Because of the struggling economy, many people are working hard to find work. However, the job hunt can be especially difficult for jobless workers over the age of 50.
Shirley Bradley, 61, knows this all too well. After ten years renting subsidized housing, she was laid off. She looked for work for three years with no results.
"You can become depressed, especially when you have more bills coming in than income, and you don't know when your money is going to come in to meet the bills," Bradley says.
Now, Bradley works at the Syracuse Housing Authority. She was placed there through the Onondaga County Department of Aging and Youth's senior employment program, which places jobless seniors in temporary work situations. She did such a good job, they hired her.
Lisa Alford, the commissioner of the Onondaga County Department of Aging and Youth, says many older workers have to fight misconceptions when they're looking for employment. She says the department works hard to teach seniors the best way to highlight what they have to offer.
"Being older and all that experience is really a plus or an added benefit for a potential employer," says Alford. "They should really emphasize all that experience, that life experience or work experience."
The New York state Department of Labor says, in 2010, one stop career centers in Central New York helped 35,505 people. Of those, 9,409 were 50 years old or older.
CNY Works tries to help those people. Labor Services Manager Denise Elliott says the first step is to make sure each person has a strong resume, so they can get their foot in the door.
"Have they dated themselves on their resume?" Elliott says. "Date of birth is not important. The experience is, the skills they bring to the job are the important thing."
Elliott says it's also important for older workers to show their up-to-date when it comes to technology and recent developments in their field. CNY Works offers everything from resume workshops to computer classes.
One more resource for older job hunters is Experience Works. The program uses training sites to help older workers who are low-income learn new skills.
