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‘I feel invisible’: over-50s reveal harsh realities of trying to get a job

⁨223⁩ ⁨likes⁩

Submitted ⁨⁨1⁩ ⁨day⁩ ago⁩ by ⁨return2ozma@lemmy.world⁩ to ⁨workreform@lemmy.world⁩

https://www.theguardian.com/money/2026/sep/17/over-50s-reveal-trying-to-get-a-job-applications-interviews

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Comments

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  • SCmSTR@lemmy.blahaj.zone ⁨2⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago

    If only anybody could identify what the problem was…

    I guess it’ll remain a forever mystery.

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  • DeepRoots@lemmy.world ⁨1⁩ ⁨day⁩ ago

    This just sounds like everyone? I am sure some ageism happens but the only “scientific” part of this is a quick single source comparison of total number of job hunters.

    Its awful out there.

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  • Tikiporch@lemmy.world ⁨1⁩ ⁨day⁩ ago

    Never put dates on the education part of your resume.

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    • ramble81@lemmy.zip ⁨1⁩ ⁨day⁩ ago

      You can hide it on the resume, but a lot of sites that make you fill in all of the info on their applications make the date a mandatory field.

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      • Tikiporch@lemmy.world ⁨1⁩ ⁨day⁩ ago

        For what it’s worth these days in the USA, this specifically is illegal in Colorado, Delaware, Oregon and NYC. That’s in addition to protections provided by the ADEA.

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      • gastroglizzy@piefed.social ⁨21⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago

        Easy fix. Just do like everyone else and lie. The truth doesn’t matter anymore.

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    • stoly@lemmy.world ⁨1⁩ ⁨day⁩ ago

      Or–and stay with me here–get some graduate certificate and make that the only thing that appears on your education.

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  • heartSagan5@lemmy.zip ⁨17⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago

    A handful of interviews? Man, they’re getting better responses than me, and I’ve been looking for over 6 years because I wanted to leave my last job.

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  • CompactFlax@discuss.tchncs.de ⁨1⁩ ⁨day⁩ ago

    Sounds like the job market as a whole.

    There’s no job loyalty but the employers expect it for some reason and decide that someone with 5 years experience will stay around longer - though the reality isn’t that at all.

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    • NotSteve_@lemmy.ca ⁨1⁩ ⁨day⁩ ago

      The job loyalty thing pisses me off so bad. I enjoy staying at a single company and was at my former one for nearly 5 years. That whole time though was spent fighting tooth and nail for a promotion to a position I was already acting as and then shortly after getting it, I got laid off without any remorse. I built half of their system and knew it inside and out but apparently that meant nothing

      I’m at a better company now doing much cooler stuff but I still think back to that and get angry again

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      • W98BSoD@lemmy.dbzer0.com ⁨22⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago

        Let the lesson to the younger generation be that if you have to fight for a promotion, go elsewhere and get it.

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  • bowsertattoo@piefed.social ⁨1⁩ ⁨day⁩ ago

    in my 30s, having the same experience. completely invisible.

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    • Son_of_Macha@lemmy.cafe ⁨1⁩ ⁨day⁩ ago

      Take a whole 2 seconds to consider how much worse it would be if you were over 50, before crying about it.

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      • bowsertattoo@piefed.social ⁨1⁩ ⁨day⁩ ago

        so assuming i’m 80% transparent, a 50 year old might be 95% transparent? very low opacity

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      • impairedimperator@lemmy.zip ⁨1⁩ ⁨day⁩ ago

        Yeah, and you should take two whole second to realize how much worse it would be in you were over 50 and in Gaza. Checkmate.

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      • boonhet@lemmy.zip ⁨15⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago

        At 50 you’re bound to have more connections than 30 though. That’s way more people to ask for a job.

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  • Lushed_Lungfish@lemmy.ca ⁨1⁩ ⁨day⁩ ago

    Have you tried getting into US politics?

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    • SCmSTR@lemmy.blahaj.zone ⁨2⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago

      Have you tried burning everything to the ground, starting with the people and things most responsible for society’s problems and most benefiting?

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    • JustPlainDave@lemmy.zip ⁨1⁩ ⁨day⁩ ago

      Not old enough.

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  • HubertManne@piefed.social ⁨23⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago

    Same in the us but really I don’t think jobs are falling into younger folks laps.

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  • scytale@piefed.zip ⁨1⁩ ⁨day⁩ ago

    Most of the people around that age at my work who were laid off were basically forced to retire.

