Help available to aid seniors in finding work

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Counselors who work with older job seekers agree that the number of people older than 50 looking for work has increased in the last few years and that the baby-boomer phenomenon is part of the reason. Other factors also apply and counselors see no change in the trend.|ret||ret||tab|

Janet Smith, certified work force development specialist for Job Council of the Ozarks, said she has seen a lot more women in the age 50-plus category thrust into the work force due to divorce. Smith has also seen an increase in the number of people, both men and women who have enjoyed secure retirement only to find that catastrophic illness in the family has wiped out their savings. To make ends meet, they go back to work.|ret||ret||tab|

Often, people retired from demanding professions choose to go back into the work place in a less stressful position.|ret||ret||tab|

"They want a no-brainer they can leave at the door at the end of the day," Smith said.|ret||ret||tab|

Sometimes they are tired of the paperwork and responsibilities of a high-stress position, according to Phillis Peach, field coordinator for Green Thumb, a not-for-profit group that places seniors in the work force.|ret||ret||tab|

Peach cites three main reasons for seniors to go back to work after they have retired. First is the need to stay active and productive, next is the increase in the cost of living, which may have stretched retirement income to the limit and third is the need to stay independent.|ret||ret||tab|

Eric Naegler, co-owner of Senior Recruiters Inc. said the increased numbers of senior workers has allowed the companies he works with to see first hand the benefit of hiring the mature employee.|ret||ret||tab|

While in the past it was perceived that older workers would be absent more often and cause an increase in health insurance claims, the opposite is actually true. Older workers show up for work and are more committed and employers are finding this out, Naegler said.|ret||ret||tab|

"Employers have made friends with age," Naegler said. "They are looking for people who will show up and do the work and they've found it in the older worker."|ret||ret||tab|

Typically, Naegler places people in a temp-to-hire situation. The temporary agreement gives both the employer and the employee a chance to see of the job is a fit. The fit is more important to the senior worker than salary and benefits, he said.|ret||ret||tab|

Naegler said he has found that older workers often want a change from their primary careers, but they want to do something that interests them. Many people, through life's experiences, are able to move into a number of occupations, not necessarily in the field they have been trained for. Many times life has prepared them to fill a variety of positions besides their primary career.|ret||ret||tab|

According to Naegler, 60 percent of the applicants he works with are baby boomers or older. Many are looking for full-time employment, while some prefer to work part-time for a supplemental income.|ret||ret||tab|

In a survey of Missouri statistics in the 10 county area surrounding Springfield, Naegler said he determined that 84,100 are not considered part of the work force because they are not looking for employment. Since nearly 70,000 of this number are 65 or older, Naegler concluded a huge segment of this number are in the 50-plus age group and many may be willing and able to work. His goal to find these individuals and place them with the right employer.|ret||ret||tab|

Rep. Norma Champion, 67, is a prime example of the energetic older worker. Champion successfully balances an active personal life with three separate careers in government, television and as a tenured professor at Evangel University.|ret||ret||tab|

"To paraphrase the famous quote, I'm not going gently into the night," Champion said.|ret||ret||tab|

Bradley Fisher, director of gerontology at Southwest Missouri State University said that government statistics show 11,000 people turn 55 each day. Thus, there are more people in this age group and older looking for work or starting a second career than ever before.|ret||ret||tab|

The message is getting across to employers that the older worker can be an enhancement to their business, but slowly, Fisher said. The concept of the older worker being past his or her productivity level with age has been rooted in society and its view of the aging. The belief by employers who think older workers will cost them more because of health issues is gradually starting to change when they find the older worker is more committed and absent less than younger people.|ret||ret||tab|

Another factor, according to Peach, is maturity. Younger people are more restless and actually more apt to switch jobs than an older, more stable, worker. If it fits, the older worker usually stays put.|ret||ret||tab|

According to Peach, job counselors have found there is a mix of older workers seeking both full-time and part-time employment. Some post-career workers have filled their spare time with volunteer work and then have decided if they are going to spend the hours they might as well get paid. They often chose to work part-time, but some have gone on to re-enter the work force in full-time positions.|ret||ret||tab|

Naegler said that he tries to get the message to local employers that there is a tremendous amount of talent available in older workers and every reason to tap this growing segment of the work force. Often the diverse experience the individual brings to the job is not reflected in a rsum. Counselors who work with age 50-plus job seekers on a regular basis are trying to bridge the information gap that brings the right employee and employer together for the mutual benefit of both.|ret||ret||tab|

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