This ain’t your Daddy’s job search, for sure! Why you’re looking for a job at this age is your business – but I know that there are many many people out there looking with you.
You may wonder if you can even go back to work after you started receiving Social Security payments. Here’s the Social Security rule: If you are between ages 62 and 66 or 67 (full retirement age) and working while also receiving monthly Social Security benefits, in 2020 you will be able to earn up to $18,240 ($1,520 per month) before the Social Security Administration deducts $1 from your benefits for every $2 you earn. In the year you turn your full retirement age, the earnings limit will be $48,600 ($4,050 per month) before the agency will deduct $1 for every $3 you earn until the month you reach full retirement age. (For those born between 1943 and 1954, full retirement age is 66. It increases by two months for each year after until 67.) The earnings limit disappears once you reach full retirement age. ( This rule is current as of 11/01/2019)
Job searching these days is very computer and on-line centric – in the beginning. When you first started looking for work back in the 50’s and 60’s, you looked in the Sunday paper. There are still job postings in the paper, but there are thousands more online.
Before you get started applying for jobs – you need a good resume. It’s important to have a well-written professional looking resume. The cost is usually around $350.00 for a good resume by a professional resume writer.
This is not something you want your cousin’s husband to knock out for you – unless he’s a professional resume writer. Most people find their resume writers online. And there’s that word again – online.
If you are not computer literate – you may struggle a while. The good news is that there are several ways you can become computer literate – in a short length of time, for free.
If you aren’t familiar with computers at all, you’re going to have to use your telephone. Here’s some of the places that I know give free help with computer learning to seniors.
- The library – almost all libraries have computers that you can use for the price of a library card, as well as offering free classes on how to use them.
- Senior Citizen centers – same benefits, but you may not have to pay for a membership.
- School District Adult Education programs – usually a very nominal cost
The best thing about all of these is that they provide the computers. This means that even if you don’t own a computer, an I Phone or whatever – you can still access a computer at low or no cost to you.
Your next obstacle – (I know you’re thinking it) is that you aren’t very good at a computer. That’s OK. No matter where you are, someone will help you get signed on and to access Youtube. Tell your helper you want to use the free Youtube videos that teach you how to use the computer. These videos begin with rock-bottom basics and since you can go back to them over and over and they never get mad, you can practice until you’ve got it right!
Once you have the basics, take a look at the following websites – even if all you do is scroll through them the first time.
- indeed.com
- glassdoor.com
- aarp.org/jobs
These are the biggest, most used sites currently and they all offer more jobs than you have time to read about. You have to join AARP to access their job board – but then you have access to their other great benefit – how to look for a job! Learn.aarp.org is an awesome site that walks you through resume writing, networking, and interviewing with short, well done videos. Then, there is a great website for you that gives all the Social Security answers you should need. To create a My Social Security account, go to www.socialsecurity.gov/myaccount. So far, about 35 million beneficiaries and non-beneficiaries have set up My Social Security accounts.
Looking for a job – is a job. You need to dedicate at least an hour a day looking at job postings and applying online. But one thing you should know – you must Get Yourself Out There.
Only 20% of job-seekers get hired from an on-line application. 80% find their job through networking. That means letting your friends and family and fellow church members and Canasta club members know that you are looking for work. Ask these folks if they know anyone who is hiring for the job you want, or if they know anyone at that company they can introduce you to.
This can be hard when you first start, so you have to just do it, because it gets easier as you go. Look around the next time you are shopping – are there any help wanted signs where you think you’d like to work?
If you have been retired for a while, you may not be excited about driving or commuting to work anymore (if you ever were!). The number of people who work from home increases daily, so keep an eye out for that type of posting. I should warn you though, many of the remote worker jobs require computer skills, so get going on your e-learning!
Some of the basic computer skills you should have are:
- Microsoft Word
- Excel
- Receiving and sending emails
There’s one more website that you can use: lynda.com. There are thousands of training modules available – you get the first month free. Just enter what you want to learn in the search bar (with the magnifying glass) and pick the most basic first.
Do not tell yourself that you are too old to learn how to use a computer or anything else. Your body may slow down some, but your brain never does. In these days of extremely low jobless rates, over 60 people are more hireable than ever. You already know how to come to work every day, how to be responsible for what you do, and how to deal with people. Spend a little time getting yourself ready for today’s job market and then Get Yourself Out There!