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  • myyass@lemmy.world ⁨18⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago

    Having to do online cr’application’s and taking modified MMPI tests doesn’t help.

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  • stoly@lemmy.world ⁨1⁩ ⁨day⁩ ago

    I don’t doubt that there are people who see old person and move on to the next candidate. I also believe that many people do not redefine themselves in their careers and have not grown since they were in their late 20s. You have to grow and adapt or get left behind.

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  • HobbitFoot@thelemmy.club ⁨1⁩ ⁨day⁩ ago

    I’m not surprised. I’ve seen it, even in industries which value experience.

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  • Fishnoodle@lemmy.world ⁨1⁩ ⁨day⁩ ago

    At 50 you should be retiring to make way for new workers. That’s how you keep a healthy job market

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    • RBWells@lemmy.world ⁨1⁩ ⁨hour⁩ ago

      Right, because people not working for 35-40 years is good for the economy somehow? Work for 30 years then retire for more than that? This makes no sense, it’s not a zero sum thing but you can’t have the population idle for more years than they work.

      I have a 401k - told the “planner” app to assume I will work to 70 & I might live to 90 and it says my plan has “longevity risk” . Basically that any woman who gets to my age may well get older than that.

      I know that people don’t like retirement age going up and up, and it would be lovely to not have to work, but on the other hand all my kids are finally adults, so these are my available prime earning years.

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    • nexguy@lemmy.world ⁨1⁩ ⁨day⁩ ago

      Nono one retires at 50

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    • BluescreenOfDeath@lemmy.world ⁨1⁩ ⁨day⁩ ago

      Wages haven’t kept up with expenses, and less people are able to retire early because of it.

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    • FistingEnthusiast@lemmy.world ⁨1⁩ ⁨day⁩ ago

      At fifty?

      How the fuck are people going to retire at fifty?

      I’m in a fairly good position, but I would have no chance of any sort of life if I had to live for thirty years without working

      Are you trolling, or are you stupid?

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      • ramble81@lemmy.zip ⁨1⁩ ⁨day⁩ ago

        They’re young most likely and think that 40yos are “old timers”

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      • Fishnoodle@lemmy.world ⁨8⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago

        Being able to retire at 50 means that you’ve contributed at least 25 years of labor. In my case about 35 years.

        People get shorter prison sentences for committing murder.

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      • Tollana1234567@lemmy.today ⁨17⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago

        possible if you are a doctor, a tech worker that has worked 10+years, a NURSE who did travelling. they have enough income and other investments to do that. but its usually 55.

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    • Bustedknuckles@lemmy.world ⁨1⁩ ⁨day⁩ ago

      A lot of people are having kids later in life. It’s tough to feel secure enough to retire at 50 when you have 2 preteens and a mortgage.

      Even without kids, the math is tough - work 30 years (20-50) and then retire ~30 (50-80?). We’d need massive safety nets in place to make retiring at 50 tenable. I’m going to hit the labor market next year and am terrified by what I’m seeing out there

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      • boonhet@lemmy.zip ⁨15⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago

        Yeah, retiring at 50 works if everyone under 50 is a slave.

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    • Steve@communick.news ⁨1⁩ ⁨day⁩ ago

      Yah!
      It’s not like the penalties on withdrawing from your retirement accounts early actually matters?
      Who isn’t a billionaire at 50? You aren’t? You need to get a better job looser!

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    • jade52@lemmy.ca ⁨1⁩ ⁨day⁩ ago

      What world do you live in where the average person can retire at 50!?!

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      • Fishnoodle@lemmy.world ⁨8⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago

        I’m saying, that SHOULD be the standard, not that it is

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    • Tollana1234567@lemmy.today ⁨17⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago

      50yo dont retire in any country lol. 55 is the earliest people consider retiring, and its mostly people who earn 200k+year with investments.

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    • boonhet@lemmy.zip ⁨15⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago

      Yes because the workers aren’t paying enough tax to support the owner class (people over 50)

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  • MonkRome@lemmy.world ⁨22⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago

    Every year I’ve been alive my resume grows and getting a job becomes easier and more lucrative. While im not yet 50, I find it hard to believe that experience is just going to disappear the second I’m over 50. This article is nonsense. People under 40 have been absolutely devastated in the job market over the last 20 years and we’re complaining about the most privileged generations in world history not getting 100% of the jobs they don’t know how to do anyway.

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    • natecox@programming.dev ⁨18⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago

      Congrats on that worst-possible-take award.

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