Are you a woman over 50?  Are you finding it an uphill battle to either get back into the work force after raising your family or after losing your job?  Wouldn’t it be good to know what the best jobs for women over 50 are?  Look no further, this article has been written with this in mind.

I don’t want to be all doom and gloom, but there is overwhelming statistical evidence that people 50 and over spend longer trying to find employment, experience higher unemployment rates and are finding it harder to secure permanent employment.  Now add the fact that your female and over 50.  That alone creates an additional barrier to finding secure employment when in this age bracket.

Why is this the case?  The research suggests that there are a number of reasons as to why women over 50 are finding it an uphill battle to find work.  Lets explore why women over 50 are not often being considered as employees.

Caring For Dependents

One of the reasons women over 50 often have difficulty finding work is due to their caring nature.  Women tend to spend a number of years out of the workforce caring for dependents.  Whether they are raising children or looking after family members that have a disability or illness, workplace absence often goes against them when it is time to re-enter the workforce.  Many corporations prefer an uninterrupted career path when it comes to hiring employees.  An extended absence also means that skills will need to be refreshed and that can make it more of a challenge to re-enter the workforce as it may cost the company extra time or resources to bring that staff member back up to speed with their skills and knowledge.  If re-skilling is required at the applicants expense, it takes time and resources to do this,  and returning to the workforce can be prolonged.  Don’t fall into the trap of re-skilling and thinking this is your ticket back into the workplace immediately, it will still take dedication and time to get some current work experience and recommendations to make you a more competitive applicant.

What Is Ageism?

Ageism can be described as age discrimination.  Ageism is often at play even though it is against the law  to discriminate based on age when recruiting staff.  According to sources such as the ABC Radio Adelaide, many people over the age of 50 have felt they have been discriminated against in relation to their age when applying for work.  The sad thing about this is, it is very hard to prove unless an employer outwardly states you are unsuitable due to your age, as it is unlawful to do so, this type of discrimination is not something that is openly admitted or obvious to the powers that be.

Is There Anyone Who Can Help?

Corporations have been one of the main culprits when overlooking mature applicants.  On the upside, there are a number of employers that do value the life experience and maturity of the over 50’s.  So how do you find the best jobs for women over 50?  You have to know where to look.  There are a number of organisations that specialise in helping the over 50’s get that elusive job.  Two of the main agencies in Australia are adage.com.au and olderworkers.com.au.  If you are outside of Australia, you can use google to locate similar agencies in your location.

Are There Any Employers Who Love Mature Workers?

There are a number of categories that are typically the best Jobs For Women Over 50, as they are industries that lend themselves to the skill set women over 50 have, such as homemaking and caring roles. Even though this may sound stereotypical, if you have strengths and skills in these areas, then naturally this is the avenue you should pursue, even if it is in the short term, while you build skills for a career of your choice.

Some industries that value women over the age of 50 include:

• Sales
• Office Workers
• Health Care
• Packing Agencies

Are there any other options?

If you are finding getting a job an uphill battle, have you ever thought about starting your own business?  As a mature person, you have a wealth of knowledge, skills and experience you can use to build your own business.  In the information age, the internet has opened up many work from home and online opportunities to start your own profitable business.

One of the preconceptions employers have about the over 50’s is their lack of technical savvy in relation to the online world.  If you find the internet a little scary and you would like to start your own online business, do not let this lack of skill set deter you.  There are opportunities to learn the skills you need and there are many different business models out there that do not require technical skills initially.

Important Information For Your Consideration!

WARNING, WARNING WILL ROBINSON!!  (I love to be able to use these references…I know you guys and girls get it…).  Please remember to do your due diligence.  Don’t rush into any opportunity without doing your research.  While there is many great opportunities out there online, there are also many scams and scammers out there, so please DO YOUR HOMEWORK!!  A good rule of thumb is to remember, if something seems to good to be true, it more than likely is!

Walking The Talk

If your looking for profitable and sustainable, it will not come without putting some time and dedication in. I hope you have found this article informative and helpful, I have certainly enjoyed researching and putting it together for you, I am actually walking the talk at the moment.  I spent a number of years out of the workforce caring for my children and stepped away from my job because there was no quality of life for my family and all I was doing was working to pay for the childcare with nothing to spare out of my paycheck.  I have now been spending time and money re-skilling and trying to get back into the workforce.  So I understand the frustrations and difficulties.  I have also been working part-time to build my own online business.  I figure, by the time I land that elusive job, I might not actually need it as I have built a business…how cool would that be?

Finding the right opportunity for you can seem confusing at times.  I have found there is so much information out there, and everyone has something to sell – before you know it you have spent a pretty penny and still do not have what you need to get where you want to go.  With a little help from my bestie Ange (we are on the same page with business), I found a community that offers step by step training and the all important community support to assist you to build your own business.  The great thing about this particular community is the skills you learn here are transferable and can be applied to any type of online business.  If this has peaked your interest please click here to head over to my review article – WEALTHY AFFILIATE UNIVERSITY SCAM OR NOT? for some more information about Wealthy Affiliate, the online learning and community I use to build my business.

If you have any questions please feel free to comment below.  Thank you for visiting Over Fifties Affiliate, I look forward to seeing you here again.