Woman goes viral sharing experience looking for work after 50

[00:00:00]It's the midlife plot twist so many women recognize.

[00:00:04]>> No one wants to hire a 40-year-old [music] has-been. Tell them I'm 26.

[00:00:08]I'm going to need some highlights.

[00:00:09]>> Women downplaying their work experience to land a job.

[00:00:13]>> I'm 52 and I can't get a job.

[00:00:16]And the money's running out. And I'm frightened.

[00:00:19]>> Stacey Dooley is doing just that after finding herself in a vulnerable place, over 50 and unemployed.

[00:00:26]>> I'm a single parent of two teenagers who eats a lot.

[00:00:29]I have bills to pay.

[00:00:31]>> The London-based mom sharing her relentless search for a job on social media.

[00:00:35]>> Having sent out a gazillion CVs, I convinced myself that I had become unemployable.

[00:00:43]>> And going viral, even featured in the Financial Times.

[00:00:46]>> Did you expect to go viral to get this kind of an overwhelming response from other women?

[00:00:52]>> I had no idea what was coming. It was a tsunami of thousands and thousands and thousands I didn't If you ever use a pressure cooker and you take the lid off, like you're not supposed to take the lid off.

[00:01:04]It was like that.

[00:01:05]>> Stacey says a friend gave her the advice to take 20 years of experience off her resume to look more attractive to employers and to AI algorithms on hiring platforms.

[00:01:15]>> You were literally chopping up your resume to try to appear younger in job applications.

[00:01:20]>> Yes. This is the well-documented advice given to midlife. Reduce yourself to 7 years of experience, take off your university dates, don't mention your age, maybe change your surname.

[00:01:32]>> 52-year-old Jody Carpus in Florida says she's been ghosted by hundreds of companies after applying for jobs. She's struggled to find steady work after immigrating to the US 5 years ago from South Africa, where she left behind a successful PR company.

[00:01:47]>> I do feel shame.

[00:01:49]Shame that I'm in this situation at 52.

[00:01:51]Shame that I have no safety net.

[00:01:53]>> Government data shows women between the ages of 55 and 64 are on the job hunt for an average of about 2 months longer than women ages 25 to 44.

[00:02:03]>> One of the very most important thing is leveraging the network that you already have. One of the best ways you can get yourself to the top of the stack is through connections and through networking.

[00:02:12]>> Networking in person seemed to turn the tide for Jody who joined her local Chamber of Commerce and attends their events.

[00:02:18]>> I've gone from literally almost drowning, walking through water, and not knowing that I'm going to swim or sink to feeling hope is restored.

[00:02:31]>> Indeed's Laura Albright says that a key issue here is a mismatch in the job market. Sectors like health care and social services are hiring most aggressively right now, but many women midlife have skills in other industries like financial services or creative industries that are losing jobs. Laura says that a lot of those skills though do translate across sectors. So, broaden out that job search and it's never too late to get a short-term credential in places where you do see those jobs are growing, guys.

[00:02:57]>> Yeah, absolutely. I'm so glad, Elizabeth, that we're covering this story because it is so common and hitting so many people right now. Thank you for doing that.

[00:03:05]>> Very much so.