How retired people describe themselves:
https://www.bbc.com/news/business-48882195
I've been Forcefully Retired since 2012, at the ripe old age of 58, thanks to hiring managers looking for employees younger than themselves for whatever reason, disregarding the candidate's expertise.
I was told at 36 that the hiring manager was looking for someone younger with 6 years of senior engineering management expertise.
I calculated for him that a graduate would be 24, would only be offered a management position after 2 years minimum, and a senior manager position after another 4 to 6 years. That would make him or her 30 at senior manager, plus the 6 years experience in that office that he wanted would make him/her 36 years old. That was me.
I just got the blank stare for a moment and he stopped the interview.
He was 28.
Parked outside were 2 Porsche Carreras. A young company milked by its founders, dead and gone less than one year later.
From 2010 to 2012 I had 6 in-person interviews after passing a series of 2 or 3 phone interviews each time.
All of them dropped their faces when I entered the room and they saw wrinkles and white hair. At two of them the senior person stood up and apologised and cut the interview short, "something came up". One left the room passing me to a second person who didn't know what to say. The other gave me 5 minutes and "really had to go, sorryJim". At another I found myself leading the interviewers who couldn't find momentum.
In 2012 I was given a storage sales manager job by a very kind manager which unfortunately was in a long slump period and not one customer from the 77 I was given to chase had a current budget. So after 6 fruitless months I was on the street again.
I should have offered to continue for another 6 months without pay, to give myself a chance as well as the company.
But I didn't think of it, that's my mistake. Maybe this will help someone.
Since 2012 I've asked recruiters who called me to check my age with their clients first and call me if it was "OK". All of them said "No, it's your skills they want, don't worry". None called me back.
So here we are in Sunny Cyprus, to reduce our living costs. But we're spending a ££shipload entertaining!
And now I'm waiting for next March, my delayed official retirement date, 9 months after my 65th.
What's your story?
.
https://www.bbc.com/news/business-48882195
I've been Forcefully Retired since 2012, at the ripe old age of 58, thanks to hiring managers looking for employees younger than themselves for whatever reason, disregarding the candidate's expertise.
I was told at 36 that the hiring manager was looking for someone younger with 6 years of senior engineering management expertise.
I calculated for him that a graduate would be 24, would only be offered a management position after 2 years minimum, and a senior manager position after another 4 to 6 years. That would make him or her 30 at senior manager, plus the 6 years experience in that office that he wanted would make him/her 36 years old. That was me.
I just got the blank stare for a moment and he stopped the interview.
He was 28.
Parked outside were 2 Porsche Carreras. A young company milked by its founders, dead and gone less than one year later.
From 2010 to 2012 I had 6 in-person interviews after passing a series of 2 or 3 phone interviews each time.
All of them dropped their faces when I entered the room and they saw wrinkles and white hair. At two of them the senior person stood up and apologised and cut the interview short, "something came up". One left the room passing me to a second person who didn't know what to say. The other gave me 5 minutes and "really had to go, sorryJim". At another I found myself leading the interviewers who couldn't find momentum.
In 2012 I was given a storage sales manager job by a very kind manager which unfortunately was in a long slump period and not one customer from the 77 I was given to chase had a current budget. So after 6 fruitless months I was on the street again.
I should have offered to continue for another 6 months without pay, to give myself a chance as well as the company.
But I didn't think of it, that's my mistake. Maybe this will help someone.
Since 2012 I've asked recruiters who called me to check my age with their clients first and call me if it was "OK". All of them said "No, it's your skills they want, don't worry". None called me back.
So here we are in Sunny Cyprus, to reduce our living costs. But we're spending a ££shipload entertaining!
And now I'm waiting for next March, my delayed official retirement date, 9 months after my 65th.
What's your story?
.