'I've put the hard yards in': Older jobseekers say ageism stopping them from getting work

Older jobseekers say they face discrimination in securing work but an expert says businesses will have to embrace them if the age of superannuation is raised.The unemployment rate rose to 5.7 percent nationally in September, with the underutilisation rate for over-55s averaging 8.5 percent.Lisa Dudley, 57, said she'd been looking for part-time work for the past eight years and blamed ageism in part."[Employers] see an older person and they think: 'Oh, well, we are not going to get much use out of them because they're not going to be in work much longer'."She said she had 40 years' worth of experience in customer service and was qualified for the jobs she was applying to.She had a couple of stipulations: no shift work and no weekends, so she could spend time with her husband and grandson."I've put the hard yards in, so now I want something for me."She said she was lucky in that she wanted to work rather than needed to, but time was ticking for her to save for retirement."It's frustrating because I know my KiwiSaver is really, really low compared to what I'm going to need when I do get eight years down the line."Dudley said she and her husband, 77, wanted to move out of Canterbury to the North Island to be closer to family but he had struggled to find work elsewhere."It really is getting frustrating and it's annoying that people aren't willing to take that chance."She said she suspected some employers might not want to hire older workers, whose experience often came with a higher salary."For what they'd have to pay me, they can probably get two people for lesser value."She said she had also been advised to "dumb down" her CV to not appear overqualified.Fellow jobseeker Melinda Netto, 55, said employers were reluctant to hire someone they viewed as a flight risk for being older and overqualified."People look at [my CV] and think, oh, she's experienced, you might get another job."She said she had applied for 100 jobs since February after she chose not to renew a contract with her previous employer - only 42 had even replied.She said she'd been looking for local jobs with lower pay and perks, despite her two decades of experience in financial services."In all honesty, I would rather work in a warehouse than the financial services because you're sitting on your bum. Ten years down the line, you're going to pay for it."She said she was lucky because she was coping well but she said the constant rejection could affect other people's mental health."For me, I don't care because it's their loss."Director and founder of Seniors@work Ian Fraser, 77, said he decided to set up the job platform dedicated to over-50s seven years ago because of his own difficulty finding work in his late 50s and early 60s."I applied for over 100 roles and I just had three interviews."He said there was a lot of attention on younger jobseekers - but he argued they had time on their side and often could lean on parents financially."I constantly hear about [seniors] who are really struggling to find work, who desperately need to work so they can put food on the table."In many cases, they've got rent and mortgages to pay. They don't have enough retirement funds. And they've got ongoing growing medical costs."In the past 12 months, registrations on his websites more than doubled - reaching 9500 users.According to Stats NZ's Household Labour Force Survey, more than a quarter of over-65s were employed, rising by a percentage point on the year.Business NZ analysis found employment rates for 65- to 69-year-olds and over-70s had tripled and quadrupled respectively since 2000.Fraser added that seniors might be expected to work longer if the superannuation age was raised."So my questions are, if we are asking people to work longer, are we actually prepared to employ longer?"He said that if someone was suitable for a job at 55, they should still be suitable by 67.Age Concern chief executive Karen Billings-Jensen.Mike Clare / suppliedAge Concern chief executive Karen Billings-Jensen said getting employers to embrace older generations was an education issue."There's a myth that older people might be less reliable and need time off for health appointments."But that's been disproved. They're more likely to be committed. They're less likely to decide to move to Australia."She said older people meaningfully contributed to workplaces with their maturity and expertise - and to society by providing families with financial support and childcare.