Though some employers would prefer a younger workforce, the older applicantsstill have a wide variety of career choices to choose from.

Employers are starting to see the potential of older and much-experiencedapplicants as can be seen by the statistics below:

q In Australia, Bureau of Statistics showed that between the period ofAugust of 1989 to that of August of 2003, the workforce aged 15-24 lost morethan 380,000 jobs to older workers.

Aside from the fact that most of Australia’s younger generation becamefull-time students, employers favored the older applicants.

q In Netherlands on the other hand (by December of 2000), over 500,000thousand of their employees are 55 years old and above. This figure had beenincreasing steadily since 1995.

To have a head start from the younger applicants, one has to take intoconsideration the following:

1. In writing one’s resume, put more weight in highlighting theaccomplishments without necessarily bragging about it.

One could have these lists of accomplishments and previous posts held workfor one’s advantage over younger applicants who may not even have anyexperience on the same field.

An individual’s employment history receives as much scrutiny as theapplicant itself. While employers tend to look for gaps or lapses of time whenthe applicant has been unemployed, they also tend to focus on the length ofservice one had rendered for their previous employers.

Frequent change of work (usually within very short time frames) can bealarming for prospective employers.

2. Read and enroll in programs that will refresh your knowledge on certainfields especially if engaged in professional sectors. This will keep youindividual abreast of the latest trend in such fields.

3. Search the Internet for vacancies. A lot of agencies place ads on the netthat advertises help for senior citizens in looking for jobs. Various searchengines made easier and specific (can choose the following categories: career,location and field of interest) are also available.

Jobs that do not usually look into the age of the applicant are thefollowing:

1. Professional work that are into specialization. For applicants in themedical field (i.e. Doctors) experience is the basic determinant of beinghired.

2. Lectures or speaking engagements. Speakers that are invited to discusscertain topics do not really have an age requirement. Rather, qualificationfocuses more on first hand knowledge and experience.

3. Writers. Writing novels, plays or children’s books are one of thoseprofessions whose only requirement is good writing skills. Also, one can do thejob at the comfort of their own homes, a plus factor for those in theiradvanced years.