobile enough to walk 10km per day, and so I would be a liability in terms of my ability to move quickly.

Jim2007

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122824793#Comment_122824793

Thanks for all the replies. Be right back, I applied for that Civil Service post - I will be returning to Carlow, so not far from Waterford. We shall see if the Civil Service is not actually ageist as it says. I had many of the skills they were looking from from 35 years in healthcare.

Well they are not a profit oriented organisation so that should help. In a private business it's a different matter - it takes about a year before you are fully productive, there are often extra benefits that the company has to pay for older people, a higher chance of sick leave, early retirement etc….

On the pension side, it would be a good idea to sit down with a financail planner/advisor and have them go over your options to make sure you are fully covered. With 5 years to go in the UK you might need/want to make voluntary contributions to ensure you qualify for a full UK pension and also see what can be done on the Irish side.

littlefeet

I like this. https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2024/nov/11/a-new-start-after-60-one-bite-of-chocolate-led-me-to-reinvent-myself-at-62

Dixiegirl47

Littlefeet, that's a fabulous and inspiring story! There's hope for me yet! I will have to start thinking outside the box of traditional jobs.

OscarMIlde

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122819520#Comment_122819520

What about applying to places like Gheel or other services for the disabled for caring? It wouldn't be as physical as some caring placements, especially if it was for people with intellectual disabilities like autism. Your psychiatric nurse background would be a plus. If not eligible then maybe ask what courses would allow you to be.

witchgirl26

OP it may not be ageism as such but people looking at the CVs and feeling you're overqualified for the role they're advertising. I know I've done that where I was recruiting for a more junior role & someone who had 30 years experience applied. We didn't move forward with them as the salary was quite low & we felt they were over qualified for the role we were looking to fill and may get bored with it.

To counteract that, if you're applying for roles, it might be no harm including a cover letter saying that you're looking to move from your current level to a different one and are comfortable with doing tasks that you may be considered over qualified for as there are always learning opportunities.