Hard sell for the mature-aged
Retirement can drag, writes Lynnette Hoffman, so people often seek the best
of both worlds.
Retirement often seems synonymous with bliss; an extended holiday, fishing or
golfing or gardening ‘til your heart’s content with no deadlines pending, no faxes
piling up on the desk, no 8am boardroom meetings looming, whizzing around the
globe, or slowly steering around Australia in a camper van on a whim.
But it ain’t necessarily so.
Financial considerations aside, studies have shown that retirement can actually be…
well, boring. And while not everyone is keen for 40 hours a week in their 60s, many
of us do want to keep working in some form.
“The old notion of retirement is changing as people live longer. Retirement was
traditionally a period of leisure, but when all you’ve got is 30 years of leisure it can
become quite unfulfilling. It’s a long stretch of time,” says Alison Monroe, co-
director of the Sydney-based consultancy and recruiting firm SageCo. SageCo
connects mature-age workers with organisations needing their skills, offers career
coaching, and assists organisations create workplaces relevant to older workers.
Recruitment agencies around Australia are working not only with mature-age clients
who want to stay employed, but also with those who’ve taken a break and found it
wasn’t all it was cracked up to be.
“People come back because they are looking for ways to contribute to a bigger entity.
A lot of people we are seeing are financially secure and don’t need to work, but they
want to feel recognised and rewarded and they want to contribute,” Monroe says.
Recent research by Hudson Australasia found that nearly 70 percent of managers
would like to keep working part time or casually once they officially retire from full
time work.
“People are really looking for continuation. They’re looking for the next opportunity
and they’re thinking more laterally,” says Anne Hatton, Hudson Australasia’s CEO.
But mature-age workers face significant barriers. Many workplaces are not set up to
retain or attract them, though a number of consultancies are working to change that.
Yet despite significant media coverage and a push toward educating employers on
their increasing value, mature-age workers still have to battle negative perceptions
and inadvertent age discrimination
 
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“You see it in advertisements all the time: ‘looking for lively, energetic, dynamic
candidates’. Rarely do you find mature, wizened faces looking out from careers
pages,” Monroe says.
Some industries are more mature-age friendly than others; education and transport
industries tend to value experience and be more open to older workers, Hatton says,
while information technology, advertising, marketing and media have a reputation for
being at the other end of the spectrum.
Regardless of the industry, however, employers are looking for up-to-date skills,
recent and relevant work experience, confidence and motivation, says Louise Rolland.
Professor Rolland is CEO of the research and consulting organisation The Australian
Partnership for Business, Work and Ageing at Swinburne University.
So what to do if you‘ve been out of the workforce for a while?
First, don’t panic. Additional training and qualifications are obvious ways to keep
your skills current, but Monroe says if you’re hesitant to spend money on that there
are lots of ways to say up to date with what’s going on in your industry.
“For instance, join a professional organisation for your field and read its monthly
magazine – you’ll keep up to date on things like what are the hot topics in the industry
right now, and what’s the jargon being used, so when you get to the interview you
won’t be caught off guard. And also you might unearth other opportunities in terms of
paths to explore, continual learning is very important,” she says.
Or try volunteering to keep skills alive.
When it comes to a resume, focus on relevant skills and experience, and leave out age
and photo. Listing hobbies is a matter of personal preference, but it could be good to
omit more sedentary interests such as bridge and chess.
And don’t fall into stereotypes of being grumpy, bitter and inflexible. “Focus on the
positives and leave the hardships and war stories behind,” Monroe says.
A few concessions might have to be made to get a foot in the door. That might mean
accepting less money than you were earning before, being flexible about hours,
working part time or accepting consulting work.
But for many people that’s just fine.
“A lot of people are not necessarily wanting to stay in full-time demanding roles.
They are happy to take more flexible roles,” says Hatton.
LINKS
www.sageco.com.au
www.businessworkageing.org
www.hudsonresourcing.com.au
 
The Weekend Australian 2/3 April 2005
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Old doors still open, but new ones closed
When Tony Jones moved to Australia from London last year with his partner who had a
contract to set up a business, the advertising and marketing director left behind a design firm
he established more than 17 years ago. And with it, extensive client base that had taken
years to build.
With big name, blue chip clients like Prudential and The Financial Times under his belt, Jones
figured that rather than starting from scratch at his own business with no networks or
contacts, he’d float in and find a job.
But one thing was against him; his age. At 57 trying to break into the young gun world of
advertising in a new country, Jones has had his work cut out for him. He has sent out
resumes and made direct contact with several agencies, even met directors and had chats,
but so far nothing has materialised. Jones is working, it’s just that all but one of his clients are
still back in England.
Like many mature-age workers Jones is fine financially, but wants to work because it’s what
he enjoys and it’s also what keeps him connected.
“I would like to feel more involved in Sydney and through work you develop a sense of
belonging,” he says. “I’ve always worked. I might be 57, but I have no intention of retiring. I
can’t possibly live my life semi-retired, and if it gets to that point I’ll just have to go back
home.”
Jones says he’s looking for a challenge, something not quite the same as he has done
before. And he feels like his experience should be seen as an asset: “When you first start off
in a career it’s an unknown area and you learn as you go along. But now with the sum of all
my experiences I know where everything fits.”